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How do I stop procrastinating

I used to be a diligent student when I was younger. But in the last few years, my grades went down. I got really lazy and developed bad habits.
Now my grades are terrible. I set myself goals but I never have enough willpower. I always get distracted by other things.
I have no idea how to get back on track.
Reply 1
I understand it can be tough to build good study habits. I recommend building a daily routine that allows for a good amount of studying to be done without distractions. Find a few free hours during the day when you can just get studying done; I use the first few hours of the day as my brain is more fresh in the morning. Try and stick to this routine but take it step by step and build it up gradually. Trust me once you get into the routine, it becomes a lot easier to be productive. You just have to start.
Original post by scienceyyy
I used to be a diligent student when I was younger. But in the last few years, my grades went down. I got really lazy and developed bad habits.
Now my grades are terrible. I set myself goals but I never have enough willpower. I always get distracted by other things.
I have no idea how to get back on track.

saaaaaaame :o:o:redface:
the prob for me is i do have idea but as above poster said it quite right ... need to step up with routine of revisions..:dumbells:
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by scienceyyy
I used to be a diligent student when I was younger. But in the last few years, my grades went down. I got really lazy and developed bad habits.
Now my grades are terrible. I set myself goals but I never have enough willpower. I always get distracted by other things.
I have no idea how to get back on track.


Hi scienceyyy :hello:

Finding the motivation to study independently can be really difficult - especially when you're not used to it.

I would recommend trying to find some sort of structure for your study, including regular breaks. One point to remember is 'Study SMART Not Long'. It's much easier to implement a regular and successful study schedule if you are studying SMART.

SMART stands for:

o Set yourself goals.
o Make study techniques that promote greater results.
o Ask for help.
o Reward yourself for progress.
o Take a Break.

S: Set yourself goals for study. For example, make up an exam/essay question and work towards answering it.
M: Remember VARK. Are you a Visual learner, Audio learner, Reading learner or Kinetic learner. Use study techniques that will promote the best learning for yourself.
A: If you are struggling with anything ask your teacher for help. Their job is to help you with your studies. Alternatively, use study guides or the internet to help breakdown tough subjects.
R: When you hit your goals, complete work and meet important deadlines reward yourself with treats. For example, make watching an episode of your favourite show your reward for completing tasks.
T: When you’ve finished studying take breaks. Go for a walk, hang with friends or get a cup of tea and watch TV. It’s important not to overdo revising.

Hopefully, by creating a structured method of study, with breaks inbetween, this might help you stay on task.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Melissa :five:
Original post by scienceyyy
I used to be a diligent student when I was younger. But in the last few years, my grades went down. I got really lazy and developed bad habits.
Now my grades are terrible. I set myself goals but I never have enough willpower. I always get distracted by other things.
I have no idea how to get back on track.

I Scienceyyy,

We don’t beat chronic procrastination., We learn to collaborate with it to reduce it. And the primary roots are the same Emotions. Emotions are the root, time is the symptom.
Many people mistake goals setting, time management issues with chronic procrastination. They offer times management and task clarification tips which don’t work.
That's why you are prone to delay your actions over and over, even if you have plenty of time, even if you know what needs to be done from a logical perspective.

For instance, When you know you should be doing your homework but you don’t feel like doing it now, It is because there exists inertia that is holding you back at an emotional level (not at a logic level). 
Therefore instead of trying to rely on motivation, you should aim for removing the inertia first.



I believe you have 3 issues:
Issue 1: Too many regrets are holding you back
Issue 2: You lack simple techniques to prevent you from running away
Issue 3: You didn't take time to clarify your "why"

Issue 1: Too much regret are holding you back
You have accumulated too much resentment, guilt, and regret over yourself. Moreover, you are ruminating in the past.
This combines holding you back a lot and it is taken place behind the scene.
You need to let go of self-criticism quickly.
For that there are two effective methods:

Technic 1:Replace Guilt with Self-Compassion
Step 1: Say " I apologize for missing so much opportunity to work"
Step 2: mentally review each previous time you planned to work and didn't. Agree it was a mistake

Technic 2: Restart doing SPort intensively.
I mean at least 3 times a week. running & workout.
It will have 2 quick impacts.
first, it will reduce your negative emotions drastically
Secondly, It will reset and trigger your inner self again so you can easily activate tapping into the available energy you are not using. This will increase unconscious tracking. It is the phenomenon that allows you to do things even if you didn't carefully plan for them.
I greatly recommend you do SPort first thing in the day if you want to make sure your day will be productive unconsciously.


