Writing Procrastination is very common, but we should treat it seriously.

The below tips are from Dr. Itamar Shatz’s how-to-stop-procrastinating. The long but definitely useful tips are available here (https://solvingprocrastination.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating/)

• Set a specific and realistic goal. For example, if you want to start exercising, a good goal might be “manage to run for 1 mile straight by the end of the month”, while bad goals might be “do some running” (unspecific) and “run a marathon by the end of the month” (unrealistic).
• Assess your procrastination. First, identify situations where you delay unnecessarily, to figure out how you procrastinate (e.g., by browsing social media). Then, think about those situations to also figure out where and when you procrastinate (e.g., on starting or finishing tasks, in the morning or evening, at home or the library). Finally, figure out why you procrastinate potentially after reading why people procrastinate.
• Create an action plan based on relevant anti-procrastination techniques while accounting for the goals that you set and the nature of your procrastination problem.
• Implement your plan, and then monitor your progress and refine your approach, primarily by figuring out which techniques work for you and how you can implement them most effectively.

Remember that imperfect action is generally better than no action

Written by YangHyun Kim (ykim39@albany.edu)