Having been in full time education for nearly fifteen years of my life, I have had to write my fair share of assignments. You would think that by now, with over a decade of experience, I would learn that the night before is NOT the best time to start the 1500 word essay that is due the following day and worth a considerable chunk of my final grade. Yet that is the situation I find myself in, time and time again. The reason for all my problems, the bane of my life and my honorary middle name: Procrastination.
The procedure is always the same. You get given the topic of the assignment, the format and the title weeks (maybe even months) before the deadline. The lecturer/teacher/insert academic authority figure here will then stress the importance of starting early in order to achieve our greatest potential. Then off we go...
With the best of intentions (and we know that they say about the road to Hell) you embark on this new academic quest immediately. You go to the library, browse the relevant shelf, or start up a computer to harness the power of the internet. Yet as you finish typing the title on a crisp, clean Word document your brain kicks in with all its logic and reason.
'Why start now? You've got months before it needs to be handed in.'
Similar to the moment you realise you need the toilet, the thought just won't leave you alone and in the end you submit. Saving the document as 'Essay' is a futile gesture of a job well done. There's a document saved to prove you've done something. The fact that it is ten words underlined on an otherwise blank page is just a red herring - it's the thought that counts.
One month of blissfull carefree non-academic shenanigans passes and we again come to the computer. The conscience kicks in and you start to think 'others have started, maybe it would be sensible'. After bringing up Google (or, God forbid, Wikipedia) and typing your topic you need a break and log in to Facebook. A few hours later and that's another attempt done and the deadline is creeping ever closer.
A month of similar situations passes and now we are into the two week threshold. This is the point at which students would usually get their act together, pull their finger out and crack on. Nope. Cue one more week of doing 'essential' tasks like defrosting the fridge/cleaning your bedroom/mowing next door's front lawn/insert useless time wasting activity here etc.
Now the seven day mark is the point where it goes downhill. You suddenly realise that a) the assignment is actually worth quite a good chunk of your final grade and you don't want to have to do the redemption during your summer, b) the topic is quite extensive and the 'preliminary reading list' given to you by your lecturer is ten books strong with the footnote 'this reading list is by no means exhaustive. It is just a place to begin', and c) your breadth of knowledge which you were planning to coast with has amounted to 148 words of drivel that you are now trying to mould into an introduction.
The procedure is always the same. You get given the topic of the assignment, the format and the title weeks (maybe even months) before the deadline. The lecturer/teacher/insert academic authority figure here will then stress the importance of starting early in order to achieve our greatest potential. Then off we go...
With the best of intentions (and we know that they say about the road to Hell) you embark on this new academic quest immediately. You go to the library, browse the relevant shelf, or start up a computer to harness the power of the internet. Yet as you finish typing the title on a crisp, clean Word document your brain kicks in with all its logic and reason.
'Why start now? You've got months before it needs to be handed in.'
Similar to the moment you realise you need the toilet, the thought just won't leave you alone and in the end you submit. Saving the document as 'Essay' is a futile gesture of a job well done. There's a document saved to prove you've done something. The fact that it is ten words underlined on an otherwise blank page is just a red herring - it's the thought that counts.
One month of blissfull carefree non-academic shenanigans passes and we again come to the computer. The conscience kicks in and you start to think 'others have started, maybe it would be sensible'. After bringing up Google (or, God forbid, Wikipedia) and typing your topic you need a break and log in to Facebook. A few hours later and that's another attempt done and the deadline is creeping ever closer.
A month of similar situations passes and now we are into the two week threshold. This is the point at which students would usually get their act together, pull their finger out and crack on. Nope. Cue one more week of doing 'essential' tasks like defrosting the fridge/cleaning your bedroom/mowing next door's front lawn/insert useless time wasting activity here etc.
Now the seven day mark is the point where it goes downhill. You suddenly realise that a) the assignment is actually worth quite a good chunk of your final grade and you don't want to have to do the redemption during your summer, b) the topic is quite extensive and the 'preliminary reading list' given to you by your lecturer is ten books strong with the footnote 'this reading list is by no means exhaustive. It is just a place to begin', and c) your breadth of knowledge which you were planning to coast with has amounted to 148 words of drivel that you are now trying to mould into an introduction.
Cue terror.
The following are a set of simple tips to help you climb the mountain of essays that have built up during the past month.
The following are a set of simple tips to help you climb the mountain of essays that have built up during the past month.
Make a work timetable, or go to the study skills team and ask for one. Doing your work in manageable chunks with interspaced breaks and relaxation time is a LOT more productive than hibernating in the library for ten hours in one stretch the day before.
If you can do your research and secondary reading without a computer, DO SO. The internet is not your friend and is a constant source of distraction.
If you work to music, make a playlist beforehand and make it long! Having to go and change the song regularly disrupts your train of thought, and also provides opportunities to escape to a spontaneous 'essential' activity.
TURN YOUR PHONE OFF
If you can do your research and secondary reading without a computer, DO SO. The internet is not your friend and is a constant source of distraction.
If you work to music, make a playlist beforehand and make it long! Having to go and change the song regularly disrupts your train of thought, and also provides opportunities to escape to a spontaneous 'essential' activity.
TURN YOUR PHONE OFF
When trying to find the motivation to start assigments early, the adage 'short-term pain, long-term gain' is useful. Yes, it's a horrible topic, you've got months to go, it's lovely weather outside and you've got six seperate invites to go and have fun instead. Just pause and think of the goal; if you start early you have less work to do later on and, ultimately, as well as saving yourself the stress of a sleepless, coffee-fuelled, essay-filled night, your finished assignment will be that much better because you will have gained editorial distance from your work, and upon returning to it you will inevitably improve what was written before.
I hope these wise words help you in future assignments, and I hope that I am wise enough to bite the bullet and take my own advice. Sadly, the irony of the matter is, in writing this article I am in fact avoiding writing an essay. Such is life.
Simon Birkmyre
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