Posted by by Ryan Tran
Procrastination is a huge problem we’ve all faced at one point or another. Does that make us lazy? Not at all! It just means we’re human, and we don’t like putting a lot of time into tasks that seem boring, frustrating, difficult, or confusing. Instead, we’d much rather put our focus and energy into what we find rewarding and fun. Unfortunately, writing an essay doesn’t usually get categorized as ‘fun,’ so we put it off.
Doing what we like is easy. Starting an essay is hard. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are some simple tips from a lifelong assignment dodger to avoid the procrastination trap, reduce late submissions, and relieve essay-induced anxiety.
1. Break the Habit: Don’t think that just because you’ve procrastinated in the past means that you can’t change your behavior in the future. Procrastination is a bad habit, but like all habits it can be unlearned and replaced with another one. Forgive yourself for your past procrastination, commit to doing better, and recognize the most important truth: You got this. And the Writing Center has your back every step of the way!
2. Break it Down: An essay can be a big, difficult task. Instead of tackling it all at once, divide it into more manageable pieces. By breaking your essay up into smaller, simpler tasks, you can make sure you complete everything to the best of your ability! Ideally, you should break down your writing into brainstorming, researching/reading (as needed), outlining, writing, and proofreading. Not sure how to do that? Don’t worry. We’ve got handouts.
3. Get Organized: Once you’ve figured out the steps you need to take, mark your calendar (Google Calendar, planner, anything will work) and set deadlines at regular intervals before the due date. Having a clear plan with specific tasks will help you feel a lot better about the assignment. Another benefit of this is that you’ll be able to take regular breaks from the assignment once you’ve reached a milestone instead of grinding through it all the night before. In a wild twist, being more proactive with your schoolwork actually leaves you more time for memes, games, songs, etc.
4. Get Help: Having a friend, family member, or writing center tutor to keep you accountable as you work through the essay will do wonders for your productivity by making you feel more invested in your efforts. You can even get a study buddy to keep you in check while you keep them in check. Just like how study groups can help everyone do better on exams, having an accountability partner can do the same for writing assignments. And it always helps to have someone who can read through a paper and help catch those typos you missed.
5. Just Write: It’s more important to get material written down first and refine it later rather than trying to make it flawless the first time. Stick to your time table, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good, and recognize the worth of the work you’ve put in. And when you’ve got it all typed up, edited, and submitted, celebrate a job well done and treat yourself.
Need help proofreading? Guess what! We have a handout for that.
No matter how big or difficult that essay looks, you can do this.
All images from giphy.com.
The Write Attitude 