I'm writing this post mainly for my own benefit, but hopefully it can help some of you out too. We've all heard of the art of procrastination, right?

procrastination
/prə(ʊ)ˌkrastɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/

noun
the action of delaying or postponing something.
"your first tip is to avoid procrastination"

Looking at the definition above, is it something to be proud of? NO. Then why do we all seem to think being a master of procrastination is an achievement? Here's my theory.

I wasn't aware of the word procrastination or its meaning until two years ago, in my first year of high school. A lot of my friends on Instagram would constantly talk about this word, and soon it became a thing at my school too, in relation to homework tasks. When I first searched up the definition I thought "oh, this is terrible" but my view soon changed, especially as I saw my friends procrastinating in creative ways, such as making edits or artwork instead of doing homework.

Procrastinating in this way is of course still procrastination, but the knowledge that people procrastinated like this diminished my disapproval of procrastination instantly. Creativity is good, right?

I think procrastination has the same appeal as something like alcohol. It's advertised as "bad" by adults and teachers, which makes teens all the more curious to try it out, if only to rebel. Saying "I'm procrastinating" or "I'm out partying" when someone asks what you're doing can make you sound cool in the teen world, unlike saying "I'm reading a book".*

*Of course, I disagree; reading a book is so cool.

How to stop procrastinating

Here I've included some tips to help you out. These don't always work for me and I'm still a victim of procrastination myself (aren't we all?) so please let me know if any of these work for you and if you have any additional tips!
  • give yourself rewards for completing x amount of work in yminutes (I'm saying minutes because if you start with hours, your brain will probably shut down before you've even started on what you're trying to do)
  • keep technology LOCKED AWAY*; in another room, or in the care of a parent/caregiver**
  • use apps such as Forest where you set a timer and as long as you don't touch your phone in that time, you grow a bush or tree***
  • take timed breaks; this can ensure you're refreshed instead of tiring you out
  • split up the work! Do part of each task you want to complete, then continue later***
*This has never worked for me. I'll get curious, and check that Instagram feed or message a friend... Whatever I do, it keeps me glued to my phone for the next ten minutes, oops.

**Maybe doing this would work better, but I can't bring myself to do this. I know my parents would be vigilant and truly keep my phone away from me, as they already have a million rules regarding technology in place.

***Forest actually works for me, sometimes! Again, sometimes I can't bring myself to turn it on, but when I do, I don't kill plants.

****This is my main technique for getting anything done. It can result in me never finishing part two, or doing so a lot later, but I still think it's a good tactic.

Did you find this post helpful? How have you dealt with procrastination?