Time Strategies - That Was Due Today? Oh No.

(Procrastination-meme from Self.com)

My initial schedule was Tuesday and Thursday, but I think I will move the schedule around so I am able to work ahead. I will most likely do the readings all at once and then the next day work on the writing portion of the class. This can allow me to work on other class work and/or allow me to catch up if illness or anything unexpected were to happen.

Procrastination and I are old friends. Even before I knew the word procrastination and the influence it had on me. Procrastinating has even become a hobby of sorts. When a teacher/professor tells the class that a particular project is not something you can accomplish overnight, the first thought that crosses my mind is CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

However, I do not think I have that excuse now since I am only taking nine hours this semester. I have two classes on Monday and Wednesday, one three-hour class on Tuesday and then this online course. I feel obligated to start early on schoolwork now, and I have no idea how that notion came to be born.

Since I have issues with procrastination, I thought it would be appropriate and beneficial for me to read an article about procrastination.

Four Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination
This article focuses on four questions you can ask yourself that help you get motivated to punch procrastination in the face.
     1. What one thing can I do to get started?
I relate to this question, usually I have so much I need to get done that I do not know where to start... So I watch a movie or take a nap instead. However, from personal experience, once you get started on something, the task does not seem as daunting.
     2. What are my three biggest priorities today?
I am so guilty of this! If I have a lot of things to do, I will most likely pick the least stressful or unimportant tasks to do first and when I finally finish those I am too tired to work on tasks I really needed to complete. Or evening making goals for the day. Goals should not be vague like "make progress" rather the goal should be "read three Digital Design chapters today".
     3. How can I make this easier?
This question talks about finding the simple solutions to big problems.
"There's no shame in making something difficult easier for yourself to complete."
However, I took this question in a different route than it talked about in the article. I have a tendency to have higher expectations over my assignment, so I tend to stress about the assignment and I won't do them because I do not think I have the ability to finish the assignment to those expectations. I have gone to professors to talk with them about their expectations for a particular assignment, and more often than not, their expectations for me as a student is lower than what my expectations were for me.
     4. What will go wrong if I don't do this now?
This question can apply to many different scenarios. A couple of semesters ago, I put everything off until the last minute; I mean every assignment from every class until the last minute. I had eleven assignments from different course all due within a week and a half. I received high A's and high B's for each assignment, but it was NOT worth the physical, mental and emotional drain on my body. I ended up sick for a week because my body gave out on me. Ever since then I have not pushed assignments back until the last minute because some (or eleven) big assignments are due at the same time.