Saving an entire essay for the day before it’s due has never worked out for anyone, yet procrastination remains one of the biggest problems students have to this day. Sometimes the underlying issue is greater than just task avoidance, it can be a method for self-protection. By putting things off for as long as possible, it guarantees the excuse that “there wasn’t enough time” so that if you do fail, that’s what you can blame it on. There are many methods to try out to stop the procrastination cycle before it has the chance to start.

Break up work: Organize work into smaller tasks and prioritize the most important. Creating structure can help build momentum and set you up for success the rest of the day.  

Do short and easy tasks immediately: Getting short tasks out of the way can help prevent the build up of too many assignments which can lead to stress and decision paralysis. If it takes less than five minutes to complete, it’s better to get done first so it’s easier to get started 

Get rid of distractions: Put your phone in a different room or force one of your parents to confiscate it so you don’t get tempted. If you have one hundred thirty seven tabs open, it can also help to close some. 

Snake Pit: Study in a cage dangling over a pit of snakes and force yourself to look down whenever you start to lose motivation. This could work the best when you’re on a time crunch, especially if the rope holding up the cage is old and rotting. 

Saw Trap: Recreate timed traps- I recommend the reverse bear trap or death mask but instead of having to retrieve a key behind your eyeball before the timer goes off, you have to finish reading the Great Gatsby. 

Call a hit on yourself: Hire a professional hit man with the instructions to kill you in exactly 36 hours UNLESS you get all your work done. 

Yart: If all else fails…