By YONG CHUN KHUEN
“This report is due two weeks later! I still have plenty of time to do my research and work on it.”
Then before you realize it, the deadline is getting nearer and suddenly it’s the day before the deadline and you have to rush your work throughout the night to avoid late submission that leads to marks deduction.
Does this situation sound familiar to you? If yes, you have been procrastinating.
The truth is, everyone procrastinates at some point. The difference is the outcome of your procrastination.
“If you want to procrastinate, you must first know your own capabilities or else just do not do it,” said Stream Coordinator of School of Communication, Chew Yuin-Y, 30.
Symptoms of procrastination
1. Never ready to start your work – Once you are being informed with assignments, you rarely take the initiative to start them until the lecturers start to rush you for progression check.
2. Often finish work at last minute – On the night before your submission date or even the day itself, you are always rushing your assignments. You are confident to finish your work for that period of time. Stress is the best motivation to you.
3. Not proud of your work – As long as you don’t fail your module because of the assignment, you are fine with it. There is no sense of accomplishment when you finish your work. Assignments are just sets of require tasks to you.
4. Lack of care – You never tend to worry about how assignments can affect your final result. In fact, you don’t even mind to retake the subject. ‘Stay chill, stay cool, just be happy’ is your life motto.
Reasons for procrastination
1. Over confident – You believe in your ability to complete tasks even if you only have a short span of time. However, there are times where you underestimate the tasks put yourself into troubles.
2. Fear – You never believe that you are good at anything. You are not confident if you possess the required skills to complete the tasks. You feel that others are always better that you. These are the things you always tell yourself. In the end, you spend more time worry about your assignments than actually doing it.
3. Poor time management – Everyone has 24 hours in a day, no one gets more than that. You prefer to participate in entertainment or socialize activities rather than investing time for your academic. There are always so many things to do and so little time for you.
4. Personal problems – Family problems, relationship problems, financial problems, peer problems are always surrounding you. It is hard for you to focus on your assignments as you constantly worry about these problems. In the end, academics become another problem for you.
How to cope with procrastination
1. Set goals – Understand your strengths and weaknesses and therefore set goals for yourself. If the tasks are within your strengths, give yourself minimal time to complete them as you know you can handle them well. For your weaknesses, be ready to spend more time on them seek guidance from people who are good at them.
2. Create productive environment – Prepare a noise-free environment for yourself when you are working on your assignments. That is how you can stay focus on the tasks that you need to complete. It is also advisable to put your phones away while doing you assignments so that it would not divert your attention.
3. Have proper time planning – Know when you should be focusing on your academic and when you can have downtime for yourself. Strike a balance in life and you will be more motivated and confident to conquer the tasks.
4. Seek help – Don’t hesitate to seek for help. No one is perfect. Everyone has their bad times where they feel hopeless. Understand your weaknesses and have the determination to work on improving them. You may visit the Counselling and Psychological Services Centre (CPSC) located on block A and talk them over with the friendly counselors there.
There are no instant solutions in fixing the procrastinator in you. Give yourself time while learning to manage yourself. Just remember that you are not alone, everyone else is learning to deal with it.
“This report is due two weeks later! I still have plenty of time to do my research and work on it.”
Then before you realize it, the deadline is getting nearer and suddenly it’s the day before the deadline and you have to rush your work throughout the night to avoid late submission that leads to marks deduction.
Does this situation sound familiar to you? If yes, you have been procrastinating.
The truth is, everyone procrastinates at some point. The difference is the outcome of your procrastination.
“If you want to procrastinate, you must first know your own capabilities or else just do not do it,” said Stream Coordinator of School of Communication, Chew Yuin-Y, 30.
Symptoms of procrastination
1. Never ready to start your work – Once you are being informed with assignments, you rarely take the initiative to start them until the lecturers start to rush you for progression check.
2. Often finish work at last minute – On the night before your submission date or even the day itself, you are always rushing your assignments. You are confident to finish your work for that period of time. Stress is the best motivation to you.
3. Not proud of your work – As long as you don’t fail your module because of the assignment, you are fine with it. There is no sense of accomplishment when you finish your work. Assignments are just sets of require tasks to you.
4. Lack of care – You never tend to worry about how assignments can affect your final result. In fact, you don’t even mind to retake the subject. ‘Stay chill, stay cool, just be happy’ is your life motto.
Reasons for procrastination
1. Over confident – You believe in your ability to complete tasks even if you only have a short span of time. However, there are times where you underestimate the tasks put yourself into troubles.
2. Fear – You never believe that you are good at anything. You are not confident if you possess the required skills to complete the tasks. You feel that others are always better that you. These are the things you always tell yourself. In the end, you spend more time worry about your assignments than actually doing it.
3. Poor time management – Everyone has 24 hours in a day, no one gets more than that. You prefer to participate in entertainment or socialize activities rather than investing time for your academic. There are always so many things to do and so little time for you.
4. Personal problems – Family problems, relationship problems, financial problems, peer problems are always surrounding you. It is hard for you to focus on your assignments as you constantly worry about these problems. In the end, academics become another problem for you.
How to cope with procrastination
1. Set goals – Understand your strengths and weaknesses and therefore set goals for yourself. If the tasks are within your strengths, give yourself minimal time to complete them as you know you can handle them well. For your weaknesses, be ready to spend more time on them seek guidance from people who are good at them.
2. Create productive environment – Prepare a noise-free environment for yourself when you are working on your assignments. That is how you can stay focus on the tasks that you need to complete. It is also advisable to put your phones away while doing you assignments so that it would not divert your attention.
3. Have proper time planning – Know when you should be focusing on your academic and when you can have downtime for yourself. Strike a balance in life and you will be more motivated and confident to conquer the tasks.
4. Seek help – Don’t hesitate to seek for help. No one is perfect. Everyone has their bad times where they feel hopeless. Understand your weaknesses and have the determination to work on improving them. You may visit the Counselling and Psychological Services Centre (CPSC) located on block A and talk them over with the friendly counselors there.
There are no instant solutions in fixing the procrastinator in you. Give yourself time while learning to manage yourself. Just remember that you are not alone, everyone else is learning to deal with it.