Issue 2: You lack simple techniques to prevent you from running away
Once you are free from negative emotions, you have to make sure when you set out to do a task, you do it when it comes down to it; So The aim to reduce your inner resistance before deep work sessions so that you execute on tasks in alignment with your goal setting. Perform these techniques at least 1 day before doing.


Technique 1: Reduce perceived difficulty and reduce distractibility: Do Visualization
When you are thinking about doing something you know you should do and you don’t like it, instead of shifting your mind to something else, do this

Step 1 Picture yourself being on the place where you are supposed to be working on that, gathering all the material necessary, reflecting on what the first step could be, start executing
step 2: Imagine how it becomes hard, and it hurts/feels boring
Step 3: Picture yourself succeeding., experiencing the joy of having accomplished the task.

Technique 2: Remove uncertainty: Focus on what you can achieve
When you are thinking about doing something you know you should do and you find it overwhelming or difficult, instead of shifting your mind to something else, do this

Step 1: Focus on the part you are sure you can achieve ( within 1 min, 2 min or 5 min)
Step 2: apply the visualization technique to this part.

Technique 3: Remove Boredom: Focus on what you love.
When you are thinking about doing something you know you should do and you find it boring, instead of shifting your mind to something else, do this:
Step 1: Focus on the part you love
Step 2: Apply the visualization technique to this part.

Example
Let ‘s assume you are a student who doesn’t like the topic “history” that needed to be revised during the next deep work session.
If what you like within “History” is discovering new facts, but you find memorizing dates boring, put your mental focus on the discovery part only.
The process goes like this, Anytime you think “History”,
step 1: A negative association will immediately arise unconsciously: “I hate it”, or I don’t like it or I don’t have time for it or I have better things to do”
Step 2: shift your focus from “I don’t like it to I am going to discover new historical facts”
Step 3: Maintain this mental picture and remember how good you felt the last time you discovered new historical facts.
You will be prepared to work on “history” instead of unconsciously avoiding it.


Issue 3: You didn't take time to clarify your "why"
What is the purpose of your studies?
Why do you do it?
Chances are you can't answer these questions. And it is OK .
But What happens in the last few years before you start going lazy?

You need to dig deeper to figure out what is the starting point from which you start falling apart.
It will remove the unconscious destructive power it has behind the scene since then. It convinces

Technique: Use Freewriting to figure out what the starting point is
Take a piece of paper and answer each question: (repeat writing or speaking aloud 12 times)
1/What do you want to do and what are you doing instead? ( x 12 times)
I want to work on homework Xxx but I am doing activity Yyy instead.
2/ What are you afraid / ashamed of/ sad for / wondering for? List 3 reasons( x 12 times)
I am afraid it would be hard or  that it might be difficult

I fear that it might take a long time
I am pissed of  that i have too much work to do
I fear that it might request too much focus 
I fear that it might be too boring
I regret that I didn’t do it earlier and now I am under pressure again
I fear that I won’t have all the answers to the question
I fear that I won’t understand the topic
I feel angry because  I might not have time to rest a little because of
I feel that unfair that teachers gave so much homework to their students to be done during the holidays
I am ashamed that I  had a bad grade the last time I won’t on it
I wonder if it worth investing too much time
I fear that my family will be disappointed in me if don’t produce a great result in my homework.

I disappointed that people don't value my performances
I don't see what when I am going to use what I m studying etc

As you write, these sentences will trigger ideas and memories of the past; One of them will be the starting point.
You will be healed.

Courage. Don't back down. Don't quit. You can still free yourself from these bad habits to have good grades.
I feel i may be in the same boat. am about to finish my first year of uni, but where I got straight A stars in my a levels (Chemistry, physics, maths and further maths), I seem to be struggling to keep up at uni. We've had two exams now and the first one I was in the first quartile but the second one i ended up in the second quartile though i worked much harder. I really don't know what to do to be honest.
I love my uni course (engineering) but if i have to do this much work and not have it produce results then maybe I'm doing the wrong thing.
i don't know, please help.

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