<p>I am probably considered an EXTREME procrastinator. Throughout high school I would open my backpack maybe once every two weeks while at home only when i absolutely HAD to finish a project or something.</p>
<p>Here is a tip that I have found that worked for me while studying for the SAT-</p>
<p>We all know that the hardest part is STARTING the work, well at least for me it is, so once you start it isn’t all as bad as you thought. What you need to do is physically FORCE muscles to remove the book from your backpack or desk and open it to the page you need to study and physically force yourself to begin working. Once you start, you’ll eventually either pinpoint your problem, or become pleased with yourself being so productive.</p>
<p>Just a tip that works for me. I know this might be obvious, but I think that it may help some people.</p>
<p>Just remember, it is definitely hard but you have to force your body to go through the motions. </p>
<p>There are two actual parts of your brain that battle each other when you procrastinate. One part is the “Oh, a notification on facebook!, Oh a new youtube video!, I’m hungry! This is boring, I’ll just watch TV for 5 minutes”. and one is the “I really should study so I can do well in life” part. The problem is, the first part of the brain is MUCH more powerful and influential on the decision making part of the brain. Only conscious thought can overpower the ADHD part of the brain, and you MUST use it if you want to overcome procrastinating! </p>
<p>So the next time you feel the urge to wait to start your homework, just remember that the hyper active and immature part of your brain is taking advantage of you. And if that doesn’t make you upset, i don’t know what will.</p>
<p>“Just remember that the hyperactive and immature part of your brain is taking advantage of you.” </p>
<p>Actually, in a different way, the decision-making part of our brains can also be called “immature”. As teens/college students, that part of our brains is not as fully developed as the “ADHD” part, which I think is <em>partially</em> to blame for our rampant procrastination. Of course, I’m not trying to say we’re all blameless, because we’re not. </p>
<p>On another note, as simple as it is, that’s some really good advice. There’s no more direct and effective way to get over those temptations to procrastinate than just pulling out the work and starting. Confucius say, “Journey of 10,000 miles begin with one step”. [/cliche]</p>
<p>Procrastination: why should i do it today when it can obviously be done tomorrow? </p>
<p>but seriously…my procrastination is so bad that when i try to force myself to open an SAT book, i tell myself, ‘why am i forcing myself today when i can force myself tomorrow’.</p>
<p>Ahaha, as i scrolled down the posts, I found myself chuckling at how alike we all are.</p>
<p>What’s incredibly annoying is that each day, i write out a schedule for what i need to accomplish that day, and either:</p>
<p>a) at the end of the day, when i’m in bed, my mind frantically spazzes about what i haven’t done and how screwed i am (depriving myself of sleep), so i promise myself that i’ll never make the same mistake again (that /obviously/ worked.) . or…</p>
<p>b) i actually follow my schedule for the first task, and when i find i’m 5 minutes ahead of schedule, i decide to reward my efforts with 5 minutes (you know, just so i can be right on schedule…) of youtube. and gmail. and facebook. And that is where "Procrastination: Where five minutes turns into five hours… " takes place. :D</p>