It’s noon on Wednesday, and you have a paper due Friday at 11:59 P.M. That’s plenty of time, right? You take a deep breath, open TikTok, succumb to the algorithm, and smile. You won’t do that thing you usually do where you wait until the last minute to start. No, not this time.
You blink.
It’s five thirty on Friday.
Crap.
It’s five thirty on Friday.
CRAP.
You have nothing done. Your essay is due in six and a half hours.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
How could this happen? You had so much time! You knew you usually procrastinate, and you did it anyway! If self awareness didn’t help, what could have been done?!
Much. Much could have been done, my friend.
As a Professional Procrastinator trying to curb her habit for the sake of her sanity, I know all the excuses you make to yourself when you’re procrastinating. I’ll do it later, It’ll take me twenty minutes, I know what I’m doing so I’m not worried about it.
So prove it.
Yeah, you heard me.
You’ll do it later? When? Schedule the time. Set an alarm on your phone, tell your friends to hold you accountable. Bet them $10 that you’ll do it. Having a tangible loss makes it a lot easier to get going on time, because there’s something grounding about having a factor outside of yourself. If you don’t have the cash to do that, or don’t have friends willing to potentially exploit your struggles, just find someone to go to a public study space with you. Just make sure not to study in your room if you know it will turn into a hangout- that would be counterintuitive.
It’ll take you twenty minutes? Okay, then, do it now. Set a timer, put on some music, open your laptop, and spend even just five minutes working on what you can. If your executive functioning skills are having a hard time booting up, try crossing your lateral line, i.e. putting your right arm over your left and vice versa, crossing your legs back and forth, and doing some side lunges. I don’t know why it works. My mom is a teacher and she told me to do it once and it worked. I don’t want to let science spoil the Productivity Magic. Just trust me on this one.
You know what you’re doing so you’re not worried about it? Then make a detailed outline to show what you know. A detailed one. Put in your quotes and your citations. Make a note of your conclusions. Just barely knowing your thesis and the order of your body paragraphs isn’t enough for a Procrastinator to solidly fall back on in a crisis. You already have a detailed outline? Refer back to the previous paragraph. Just get started! If you finish it before the due date, you can have a peer read it over, ask your professor any clarifying questions, or just enjoy the fact that the stress is off your shoulders.
Uh Oh! You procrastinated too long and the assignment isn’t going to get in on time! What do you do?
If you have a professor who allows it and it’s still the day of, ask for an extension! I’ve had very few professors who weren’t understanding if I properly communicated my needs and let them know I needed more time. Obviously, check your syllabus before asking to avoid embarrassment, but the odds that they’re going to be grading at one in the morning are extremely slim, unless they’re literally insane.
Turning an assignment in late is also better than not turning it in at all. Put in effort to get it done on time, but if it’s 11:55 and you’ve got three more pages to go, don’t give up! Work for maybe another thirty minutes, set an alarm for a little earlier than usual, and get it done in the morning. Then, turn it in late. Nothing worse can happen than if you didn’t turn it in, even if you lose a few points. I’ve even had professors not take off the late points that were very prominently mentioned in the syllabus when I turned an assignment in at nine in the morning. And if you use Canvas and miss the little confetti animation that graces your screen when you turn an assignment in on time, here’s a tip: add ?confetti=true to the end of the URL (yes, including the question mark). You turned the assignment in at all. I’m proud of you. You deserve the confetti. Hack the coding and get yourself some confetti.
With all my experiences procrastinating, I know that it’s hard to stop. I still do it all the time now. I’m writing this article at 6:00 on Saturday to meet our article minimum for the week because I’m our chapter’s Editor and I forgot I signed up to write one.
If you find you really can’t focus, have trouble getting started on assignments, or struggle to manage your time, I encourage you to reach out for help. Whether utilizing your school’s academic resources or reaching out to mental health professionals for ADHD testing, there are tangible ways you can improve your habits and make it easier to do work on time. Getting diagnosed with ADHD was one of the best things I ever did, because not only does medication and professional resources really help, just knowing I’m not “lazy” or a “bad student” is super beneficial for my mindset. If you have an ADHD diagnosis already, consider reaching out to your school’s disability services; oftentimes, you can get extra time on exams and assignments if you have a documented disability (You might not need this- I have no trouble on exams because adrenaline keeps me focused, so personally don’t need to reach out, but I have friends who do. Everyone is different!). Most important, though, is to remember to not put an insane amount of pressure on yourself, or beat yourself up for not completing something on time. It’s not the end of the world- it’s a learning experience. Your life won’t end because you lost five points for turning in an essay late, but you will use the experience to inform your choices the next time.
Good luck, my friend. Now, go do your homework.
Resources
Emmanuel’s Counseling Center: https://www.emmanuel.edu/student-life/student-health-and-counseling/counseling-center.html
Emmanuel’s Academic Resource Center: https://www.emmanuel.edu/academics/academic-resources/academic-resource-center.html
Emmanuel’s Disability Support Services: https://www.emmanuel.edu/academics/academic-resources/academic-resource-center/disability-support-services.html
Emmanuel’s Emergency Care Resources: https://www.emmanuel.edu/student-life/student-health-and-counseling/counseling-center/emergency-care.html