1. Take a look in the mirror: Procrastination cannot be changed unless you're willing and able to be honest with yourself about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors which cause it.
2. Assess your level of motivation to change: Overcoming procrastination takes work and it's definitely not easy. If you are not motivated to change your current study habits, learning time management and other procrastination techniques won’t be helpful. Think about your goals for being in college and what it will take for you to reach them, for instance, you can devote more time to study each week. Do you have the motivation to do extra work?
3. Set small goals for yourself: Large goals will lead to quick failure and frustration. Setting small, achievable goals and holding yourself accountable for reaching them is the best way to change your study habits and overcome procrastination. A few small changes can quickly lead to large changes as you experience the achievement and rewards of reducing procrastination.
4. Once small goals are achieved, think about setting larger goals: Goal setting now becomes an ongoing process of setting goals, analyzing success and failure, and using this learning to set new goals. If you find yourself failing to reach your goals, try scaling them down. If you feel like you can’t scale them down any further, reflect on your level of motivation.
5. Don’t get discouraged by setbacks: The process of overcoming procrastination will involve relapse. Since it is impossible to avoid failure, the key is bouncing back and pushing forward. When you do relapse, take time to reflect on the reasons for it and use that insight to improve your next goal-setting session.
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