HOW TO TACKLE PROCRASTINATION AND STUDY EFFICIENTLY

You can watch your favourite TV series but you can’t think of opening your book for your exam. Why is this happening? 

Laziness strikes perfectly when its time to open your physics textbook and start to read it! We try so hard to dodge this bullet for the whole academic year until we’re left with a few weeks for your final examination to occur.

This is known as procrastination. We feel that we can do this later and ace it, or we think it’s not much work to do, so we postpone it to later. Then all of a sudden, you realize that you have a whole syllabus to catch up with. Insane. Reality hits and now you’re too late. 

Why is this happening and how can I avoid this, once and for all?

Sebastian Vettel, the No.1 Formula 1 racer in the world once said, ‘if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail’. What we don’t understand is, it just takes 2 or 3 hours in a day to read and understand what we’re trying to study. But we make the mistake of leaving things for the last moment and by then, it’s too late. 

Below are 5 tips for controlling your mind from procrastinating, thereby taking full ownership of your study process –

THE ROUTINE – Wake up early in the morning, clean your room, grab that coffee and get started! You need to always keep your study space tidy – it gives the motivation for you to study automatically. You can also listen to soothing music if it helps you. Not only does it provide stress relief, but it also helps to focus. 

MAKING A TO-DO LIST – Start by making a list, jotting down what you should study for the day. Remember, one task at a time tricks the mind into thinking that you are in control of the situation. Before you go to bed, you have to make sure that you cross off each point off your list, whatever happens.

BEAT YOUR PROCRASTINATION THOUGHTS – You will always have this urgency to do your work tomorrow. It just happens. Being conscious means you can control your thoughts. So the next time you think of doing your work the next day, you will learn to say NO to it and start doing your work the same day. 

GROUP STUDY WORKS – Group study could be your thing. It is always motivating when you and your friends are all in the same boat. This enables you to gather the knowledge of your friends as well as discuss test papers, notes, etc, making it easier for you. After all, friends are there beside you whenever you need to clarify a doubt.

USE THIS STUDY TECHNIQUE – Read the chapter, do some solo brainstorming, and then write it down in your own words. In this way, most concepts would slowly begin to make sense. Once you’ve reached your limit, take a nap for 20 minutes. Studies suggest that a power nap refreshes the brain and body as well as boost the memory. After your nap, read over your written notes twice and then tackle another chapter in another module. This works wonders.

At the end of the day, mindset is what we need to change in the first place. Thus, we always recommend you to take a few days off to study properly, just not a week just before exams!