When it comes to procrastinating, I would 100% say that I am found guilty. The high school workload is a whirlwind of deadlines, due dates, and the burden of completion and grades. More often than not, I find myself scrambling at the last minute to scribble out answers from the night before. And over the past few years, I have realized that procrastination is not the way to go through high school. I have realized that procrastination causes a lot of unnecessary stress, and that procrastination makes you unprepared.

But despite the countless number of notorious reasons on why I shouldn’t procrastinate, nothing seems to change. From watching multiple episodes of Netflix, experimenting with new hairstyles, or falling asleep, you could say I am the queen of procrastination. And although I may struggle with applying these to myself, I thought I would share my learnings about procrastination and how to stop it.

1. Set a goal and time limit

Most days, students are loaded with hours of homework. If you’re anything like me, even the slightest Netflix or Instagram update notification is a trigger to put a pause on homework. What I have found (or heard) to be helpful is setting a time limit. By setting aside different hours for different subjects, it’s easier to complete assignments on time.

2. Rewarding yourself

After an extended period of working on homework, it can also be found helpful to reward yourself. For example, during the past month of exams, I was often found hard at work, studying and cramming for the big test. Instead of staring off into space and daydreaming, reward yourself and take a break, and then later come back focused and ready to work.

3. Use your free weekend time to work ahead

Although it may seem like a bummer to do a lot of homework on the weekends, working ahead in classes is an easy way to reduce procrastination of a lot of work during the week. I would advise dedicating a day to homework and relaxing. Set a time limit for how long you plan on working, and then reward yourself after.

4. Find something unique to help you study

Studying for long hours is never fun. From experience, I personally feel like working with friends helps me stay on task. Other options include listening to music, writing with colored pens, or making up rhymes to remember information.

I have realized that I need to stop making excuses for why things can’t get done. I need to start focusing on how to benefit from time and use it wisely. Coming from the queen of procrastination herself, procrastination is the thief of time and should be put to a stop.