STOP PUTTING TIMES OFF

“There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back”

Procrastination does exactly this; postponing things into the future would never get anyone anywhere. We spend more time putting things off than accomplishing them; there’s no doubt procrastination is an energy-draining, timestealing, life-robbing problem! The habit of procrastinating affects all of us from time to time: delaying the most important tasks until later, until the approaching deadline means a crisis, with full scale panic attacks on the way! Putting off important tasks for doing later is a quintessential trait which every student indulges in. “Every year, without fail, I decide to stick to my year’s resolution of not giving in to procrastination, but yet again succumb to it. Since I turned 18, I’ve been meaning to get a Voter ID card and needless to say I haven’t spent one day working towards it,” says Ashima Ohri, a student. Procrastination is not quality leisure time at all — it’s a blameworthy waste of time where one engages in low-value deeds because they’re putting something off. And too much procrastination can have a severe and grim negative effect on your lives: failure in exams, it may cost a promotion, it may mean paying heavy fines or penalties, and it can make you feel despondent and dejected.
But with a little effort you can ace those tests, meet deadlines way before, finish projects, get a social life, and complete your to-do list, all on time!
PLAN IT OUT

“Usually I make a lot of plans; plans related to my studies, outing with friends, chores and everyday tasks and other countless activities. The anxiety of not meeting deadlines makes me do what I was initially supposed to do,” says Sariya Sultan Khan, a college student. A lot of youngsters today face similar problems and challenges; the key is to
plan right and be very practical.
Plan it all out, your day, week, even a month. Make a to-do list for everyday and place it where you can see it, on the fridge, the desktop, the study or the mirror. Try starting with small lists with odd little jobs, a long list can overwhelm you. Get a large calendar. List your assignments and due dates on the specified date on the calendar. Chalk down birthdays, anniversaries, appointments. Pen your whole month there, so that you never miss anything! When you remember it, accomplishing a task seems simpler, besides knowing that something’s coming up keeps you prepared and geared up, killing any chances of anxiety and being overwhelmed! Set a schedule for everything, and never miss it. For important errands like washing the laundry, getting groceries or studying for a test, set up a block of time and stick to it. Try keeping half-an-hour off after every chore and task. This would give you time to relish what you’ve done and prepare you for the awaiting task. All you have to do is follow that schedule religiously and relentlessly!
SET YOUR PRIORITIES

After you have it all planned, it’s time to sort all the tasks out. Cramming 48 hours of activities into 24 hours is not viable - unless you rank what you have to do in order of importance. Use a number system or stars and symbols to organise the tasks marked into your planner. Categorise them into what you ‘have to do’, what you ‘should do’ and what you would ‘like to do’, and work your way through each, in that order. Never put an easily achievable task on your ‘have to do’ list — your ‘have to do’ list can remind you to study for an exam and work on a project, but your ‘do laundry’ or ‘shop for groceries,’ can go onto your ‘should do list’ whereas the movie you’ve been meaning to watch can go on your ‘like to do list.’ Do hard things first. It’s easier said than done. But this is where one has to believe that “Once begun, it’s half done.” Also, if you work on harder things first, moving on to the easier tasks will seem like a reward. After you accomplish every big or little task, strike them off your list and planner. Eishita Bohara, a college student, says, “I procrastinate often. Not cleaning my closet or my room, delaying a promised trip with my friend until the other person drops the idea, are things I often do.” She adds, “I seek advice on major decisions but end up doing my own thing anyways. Putting things off for an indefinite period is something I cannot help steer clear of, it just happens! But when I finish an assignment, the feeling is so good, like a million bucks. It makes it rewarding and exhilarating.” “My ‘to do’ lists are done according to urgency and importance of the task, and even depending on the time I’d need to finish it. After completing every deed, I cross it out,” quips Smriti Shukla, a student.

ACTION , DO IT

You’ve planned and prioritised; all you have to do is take action! Lay out a course of action and get down to doing it. Complete it on time and stay off the internet and other distractions and you’ll complete it sooner than you thought you would. “Completing work on time gives you free time afterwards to do all the great things you wanted, like going out for coffee, hanging out with friends or watching a movie,” says student, Divya Tewari.