By Chelsea Moran
Pulse Staff Reporter
College can be stressful for students trying to lead a balanced life of school assignments, social time, a job and a healthy eight hours of sleep. The struggle to have it all inevitably leads to procrastination.
“The thought of not doing well causes me to procrastinate,” said Darsy Herrera, Palo Alto College freshman.
Fear of failure can be crippling, to the point that it causes procrastination, which in turn adds extra stress to already high stress levels. If fear is keeping you from succeeding, perhaps you should get an assignment buddy. This is someone who will hold you accountable for accomplishing tasks and turning in quality work; you can return the favor.
Check out all the free campus resources available to help you succeed. Take advantage of the free tutoring labs PAC offers in science, math, reading and writing in the Gutiérrez Learning Lab. You can find more information and online resources covering more subjects on PAC’s Tutoring Service page.
Some students think their best work comes out at the last-minute, like undeclared PAC sophomore Julian Villa, who said, “I feel I do better under pressure.”
Other students have difficulty getting started.
“If assignments are a long ways to go, or I have other things to do, I put it off,” said PAC Sophomore Laura Perez.
Time management is key to success. It’s easy to put off an assignment, but instead of procrastinating until the last-minute, try planning things out in advance. Break down assignments into smaller tasks that can be done daily or weekly. This way you have time for corrections and less stress is involved.
Another major cause of procrastination among students is easily accessible distractions. Some students will reward themselves while studying by giving themselves social media time for every task they achieve. Others may reward themselves with YouTube videos or Netflix. While these things may seem like good incentives to get work done, they are not the best method. Clicking away from online research to the Netflix tab can lead to binge watching a new season and a late or sub-par assignment.
When brainstorming ways to prevent procrastination, Herrera mentioned apps to help prevent it. Some recommendations are App Detox, Block Site, Stay Focused and Flex Time. App Detox will do just as the title states, detox you from unproductive apps and slowly decrease the time you spend on them in order to spend more time being productive.
Block Site is a Google Chrome extension that will block you from using distracting websites during work or school hours. Stay Focused uses the reward system but is more effective because it will prevent you from procrastinating once your allotted play time is over. Flex Time is an application similar to Block Site. The app will allow you to make a schedule of activities you need to accomplish, and your computer will keep you on track all day.
Procrastination does not have to control your life. With many resources available, anyone can shake off unproductive habits, raise their grades and be stress free.
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