Experiment with whichever among these strategies you like!

Unfortunately, procrastination helps reinforce itself. We dread (like writing) by doing something we enjoy (such as watching TV, hanging out with friends, etc.), we escape the dreaded task when we avoid doing something. Given such a selection, it is not surprising that lots of of us decide to procrastinate. We feel all the more compelled to procrastinate next time around when we write a paper at the last minute and still manage to get a good grade.

What to do about this

Now you may have procrastinated in the past, let’s explore some of the strategies you might use to combat your procrastination tendencies, now and in the future.Be patient; improvement will come with practice that you know a little bit about why.

Take a listing

Finding out exactly when and how you procrastinate might help you stop the behavior. It may be tough to tell if you are procrastinating. Think about the clues that tell you that’s what you’re doing: for example, a voice that is nagging your head, a visual image of what you are actually avoiding or perhaps the consequences of not doing it, physical ailments (stomach tightness, headaches, muscle tension), inability to concentrate, inability to savor what you are really doing.

How will you procrastinate?

• You will need to ignore the task, hoping against hope that it shall disappear completely?
• Over- or under-estimate their education of difficulty that the duty involves?
• Minimize the impact that your performance now might have on your own future?
• Substitute something important for something really important? (as an example, cleaning instead of writing your paper.)
• Let a brief break become a lengthy one, or an evening where you do no work on all? (For example, claiming that you are likely to watch TV for Ѕ hour, then watching it all night.)
• Give attention to one an element of the task, at the cost of the others? (For example, keep working on the introduction, while putting off writing the human body and conclusion).
• Spend too much effort researching or choosing a subject

When you better understand how you procrastinate, you shall be better in a position to catch yourself carrying it out. Too often, we don’t even realize that we have been procrastinating—until it’s too late.

Create a environment that is productive

When you have made the decision to end delaying on a particular writing project, it is crucial which you find a spot to work in which you have at the very least half an opportunity of actually getting some writing done. Your dorm room may not be the place where you stand most productive. Ditto the pc lab. You can’t connect to the Internet (e-mail and the Web are the bane of the procrastinator’s existence—as you probably already know) if you have a laptop computer, try going someplace where. If you’re a procrastinator, then then you already are pretty exasperated; don’t risk frustrating yourself much more by trying to write in a breeding ground that does not be practical.

CAUTION: the essential skilled procrastinators may be lured to take this suggestion too far, spending an inordinate amount of time “creating a productive environment” (cleaning, filing, etc.) and not nearly the full time actually writing. Don’t fall into that trap! While cleaning and filing are indeed worthy and necessary activities, if you only do that when you yourself have an approaching writing deadline, then you are procrastinating.

When you are thinking about the best place to write, consider also whenever you will write. When have you been most alert? Could it be at 8 a.m., mid-morning, mid-afternoon, early evening, or late during the night? You will need to schedule writing time when you know you are at your best. Don’t be concerned about when you “should” have the ability to write; just focus on whenever you are in a position to write.

Challenge your myths

To be able to break the procrastination habit, we need to get past the idea that to be able to write, we should have got all the information and knowledge pertaining to this issue, and we also will need to have writing that is optimal. The truth is, writers do not have most of the information, and conditions are never optimal.

Think of a writing project that you will be currently putting off. Using one side of a bit of paper, write down all the reasons for your delay. On the other hand, argue (as convincingly as you can!) contrary to the delay.

Break it down

The afternoon you can get the paper assignment (ideally), or shortly thereafter, break the writing assignment up to the smallest chunks that are possible. By doing this, the paper never has a chance to take on gargantuan proportions in your head. You can say to yourself, “Right now, I’m going to write the introduction. That’s all, just the introduction!” And you may become more more likely to sit down and do that, than you will to sit down and “write the paper.”

Get a new attitude

We shoot ourselves into the foot, in the first place, by telling ourselves how horrible a particular writing assignment is. Changing our attitude toward the task, whenever possible, may go a long way toward keeping us from procrastinating. Tell yourself that the task isn’t so incredibly bad or difficult, which you can learn how while you’re doing it that you either know how to do it, paper writing service or. You might find, too, that in the event that you start early on a particular assignment, your attitude never has to be able to get very negative into the first place! Simply starting to write can often help us feel more positive about writing.

Ask for help

• Get an coach that is anti-procrastination. If you’re really determined to not ever procrastinate, then get help from the supportive people in your lifetime. Tell someone about your writing timeline and goal, and ask them that will help you see whether or otherwise not your plan is realistic. A couple of times a week, email with a friend, relative, or mentor, so that you can report (admit?) on your own progress, and declare your promise for the next week (or day or two). If, despite your very good intentions, you start procrastinating again, usually do not think, “All is lost!” Instead, speak with someone about this. They may be able to help you place your slip into perspective to get back on course.
• Get a buddy. See when you can find a close friend to work alongside you. They don’t have to be writing a paper; in reality, they can be Solitaire that is playing all you care. What matters is that you arrange to generally meet them at the library (or wherever you’ve decided to write) at a specific some time stay there for a certain time period, thus creating accountability.
• Get help with your writing. Then ask someone (a Writing Center writing coach, a current or former professor or teaching assistant, a friend) to help you improve if you are procrastinating because you think you are a weak writer.
• Form a group that is writing. A writing group is a smart way for|way that is great undergraduate and much more advanced writers alike to generate accountability, get feedback, and just get reminded that you’re not alone when you look at the battle to produce and to improve your writing. See our writing group packet at for more information on how to form and sustain a writing group. Dissertation writers may benefit not only from joining a writing group but in addition from reading our handout in the dissertation. This handout was compiled by a former Writing Center staff member who eventually completed her dissertation.