Timeboxing

What is Timeboxing? Is it a clock in a box? A boxing session? Hitting a clock?

Alas, I have the answer for you! In fact, Timeboxing is a time management tool; one that can help you with your productivity and motivation if you are struggling with procrastination. This technique encourages you to focus on time instead of tasks, which is really helpful if you are an ‘overwhelmed’ procrastinator who stresses at the amount of work that you have to do.

It’s simple. All you have to do is allocate a certain number of hours (or days, depending on your deadlines) to each activity. This amount of time is your ‘timebox’. You then work to complete your task within this time and this time only. Why is this effective? Because it not only helps you manage your workload but it also ensures you don’t spend unnecessary time on a task that is not worth it. As procrastinators, we tend to focus on those tasks that have less of a priority. Timeboxing works to address exactly that.

Just follow these simple steps:

1. Estimate how the amount of time each item on your list should take you to complete.
2. Allocate a set amount of time to each one. Make sure to include some time for short breaks and unexpected interruptions. (Strategic, long term planning? I think so!)
3. Set a timer. This will let you know when to move on to the next timebox (task). You can use the Pomodoro Technique here! Just work for timed 25 minute segments, with short 5 minute breaks in between. If you think this won’t work, make sure you set a time that is appropriate for you!
4. Once the timebox is complete, review your progress. If you haven’t managed to finish the task in the allocated time, it is important to analyse your work and ask yourself why this was the case. This will ensure you can better schedule your time for the next session.

Check out https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/timeboxing.htm to read more!

What do you think of the timeboxing technique? Try it and see if it works for you! Be sure to comment below your thoughts! Perhaps join my photo challenge as you do it? Take a selfie of you holding a fruit with a caption on your productivity and the hashtag #letsgetstarted !

And remember, those who are proactive tend to get noticed. If you want to stand out from the crowd, be sure to make a start. Say no more to those last minute cramming sessions, all-nighters and frantic assessment submissions.  #letsgetstarted

-S.T

The Damages of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation is one of the major consequences of procrastination. When we leave our tasks to the last minute, the first thing we do is sacrifice our sleep as we scramble to finish.

However, you need to sleep as much as you need to breathe and eat. We don’t sacrifice our dinner when we are rushing to complete our work and we obviously don’t stop breathing when we do that either. So why do we sacrifice our sleep then?

I remember when I was scrambling to finish a final assignment last year. After procrastinating for basically the entire semester, I was left with three major assessments due in the one week. For that entire week, I was running on minimal sleep and coffee. On the final day… when I could see the light at the end of the tunnel… I began to feel very sick. It wasn’t the flu kind but more of a raging headache. My head was pounding and my vision was becoming blurry. I didn’t know what was happening and quite frankly, I was very scared. I had never felt this sort of headache before. It was as if a huge weight was pushing down and I could feel my body tipping to the side. I realised I had to stop for a moment, lay down in bed and rest for about 2 hours. When I returned, that sensation was still there but not as intense. This was the first time I was faced with an “all-nighter” (my time management was much better in prior semesters) and had therefore come to the conclusion that it was because I hadn’t been sleeping.

Sleep deprivation is very detrimental to your health and, if prolonged, can lead to many serious health problems. The link below provides 16 effects of sleep deprivation. It is worth it to take a read.

http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body

With so many students sacrificing their sleep after procrastinating, it is important to recognise that procrastination is actually a very serious issue. It’s quite unfortunate that many of us don’t realise this and continue to encourage the trivial stigma associated with the issue.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever pulled an “all-nighter”? Have you ever experienced something similar to me when you sacrificed your sleep? Comment below!

-S.T

Procrastination is the result of an inadequate high school careers curriculum

I decided to undertake a short online survey amongst university students in order to discover some reasons as to why so many of them procrastinate. The possibilities are endless however, I wanted to delve deeper than this. What could be a strong contributing factor?

That is when a question had struck me: does high school influence the way that a university student approaches their tasks? My answer, based on survey results, is yes.

How so? Because of an inadequate high school careers curriculum.

My studies found that 70% of survey respondents believed their high school did not properly prepare them for life post-graduation and believed that their careers system was unsatisfactory. Reasons included:

• Careers classes “were a bludge”
• There was a lack of helpful classes
• No work experience was implemented that could expose them to possible career paths
• Classes only focused on day-to-day lessons and activities

Furthermore, a whopping 90% of my survey sample stated that high school failed to prepare them for university alone, with many stating that they were not taught the skills needed to survive uni. Rather, they had to learn from scratch when they commenced their tertiary studies (something that I had personally gone through back in first year).

I believe that this uncertainty leads to procrastination, which ultimately means that procrastination is a result of an inadequate education system. High school fails to properly prepare us for what’s in store post-graduation. Although we are told that what comes next is university, TAFE, apprenticeships and so forth, we are not individually guided into what career paths we may want. Rather, based on personal experience, it’s very generic.

Here is where this fact becomes relevant. If a student does not like what they are studying, they are not motivated to be proactive and they therefore avoid starting their work. As such, they:

• May not harbour any morale to succeed and get low grades
• Be reluctant to move out of home (something that has seen a rise among young people) because they are uncertain of their future. This can lead to a prolonged dependence upon parents which prevents them from developing valuable ‘life’ skills.
• Develop poor time management
• May develop problems such as stress, anxiety and depression

Selecting a university degree is a major decision that we have to face at such a young age. It is therefore critical that our schooling supports and guides us so that we are better prepared to make the right decision. If we love what we are doing, we are less likely to procrastinate. Rather, we would be proactive and strive to be the best so that we can achieve our goals.

This brings a need to update the current education system in Australia. High school is a major part of our student life, intended to prepare us for the world outside. If we are not guided into the right path, how are we to reach our full potential?

