Picture by Rachel Fisher
Procrastination is a word I had not heard, let alone could pronounce, before starting university. As the current situation means we are now learning from home, or supposed to be, procrastination is starting to become all too familiar with many of us.
It is something that has probably been part of most of our lives, even without us realising. It might be that you put off making the dinner by watching one more episode of your current series binge, or that you hold off going in the shower in case you miss that all-important tweet from your celebrity idol. However, in education, it can be something that impacts on your studies and this is the case now, perhaps more than ever.
As we all have certain restrictions we must follow, imposed by the governments of the UK, we have lost our "normal" routine, meaning we are in this strange situation where we are not brushing our teeth till 3 pm and finally getting dressed at 5 pm, only to watch the 6 pm news then get our pyjamas back on, all while out latest essay sits neglected in a cloud drive somewhere.
Tim Urban, the blogger over at Wait But Why suggests in his Ted Talk, shared below, there are two forms of procrastination. One he says based on deadlines, which is often one we have more control over and the second, which is the more dangerous one, based when there are no deadlines bear in mind. This means the effects of this longterm procrastination go on and on and this is the kind that a lot of us may be experiencing now, even though we might have some deadlines based on our studies.
Something that is really important right now is to not let this longterm procrastination manifest and develop. It is easy for me to sit here and type this blog, suggesting to you to get a routine for every day, get out your bed, make it, have breakfast, get washed and dressed and go for a walk, but this is something that's so important right now. We don't want this chronic procrastination to develop into a decline in our mental health such as depressions and anxieties. It's for these reasons we need to have routine and structure in our days, especially during these restrictions imposed on us.
Signs of Depression to look out for:
Signs of Anxiety to look out for:
In the video by the Dean of my school, Prof Lynn Kilbride, Lynn talks of the book Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, which talks about ones ability to choose, so please make the choice to look after yourself and have a routine. Please do check out the Helpful Resources section of the website to access links to advise and information on staying well at home by having structure and routine in your day to try and prevent this chronic procrastination and the longer consequences it can impose.
Find Tim Urban's Ted Talk here and his blog post on How to Beat Procrastination.