Zane's Anti-Procastinaton Strategies

Procrastination is a problem that I can definitely indemnify with. And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that procrastinators aren’t born-they’re made. In some circumstances, it can be a form of rebellion. For people who had regulated childhoods, for instance (that is to say that they were kept on a strict, hourly schedule), procrastination may serve as a passive form of rejecting or resisting that system. In other cases , it just may be a matter of self regulation or discipline: an overall lack of control. Whatever the case, it is a very serious matter with serious consequences. More importantly, however, it is manageable

Before you can effectively handle your procrastination problem, you must first take the time out to consider your habits and the kind of procrastinator you are. Consider the following examples:

Type	Characteristics
Arousal or thrill seeker	Looks for the last minute high.
Avoiders	Concerned with what others think. Would rather be seen as showing a lack of effort rather than a lack of ability
Decisional Procrastinator	Can’t make decision so takes no responsibility for the outcome.

Personally, I feel that I am an avoider; if introduced to a challenging subject or task, I may find some mean of averting the task altogether rather than confronting and potentially failing it. One helpful strategy that I tried was Time Wasters. The strategy essentially asks you to consider all of the things that you did to pass the time, and match them to the task that you should have been doing. The following is my personal assessment:

Time Waster	Avoided Task
Went to Chipotle’s Grand Opening	Find potential case studies for Anthropology paper
Watched Knicks Game	Study for Anthropology Exam
Slept	CLS Journal
Studied for Anthropology Exam	Memo for Political Science

This strategy is helpful because it shows you what distractions/excuses are most convenient for you and that you use frequently. If you know what distracts you, you can take further steps to either reduce or eliminate that distraction. Watching the Knick game, for instance, can be easily dealt with: I just have to choose a better study environment where I wouldn’t have access to the game.

The 10 minute technique was also helpful. I often find that I have trouble staying focused or on task when studying for an exam. The 10 minute technique asks you to study within 10 minute intervals (taking breaks or rewarding yourself between each interval). When using this technique, I found that it was helpful to study by topic. Considering this, I choose to create a topic outline for Anthropology:

Gender:
Nanda/Warms, Cultural Anthropology, Pages 215 -236

Political Organization.
Nanda/Warms, pages 237-255

Religion
Nanda/Warms, pages 289-316