100 Ways To Decrease Procrastination For College Students (written in 2010)

Back in 2010, somewhere on the UC Davis campus, on one of the many nights where I was determined to solve my entire life, I wrote this list. 

Through one of my many internet browsing binge sessions, I had discovered a problem solving exercise that involved creating a list of 100 ways to solve said problem. To learn more about that exercise, click here. 

The basic idea is that the first 10-20 ideas on the list are obvious and not that insightful. By the end of the list, say from 85-100, those ideas will be more of the "aha!" type. That's the idea anyways. And plus...it's all for-fuckin-not if we don't apply the ideas in real life. Whiiich was the case for me barring maybe the first hour after finishing the list. (classic Gabe)

Whether you lurk social media too much, play video games for too long, or smoke weed (or drink beers) when really you should studying, the following list will give you 100 ideas on things that you can do to decrease procrastination.

Enjoy!


100 Ways To Decrease Procrastination For College Students

Photo by ALotOfPeople/iStock / Getty Images

Photo by ALotOfPeople/iStock / Getty Images

  1. Don’t turn on the laptop unless need be

  2. Don’t go on facebook until the end of the day

  3. Don’t go on facebook at all

  4. Understand that youtube won’t delete videos

  5. Understand that fantasy BB doesn’t need to be checked until the games are done

  6. Finish what’s most important first

  7. Take 10 – 20 minute breaks, not 1 hour

  8. Eat and take breaks at the same time, not separately

  9. Don’t smoke until everything is finished

  10. Know what you want to get done

  11. Don’t linger, just get up and do something

  12. Sleep at an earlier time

  13. Wake up at an earlier time

  14. Go to the library to do hw

  15. Go to the lounge to do hw

  16. Don’t do lengthy hw in room

  17. Use your damn planner

  18. Save emails for later

  19. Save blogging for later

  20. Don’t lurk people on facebook, dear god

  21. Don’t clean the room until night time

  22. Don’t do work at home, therefore no cleaning required

  23. Do things on a schedule, not randomly

  24. If you didn’t plan on smoking, don’t smoke

  25. if you take a break, limit it to 10 – 20 minutes

  26. one game of brawl on a break only

  27. one game of cod on a break only

  28. don’t watch dexter until the end of the day

  29. one episode of office on a break only

  30. write your daily schedule the night before

  31. don’t write the next day’s schedule until you finish the first one

  32. go study with a friend

  33. if you want to do something fun, do it on a break

  34. understand that assignments are easier than they sound

  35. understand that assignments are easier when started earlier

  36. don’t eat TOO much, you get lazy as fuck

  37. no smoking unless hw is finished

  38. don’t sleep late as fuck, 2 am max

  39. when they go smoke, instead, go run

  40. don’t go on stumbleupon, unless it’s the weekend (that shit will kill you)

  41. if you’re not going to do hw, at least do something good

  42. don’t do work at home!!!!! Go to the damn lounge

  43. don’t go immediately home after classes, do work somewhere

  44. only take a break after 1 hour of diligent studying (drink water)

  45. don’t change to sweats until it’s night time (you bum)

  46. take a look at assignments immediately when they’re assigned (note difficult and time)

  47. take advantage of odd hours

  48. actually put some effort into your assignments

  49. log out of facebook each night, and don’t check until hw is finished next day

  50. don’t come home unless hw is finished

  51. go to the library EVERYDAY

  52. the farther away from home the better

  53. stop going to the toilet every 10 minutes, foreal

  54. instead of sweats go with either jeans or shorts with long socks and a hoody

  55. just learn to say no

  56. stick to your agenda, stick to your agenda

  57. understand that school is MOST important

  58. don’t smoke after 12pm if you’ve finished hw

  59. seriously, facebook STILL hasn’t changed so stop looking

  60. don’t check blogger, facebook, youtube, or fantasy basketball until hw is finished

  61. work out in the morning

  62. basketball at night

  63. go the library after the last class of the day (don’t come back)

  64. understand that everyone else is doing hw too

  65. don’t do midterm studying at home

  66. don’t do papers at home

  67. chem hw can be done at home, but not advised

  68. do engineering hw with Adrian

  69. save household chores for the weekend

  70. cleaning can be done after hw

  71. understand that the assignments cant be turned in later

  72. understand that most of the shit you do instead of them CAN be done later…whenever actually

  73. do things that are ESSENTIAL (hw, study, read, workout, eat, sleep, shower)

  74. if you’re going to procrastinate, do it socially

  75. don’t eat sunflower seeds during break, oh god the iodine intake

  76. after math class do the hw

  77. after crd class look at upcoming assignments (write in planner)

  78. after chem. class look at how long hw is

  79. after eng. Graphics, look at how long the assignment is

  80. LIBRARY god damnit

  81. Find other good places to study

  82. Don’t spend more than 2 hours on one assignment if not necessary

  83. Always do brainstorms and outlines for essays

  84. You need at least one day per 2 pages if you want to write a good essay

  85. You need at least a week before a midterm or test to study well

  86. Don’t tell anyone your plans, commit to yourself that’s it

  87. “fuck it” is not acceptable during weekdays, even Thursday

  88. It’s possible to eat and do work

  89. 15 minute naps are your friend

  90. Don’t snooze

  91. Go to wellman an hour early and do hw before class

  92. Finish most of the assignment 2 days before it’s due

  93. You’re most efficient when you take your time

  94. Quit the overly excessive schedules and routines, you’re too ambitious in that aspect

  95. Begin with the hardest assignment (but don’t necessarily finish)

  96. Do homework on Friday and Saturday

  97. Commit at least 4 – 5 hours of homework a day, you know that’s right

  98. “I have homework” is a valid excuse if you actually do it

  99. You get the most quality work when you give yourself enough time

  100. The internet is the primary source of procrastination, BY FAR