What are your thoughts? Do you believe that the high school ‘careers’ system needs a change? What are your suggestions on how the curriculum could be improved?

-S.T

To Overcome Procrastination means making a Lifestyle Change

As I have outlined in previous posts, the cause of my campaign is to raise awareness about the high rates of procrastination, discover why so many students procrastinate and offer tips in order to motivate them to start their work. Because procrastination is a cyclical habit that has the power to become embedded in an individual’s everyday life, sparking change among my target demographic has proven to be a challenge.

As I reach the halfway mark of my campaign, I have discovered what has become quite an important insight- one based off what I have constantly seen on social media. Mostly, if not all the posts made with the hashtag ‘procrastination’ has been trivial and this sparked a realisation. We take procrastination lightly. It’s something that we laugh about; use as an excuse and defence mechanism for not completing our tasks, or even to bond with our peers. The strong online meme culture that surrounds the issue reiterates this bond we share.

Image Source: http://www.sharenator.com/image/124545/

Image Source: http://www.self.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/procrastination-meme.jpg

Although we acknowledge procrastination, we don’t do anything about it. We leave our tasks to the last minute, while not realising the real impact it has on our lives. When we leave our assignments until the night before it is due, we stay up all night scrambling to complete it and end up submitting a mediocre paper that does not properly reflect our academic abilities. As our ‘to-do’ list piles up, our stress increases with it and yet many of us simply ignore the list because we ‘work better under pressure’.

When we cram the first thing we sacrifice is our sleep, which leads me to discuss the problem of sleep deprivation; a huge issue that has many negative impacts upon our health. According to the Better Health Channel, sleep deprivation leads to fatigue, judgement impairment, and learning/academic difficulties. We are more accident prone because staying awake for 24 hours or more results in a reduced hand-to-eye coordination (similar to having a blood alcohol level of 0.1). Furthermore, a lack of sleep can also be linked to the increased risk of emotional problems such as depression, which has unfortunately seen an increase among many young people.

These are but some of the consequences that result from procrastinating, which highlights the need to change its trivial stigma because it is actually a serious problem that affects so many individuals. As such, I have added an additional objective to my campaign; one that aims to eliminate this stigma and raise awareness about the negative impacts of procrastination. We must recognise that for some of us, procrastination has become a part of our lives.

To overcome procrastination means making a lifestyle change.

This is where we make our start and this is where we can stand out from the crowd.

So tell me, why do you think there is such a stigma attached to procrastination? Why do you procrastinate? Is it hard to break the cycle of constantly putting off your tasks until the last minute?

-S.T

What type of Procrastinator are you?

Procrastination is an issue that can be difficult to overcome because of its power to be embedded within our everyday lives. It is a cyclical process that can occur every time we are faced with a task. One of the first steps in breaking this cycle is identifying the type of procrastinator that you are.

So what type of procrastinator are you? Why do you do it? View the diagram above to see if you can relate to any of the categories.

This information was provided by the University of New South Wales ‘Current Students’ page on procrastination. As you may or may not know, your university provides support services to help you with issues such as procrastination. Do not hesitate to contact them if you feel that you can’t deal with your workload. Check out these links for more help if you need it:

https://student.unsw.edu.au/procrastination

https://student.unsw.edu.au/counselling

https://student.unsw.edu.au/learning-centre

https://student.unsw.edu.au/advisors

-S.T

Interesting facts about Procrastination

As previously stated, 80%-95% of students procrastinate and many of us say that we do this as a joke, perpetuating the issue as something to be taken lightly. Procrastination is a problem usually equated to laziness however; I believe it to be an issue that has deeper roots. Here are five interesting facts that you may not have known about procrastination:

1. It is a problem of self-regulation

Procrastinators are time-optimistic. We don’t perceive time differently from others. Rather, we see it as always available and never ending. We don’t need weekly planners; we believe we will be able to do the work if we start it next week. We see 48 hours to complete a final assessment as enough time, even though we had a month to do it. A common excuse lies in the reason of the thrill seeker; the ‘I work better under pressure’, which ties in to number two on this list.

2. We lie to ourselves

We often say we can work better under pressure, we can start tomorrow and that we can complete all the work in the one day. However, many do not get the urge to do the work the next day, which often leads to sleepless nights, stress and anxiety. For some, the importance of the task decreases on the due date and an example can be seen through many resorting to submit assignments late or ‘winging’ the exam.

Image Source: Flickr.com

3. It is a lifestyle

Procrastination has the power to become embedded into an individual’s everyday life. It can extend beyond putting off studying, to other tasks such as paying bills, visiting the doctor, or even going to sleep. Procrastinators tend to not notice the negative implications of their actions, perhaps being the reason why they continuously try to find distractions – which, with the rise of digital media and the internet, is extremely easy to find. Furthermore, the fact that it has become so embedded among many university students presents challenges of change.

4. It has health implications

Studies have revealed several health problems as a result of procrastination, with such problems particularly high among university students. We are more prone to experience sleep disorders such as insomnia because of our sleepless nights and inconsistent body clocks. Research has also revealed that procrastinators suffer from weakened immune systems and as such, are more likely to develop the cold and flu, as well as gastrointestinal problems more frequently. Procrastination also has the power to destroy teamwork in academic and professional contexts, as well as private relationships thus also impacting social situations.

5. Substance abuse is more likely

Substance abuse tends to be higher among procrastinators, usually as a result of their inability of self-regulation. Their lack of engagement and avoidance coping styles often leads them to drink more than they intend to, as well as consume recreational drugs. Furthermore, many are more likely to take ‘study pills’ if they are stressed and are preparing for assessments last minute.

-S.T