The worst of the guilts that one could ever have felt is about scrolling through Facebook and Instagram without having done or learnt anything fruitful. The guilt takes serious consequences during exams when looking at the Whatsapp updates of your contacts is not going to help you a lot.
On a serious note, it is mostly the guilt of having wasted a lot of time that makes you waste more time. This is because guilt leads to fear which in turn leads to anxiety. Anxiety affects our mind in such a way that procrastination remains the only way to get over our anxiety.
The exams being around the corner, there are some ways of thinking and acting which would help you manage your time well and help you avoid procrastinating:
1. Tell yourself that you manage your time well:
Well this might seem to go against your morals of always speaking the truth, it is imperative that you tell this lie to yourself, over and over again. By constantly repeating in our head or saying it out loud, our sub conscious mind gradually accepts it as it’s way of working. This method is one which is sure to do long term benefits to your lifestyles.
2. Share your schedule with an audience / friend:
When you make a plan and don’t stick to it, there is only some guilt of not following it. However, if you are constantly asked by a friend or any other form of an audience,this guilt is followed by embarrassment.
This also works in a different way. You will have someone who will constantly ask you about your work and you will constantly have to evaluate and admit the time wasted. Therefore, while most of you have a schedule for studies,you will also have an evaluation of how much time you have wasted. This one works wonders because it keeps one aware about the amount of time wasted. It makes one realise about the time one was supposed to utilise in a task which even our friend ( with whom we usually waste our time) thinks is important.
3. Change your location:
Monotony leads to procrastination. Your bed is your Whatsapp, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Game of thrones Kingdom. When you spend too much time studying in your room around your bed, your brain is very likely going to remind you about the by gone fun days. This will make you go,” let me open my phone for a minute”and this will lead to, ” An hour is so less when you have your phone in your hand”.
So change your location. Go to your siblings room or the most fancy room of your home to study. If you live in or around the campus, try going to the DU/VC lawns to study. You can also try coffee shops, restaurants and college / public libraries.
Changing your location helps, because when your mind gets diverted even for a minute or two, you are quickly reminded by the surroundings that, ” You are here for a reason”. Therefore, the distraction doesn’t last long and you get back to work.
4. Keep on saying “Back To Work” :
The lure of procrastination is such that even after realising that you are wasting your time, you don’t give up on wasting it more. Therefore, the moment you realise that you are wasting your time, start saying, “Back to work, Back to work, Back to Work “. This would get on our nerves and you will put your distractions away and get BACK TO WORK.
5. Remind yourself that a winter Vacation is only a few days away:
In exams we all suddenly invite thoughts such as, ” life is about enjoying”, ” Something as trivial as exams should not come in the way of the spirit of the exciting life I want”. These are all escapist thoughts of your exams days. Remind yourself that you have an entire month of holidays to devout to each of your distractions. This would make you do the work at hand better and will leave you satisfied that all other things can be attended later.
Tooba Towfiq
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