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CUTTING BACK ON PROCRASTINATION

CUTTING BACK ON PROCRASTINATION

To reduce the amount of procrastinating you do, start by recognizing the “opportunity cost” of procrastination. Opportunity cost refers to the opportunity you lose by choosing option A over option B. For example, let’s say option A is to go to a basketball game with your friends, thereby procrastinating on studying for your midterm. Option B is to stay home from the game and study for the test. You choose option A: You go to the game. The game is great, and the next day, after quickly looking over the material in the morning, you take the midterm and get a C. The opportunity cost of procrastinating by going to the game is the loss of the potential better grade on your test. You might have earned an A or a B if you had studied. By going to the game, you chose one short-term goal—fun—over another short-term goal—getting an above-average grade on the test. Decide for yourself which option—going to the game or getting a better grade—helps you meet more of your long-term goals.

Unfortunately, perhaps because they lack confidence or skills, some students convince themselves that there is no real opportunity cost. In other words, they say, “Well, I’m never going to get an A or a B anyway, so I may as well just go to the game.” You can bet Michael Jordan never had that attitude. Michael Jordan might not have won every basketball game, but by consistently choosing to practice, he improved his game. You do well when you put in the effort. Doing well in school happens because you choose to do well. Before choosing to procrastinate, think about the opportunity cost. Procrastinating is, after all, the result of a decision you make, not just something that happens to you. When we procrastinate, we choose one option over another option. Once we become aware of the fact that we are making a choice, we can begin to evaluate the merits of that choice: Is it worth the long-term costs to have this short-term gain? We can then take full responsibility for the choices we make, which makes us generally feel more in control of our own path.

How, then, can you avoid procrastination while reading and writing for college? Begin by following these tips:

Follow the reading and writing processes that are described in this book. Since getting started is the hardest part, doing pre-reading and pre-writing activities will help you jump right in and avoid procrastination. Pre-writing is practically a guaranteed antidote to writer’s block. For pre-reading strategies, see Chapter 1, Reading and Responding to College Texts, page 000 in your book; for pre-writing activities, see Chapter 9, Pre-Writing, page 000 in your book.
Break the task into manageable parts and plan to do part of the task today and part of it another time. This gets you started without it feeling so daunting.
When you feel yourself procrastinating, take five minutes to brainstorm a list of short- and long-term goals for where you are right then. Evaluate your list. What goals are most important to you? Is procrastination helping you meet these goals or not? What are the opportunity costs of choosing to procrastinate? Keeping the goals you brainstormed earlier in this chapter on note cards in your desk or backpack might give you a practical way to check yourself when you are losing focus.
Visualize what will happen if you put effort into the task and what will happen if you procrastinate. If you are artistically inclined, quickly sketch a cartoon of yourself in both situations. Which picture do you like better? Why?
Keep a visual reminder of your goal in your notebook or where you study. If your goal is to graduate, find a picture of someone in his or her graduation cap and gown. Whatever your goal—to learn Spanish or to complete a challenging class—have a visual reminder to inspire you.