Amidst the high pressure of high school, procrastination had become my personal specialty. The senior slump hit me hard. Thankfully, I had made it a habit to complete all my work, but my procrastination resulted in doing my homework late at night. I would find myself scrolling through social media for hours instead of tackling my schoolwork immediately and having to pay the price of not getting enough sleep. My lack of sleep led me to take naps during the time I should have done my assignments, resulting in a never ending cycle of late night homework.
“It’s not that I don’t want to do the work, but sometimes I just can’t get myself started,” Said Senior Lachele Bowers. “Then, before I know it, the deadline is here, and I’m scrambling to finish.”
My main reason for procrastination was fear and addiction to my phone. The pressure to succeed in my final year of high school was immense, and I often felt paralyzed by the thought of not living up to my own standards. But eventually, I realized that procrastination was only making things worse. I knew I had to find a way to break free from this cycle and take control of my academic life.
The best decision I had made to help with my habit was creating my own routine with the intention of completing my daily to do list. I had created set times for when I would dedicate all of my energy towards getting my homework out of the way. I had even gone as far to purposefully give my phone to my mom so that I was not distracted. After eliminating naps, I finally had time to myself to not stress over school. Crossing things off my to-do list became the most satisfying reward for my hard work.
Another helpful tip was utilizing my free time in class and enrichment to do my assignments so I had no homework after school. Who knew silent study halls could be useful for getting work done? I know it may seem silly but many students like me see enrichment or study halls as time to calmly listen to music or take mid school day naps. The stress of a school day can lead to desperation for a break, but remaining in the flow of doing school work helped me eliminate having to stress over my assignments at home.
By implementing these strategies, I was able to conquer my procrastination habit and finish my senior year strong.
