Identifying the Enemy... Later

Procrastination. Everyone’s biggest enemy. It’s one of the reasons why I’m writing this blog post JUST before it’s due. Future employers, I promise I will be better at this by the time you hire me. No worries.

The common factors that lead to procrastination:

1. The due date is just too far away.
In your head, two weeks is plenty of time. You have it planned out what you’re going to do so no way it’s going to take all time. Next thing you have two days and just a stack of plans and no actions. No good.

2. You have no clue where to start.
Nothing sounds right or everybody else is doing that. You try to be as original as possible but you just can’t wrap your head around a good solid idea.

3. You’re two episodes away from the season finale of your current Netflix binge and you JUST have to know what happens.
Let’s face it. Fuller House just came out on Netflix and to treat myself for writing this, I’m going to bucker down all weekend and watch that. It’s a disease that has no cure.

Although procrastination habits are easy to fall into, they are not something that I would want to follow me into my professional career. Good ideas and plans lose their ability to turn into Great ideas and plans whenever not enough time is put into them. Relying on last minute things to fall in place causes stress and with public relations already being a high stress career, why add on the extra?
Here are some tools that have helped me:

1. Just do at least one thing a day.
If the date is two weeks away, make an effort to do a small part of the project a day. If it’s a paper, find the sources one day and write your thesis the next. That way throughout the entire time period, you’re being proactive about it.

2. Find a place and make it your “working spot.”
Sometimes to get in the right mindset, you have to be in the right place. I tend to do work from my bed but if I know the project is going to take full concentration, I relocate to a library. Being in a place outside my room, pushes me to do my work because I don’t want to waste my time there and I’m usually ready to get back in bed.

3. Schedule yourself breaks.
While working I put my phone, and if I can, my laptop out of reach that way I cannot be easily tempted. Then I schedule myself with breaks where I can check social media or watch a 15-minute clip of Netflix. It helps with keeping my focus and so I don’t feel overwhelmed.

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