Time management has never been a strength of mine, and procrastination has always been a constant in my life. It's like subconsciously I digest exactly how much time a task will comfortably take, and can not possibly start on said task until the last second available for me. This has gotten me in stressful situations more than a few times, although I have gotten better throughout the past few years at being ahead, especially in classes I am mentally invested in.
I find a lot of the generalized advice for time management varies from obviously helpful to completely unhelpful. For example, in Caroline Webb's article How to Beat Procrastination, she encourages procrastinators to pre-commit publicly to things they want to get done. For some people, this might be a helpful life hack to a motivated mindset, but for just as many others if not more, it is actually detrimental. Here is an article by Derek Sivers explaining this phenomenon, but in short, by telling people we are going to do something good, we already receive the positive feedback that we have done something when we haven't, actually making it less likely that we will do said task. This really rings true for me. If I really want something, I have to do it for me, and having others pat me on the back is never a motivation for me to exert effort.
On the other hand, some advice, like building the habit of just starting, is very common advice but actually is good advice for me. Anecdotally, I have finished many substantial projects in one sitting, with no intention of doing so. Sometimes by just starting, in no time at all, you'll find yourself in a flow state, completely focused on the task at hand, and next thing you know hours have passed and your work are done. So this is definitely a strategy I'll be using extensively in my last semester here at OU: Convince myself to start and just put in five minutes, and likely it'll end up finished before I know it.
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| Time melts away - Photo Credit: Jordi Paya Canals |
I find a lot of the generalized advice for time management varies from obviously helpful to completely unhelpful. For example, in Caroline Webb's article How to Beat Procrastination, she encourages procrastinators to pre-commit publicly to things they want to get done. For some people, this might be a helpful life hack to a motivated mindset, but for just as many others if not more, it is actually detrimental. Here is an article by Derek Sivers explaining this phenomenon, but in short, by telling people we are going to do something good, we already receive the positive feedback that we have done something when we haven't, actually making it less likely that we will do said task. This really rings true for me. If I really want something, I have to do it for me, and having others pat me on the back is never a motivation for me to exert effort.
On the other hand, some advice, like building the habit of just starting, is very common advice but actually is good advice for me. Anecdotally, I have finished many substantial projects in one sitting, with no intention of doing so. Sometimes by just starting, in no time at all, you'll find yourself in a flow state, completely focused on the task at hand, and next thing you know hours have passed and your work are done. So this is definitely a strategy I'll be using extensively in my last semester here at OU: Convince myself to start and just put in five minutes, and likely it'll end up finished before I know it.
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