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It's a stupid habit but I need advice. What should I do to not procrastinate on my work? My grades are dropping and I'm worried if I'll pass this semester...

I had the same problem. The only thing that I could find to stop procrastination was just by pushing myself to do the work that I don't want to do.

Here's an interesting fact for you: Willpower is not a limited resource or a personality trait, like some people have it and some don't. It's more like a muscle; the more often you use it, the easier it gets.

When it comes to procrastination, the hardest part is just doing it, right? Just... sitting down and committing yourself to doing it. There's not really anything anyone can say to make you want to do that, but there's a few things you can do it make it easier:

- designate yourself a period of time in which to do the work. "Between five and six I have to work on my project, mom, please don't disturb me."

-Shut down your computer. Don't just walk away from it or close the lid, actually shut it down. This will tell your brain that all computer-related distractions are Not An Option, so you won't be thinking about it.

- Put on your favourite music, or go buy a bag of awesome candy and only let yourself eat it while you're working. No exceptions. Also, a reward system: If I finish this, I get to do X. If I don't, then I don't.

The key is to set yourself up to make it as easy as possible, and to make it rewarding to do. And if you're tempted to cheat- "I didn't do that homework but I'm going to watch my favourite show tonight ANYWAY," it might seem easy because you're not letting anyone down but yourself, but remember the consequences. You're not just letting your present self down, but you're letting down your future self- the self that is going to have to deal with impatient teachers, parents asking about your grades, your future self who, when you're older and doing it in college, looks back and thinks, "Why didn't I take the time to learn this when it was FREE and I didn't have to worry about all these other things too?!" You owe it to your future self to get going, now, when there's less at stake it doing it now will make it easier to do in the future.

Like a said, willpower is like a muscle. Once you force yourself to do it NOW even though you'd rather do anything else, it will become more of a habit for you to do things you don't necessarily want to do, and that's a skill that will help you for the rest of your life.

i procrastinate a lot too. i usually put on music to pump myself up. never fails if i play murderdolls "nowhere" i'm ready to get to work.

Savagery and Eloquence wrote:

• Show Spoiler

• Here's an interesting fact for you: Willpower is not a limited resource or a personality trait, like some people have it and some don't. It's more like a muscle; the more often you use it, the easier it gets.
  
  When it comes to procrastination, the hardest part is just doing it, right? Just... sitting down and committing yourself to doing it. There's not really anything anyone can say to make you want to do that, but there's a few things you can do it make it easier:
  
  - designate yourself a period of time in which to do the work. "Between five and six I have to work on my project, mom, please don't disturb me."
  
  -Shut down your computer. Don't just walk away from it or close the lid, actually shut it down. This will tell your brain that all computer-related distractions are Not An Option, so you won't be thinking about it.
  
  - Put on your favourite music, or go buy a bag of awesome candy and only let yourself eat it while you're working. No exceptions. Also, a reward system: If I finish this, I get to do X. If I don't, then I don't.
  
  The key is to set yourself up to make it as easy as possible, and to make it rewarding to do. And if you're tempted to cheat- "I didn't do that homework but I'm going to watch my favourite show tonight ANYWAY," it might seem easy because you're not letting anyone down but yourself, but remember the consequences. You're not just letting your present self down, but you're letting down your future self- the self that is going to have to deal with impatient teachers, parents asking about your grades, your future self who, when you're older and doing it in college, looks back and thinks, "Why didn't I take the time to learn this when it was FREE and I didn't have to worry about all these other things too?!" You owe it to your future self to get going, now, when there's less at stake it doing it now will make it easier to do in the future.
  
  Like a said, willpower is like a muscle. Once you force yourself to do it NOW even though you'd rather do anything else, it will become more of a habit for you to do things you don't necessarily want to do, and that's a skill that will help you for the rest of your life.