Something that makes life harder for high school students is procrastination and wasting time. Speaking from personal experience, I understand how frustrating and stressful it can be to try to get everything done the night before, whether it be studying , annotating at the last minute or finishing the entire math packet in one sitting.
In addition, it doesn’t help that we have so many distractions with social media, sports or even just trying to choose the right music for your study session. A lot of these issues come down to procrastination, and managing your distractions. I want to give you some solutions and ideas to help improve not only your study habits, but also the way you go about getting other important things done throughout the day.
To start off, I am going to focus on eliminating the academic side of procrastination. This type of procrastination is usually harder to fight, because the majority of the time you don’t feel like doing homework, or studying for that class that you don’t have any interest in. One thing that I found worked well for managing my procrastination for schoolwork was working on it first thing when I got home, as well as dividing the work based on my classes. I suggest completing the hardest classes first, so you can get them out of the way and then enjoy working on the easier ones. Additionally, make sure to prioritize timely assignments like projects, or studying for tests above your other assignments.
The second piece of advice that I would give about limiting procrastination for other daily tasks is writing a to-do list at the beginning of every day, with all the things that you SHOULD be getting done that day. When it gets to around noon, check the list and see how much you have gotten done, and focus on the remainder of the tasks for the rest of the day. By creating a list you make your daily tasks tangible, so your mind will see them as more of a must do then a “maybe later”. When you are ready to go to bed, review the list and check off all the things that you have done, and notice what you missed and reflect on why. The act of crossing the items off your list can physically show you what you got done, and give you some gratification for all of your hard work.
Screen time is another big waster of your precious time as a student, any getting notifications while completing assignments can cause distractions and may initiate a 20 minute scrolling session if left unchecked. One way you can keep yourself focused while doing any type of focused work is to put your phone out of reach, by leaving it in another room, or at a charger. By doing this you are less likely to hear notifications or try to go and check it while working. There is also the option of setting up a screen time limit for distracting apps during the time you are studying. By making negative, time sucking actions like picking up your phone, you are re-enforcing the good habit of staying focused when studying , and by doing so, you make it easier for your future self to excel in the same environment.
The last piece of advice I will give you is that the best way to get things done timely is to make them part of your daily routine or habits, so that you can do them like clockwork each and every day. Personalize your schedule to your schedule to your situation, and try to follow this blueprint to minimize your procrastination.