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As a college student I often find myself in the predicament of having what always seems like (but never really is) far too much time to complete my assignments. Unlike in high school where assignments were often due the same week if not the day after they are given out, university professors tend to give their students several weeks if not months to complete more lengthy and complicated tasks. From the mind of a professional procrastinator like myself, waiting until the last minute to tackle what is always a more complicated assignment than originally anticipated is a bad habit that I had developed but, amazingly, was able to recently break by coming up practicing what I’ve always known the right way to handle projects: time management.

My last semester in college was one in which I found success (however I will forever despise Geology and also that class received none of the advice offered in this post) in breaking assignments into bite-sized pieces, creating accomplishable and color-coded checklists for myself to complete, and allowing myself enough time to fall slightly behind without feeling overwhelmed if I was graced by the delightful presence of writer’s block, which I’ve found is only curable with time and patience. Had I not managed my time more carefully, the two online classes that I took as well as the in-person Spanish class and upper-level, writing intensive English class that I took paired with Geology which I likely would have failed if not for taking it with my amazing girlfriend who kept my studying somewhat disciplined, would’ve all become far too overwhelming to achieve A’s and B’s like I did. Procrastination is an attribute found in some degree within all of us, and while some of us use the excuse that they perform “better under pressure” as I used to, it is an attribute that should be eradicated if possible because it is completely unnecessary, and the result of carefully considered work is always higher quality and more consistently achievable than trying to catch lightning in a bottle.

For me, discipline is found when I find pleasure in accomplishing tasks and seeing real progress. The work such as presentations and lengthy papers (English Major life, yo) that once seemed daunting and difficult now seems enjoyable and more like a winnable game than a mountainous task . Instead of arbitrarily starting one assignment instead of a more pressing one, quickly becoming distracted, and then giving up to instead play a video game or take a nap (welcome to college!), working backwards from due dates and figuring out what needs to be done each day to complete an assignment most efficiently and effectively has saved my work ethic and has me excited for the next semester of college, which is guaranteed to be more demanding than ever before. Life tends to ask more of you as time goes on, so hopefully you have made yourself more equipped to deal with all of its challenges.

I know this is all fairly straightforward advice, but when actually put into practice, it has worked wonders for me. These things are well-known for a reason, right? The key is consistency and discipline, which we could all improve on. Happy studying — but not now. It’s summer. Just chill for now.