Procrastination

Nursing Students General Students

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How do you overcome it??

I am the worst! I even cleaned my back patio today!

What do you guys do to make yourself buckle down?

make a list of the readings

make a schedule

check them off as they are done (at least twice)

for assignments - just get started - make an outline - jot down all ideas (to be organized later - capture those ideas)

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

At home I pretty much don't care what does or doesn't get done. At work I just forced myself to prioritize and just get things done as fast and as soon as possible. For me, getting started is the major part of the battle. Knowing that you have a tendency to procrastinate is half the battle in the first place. The other half is developing strategies to fight yourself on this AND putting them into action. Here are some links on this. After you're done reading you can come over and clean my back patio. :lol2::

We have a set of 'outcomes' to answer every week - so my study group splits them up and everyone is responsible for a certain outcome. Motivation for me not to procrastinate

I found that if I keep a running list in my head of things to do/read, I get overwhelmed and end up procrastinating. So I write a list of readings/assignments by class just so its not all in my head.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I am a terrible procrastinator -- always have been -- probably always will be. I've gotten through life with reasonable success by using 2 strategies to overcome it.

1. Knowing that I work best when under the pressure of a deadline, I break projects up into smaller pieces and set strict, specific deadlines for each step. As those "preliminary deadlines" come, I use them to spur me to get some of the work done. I usually don't meet them 100%, but I get enough of the work done to keep making some progress. By setting the last deadline before the final project is actually due, I have a little cushion to give me some time to make a "big push" at the end to get it finished before it really HAS to be done.

2. I work on upcoming projects as "avoidance strategies" when I am actively procrastinating on a project I really should be working on. For example, I wanted to write the rough draft of an article at work this week. As I procrastinated about writing the article ... I wrote most of a class that I need to teach in November. No, I didn't get the article written! ... But the class is almost finished! Some day, I will have another project that I will be avoiding -- and I'll use the article as a means of distraction and avoidance and it will eventually get done. While this strategy always leaves me disappointed in myself for not having the discipline to be able to focus on my chosen goals, at least I get important stuff accomplished rather than wasting the time I spend procrastinating.

Today ... I cannot do any of the stuff I would really like to do with my weekend because I am supposed to post my lecture notes by tonight for a class I have to teach on Monday. Here I sit, writing about procrastination on allnurses.com. I'm hopeless!

Procrastination! My forte! Really, there is nothing one can do until one realizes that this bad habit is diminishing their quality of life. The evil twin of procrastination is that I am a bona fide workaholic. Once I get going, I go overboard. It is getting started that gets me stumped, especially when I've had life event distractors, or I get off track for some reason. You just have to get started with one foot in front of the other and sooner or later you will realize that you have started and completed a task. Once one task is complete, it is easier to start that second task. For those who hate housework, I discovered an interesting website that helps with all of this: http://www.flylady.org. It is humorous as well as informative with a built-in support system. Students should organize in study groups and act as each other's coaches. Call everyone up and nag them into studying! Now, that's something. A lady makes her living by calling people on diets and nagging them about their weight, diet, and exercise plans. So there must be something to the general idea.

Well, its 10:30 am and I'm going to stop procrastinating, get off this site, and take a nap. I haven't done anything since I woke up at 7 this morning except eat a bowl of cereal and get on allnurses. So, now its time for a nap. And I don't have a back patio anymore, so neither of us have to clean it!

Specializes in medical.

haha i'd sooner clean the toilet than settle down to do work sometimes.

I write lists of what i need to do, which means things aren't buzzing in my head annoying me. it feels good when the time comes to tick them off, and it makes you work harder knowing theres a list of things that need checking off.

one of my mate's told me that when i'm trying to avoid something it's usually not because i just can't be bothered to do it, its actually becuase i'm worried for some reason about doing it....maybe it's that don't understand it, or it sounds really hard, or because i'm scared of doing badly in it. so i kind of use that reason to push myself to get it done. you know, once the toilet is clean and everything.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

one of my mate's told me that when i'm trying to avoid something it's usually not because i just can't be bothered to do it, its actually becuase i'm worried for some reason about doing it....maybe it's that don't understand it, or it sounds really hard, or because i'm scared of doing badly in it. so i kind of use that reason to push myself to get it done. you know, once the toilet is clean and everything.

I know that is true for me. When I am seriously procrastinating, it's almost always because there is something about the work that I am anxious about. I hate to admit it, but I find that a little glass of wine or some Kava often helps by easing my anxiety enough to allow me to tackle the work.

BTW: In the 3 hours since my last post to this thread, I have gotten 1/2 of my slides made for class on Monday. I've summarized my thoughts on Jean Watson. Now I just have to do my lecture on Patricia Benner and I will be done!

Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg, Nursery.

I am right there with you! I'd almost rather do ANYTHING than read my assignments for a test. I do make a reading list though, and I check them off as I go. I usually just have to make myself do it though.

Specializes in medical.
I know that is true for me. When I am seriously procrastinating, it's almost always because there is something about the work that I am anxious about. I hate to admit it, but I find that a little glass of wine or some Kava often helps by easing my anxiety enough to allow me to tackle the work.

BTW: In the 3 hours since my last post to this thread, I have gotten 1/2 of my slides made for class on Monday. I've summarized my thoughts on Jean Watson. Now I just have to do my lecture on Patricia Benner and I will be done!

well done!! Thats 3 hours really well spent. I've also found that strong cups of tea help me settle down and work!! do you have to give lots of lectures, or is this for an assessment?

Specializes in Peds, PICU, Home health, Dialysis.

When I first started nursing school, I read every day and reviewed my notes every day. I was always one week ahead of the game. I think it was out of fear that I would do poorly.

However, things have now changed. I am a huge procrastinator but it works for me. I work wonders while under pressure. If I KNOW there is an exam the next day, I am able to really buckle down and learn the information and do well on the exam. But if I sit down a week ahead of time and try studying, my mind wanders and I really don't understand anything.

For example: I have an Ob/Peds exam on Monday. I have attended all of my lectures and have actively listened, but I haven't read or studied until today. Today I read over all of my notes and will do some NCLEX questions tonight. But tomorrow, I know for a fact that everything will soak in because I will spend a good 6 hours cramming. It works for me though.

So I don't think procrastination is necessarily a bad thing while in school. I think you need to figure out what works best for you. Furthermore, most people need to procrastinate in nursing school because there is SO MUCH to do and you don't have time to focus on an exam that is 2 weeks away until a few days beforehand.

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