This may entail making a friend change your password and refuse to give you the new one, despite how much you beg or cry. Or alternatively, you can use one of the websites such as StayFocusd or Facebook Nanny that put timers on until you can check your email or Twitter feed. So buckle down, because you aren’t going to see how many likes your last cat selfie got for a while longer.
And maybe make fun plans that you won’t be able to get to if you don’t get your work done. This will make your choice even clearer: would you rather spend two-and-a-half hours seeing what squirrels are up to on Buzzfeed or get your work done now and catch a soccer game later with friends? If the answer is the former, well, procrastinate away, because you’ve got bigger problems.
Trying to get things done in bed is going to make it a lot harder, since you’ll probably end up napping every hour. Or it might make it more difficult to fall asleep when you finally decide to turn in, since you’ve turned your resting area into a work war zone. Plus your pillow is covered in ink and Cheeto dust. Or on the other hand…
This could be a coffee shop, a library, or even one of those shared work studio spaces that are so trendy right now. With dozens able to see your screen, you’re more likely to stay on task than spin off into a YouTube spiral. Plus, the Wi-Fi may not be as good as at your home, and you’ll get too annoyed waiting for videos to load to watch them anyway.
Put down the coffee/Red Bull/Adderall/what have you. Caffeine won’t really help you focus; it’ll make you more edgy and anxious and less likely to stay on task. And as for prescription medication, when is that ever a good idea? Just go to bed an hour earlier and you’ll feel much more ready to tackle your work the next day.
It’s true that the perfect soundtrack can help you fly through work, but it’s also true that developing this mix can take time. And you’re more likely to spend two hours fine tuning your playlist than writing a paper if those are your options. If you’ve got some ready-made mixes ready, you won’t have an excuse to keep futzing around with it.
Nobody can work for hours straight without a break, but breaks can make you lose your train of thought or focus. Have milestones (writing at least five pages, reading another chapter, etc.) that mark break time, and take 15 minutes to stretch your legs, grab a snack, or do some meditation to revitalize yourself for the next block.
For a lot of us, the more we have to do, the more stressed we become and incapable of starting anything. Make sure that you’re not creating an unrealistic workload, because you’ll not only stress yourself out beyond belief, but you’ll also end up turning in a lot more poor-quality work.
Your phone, the TV, that podcast your friend made in high school – none of these things are helping. Even if you think it’s just background noise, you’re not focusing as well with it on. Music may help, but trying to pretend that you’re completely unaware of the drama unfolding on the latest episode of “The Bachelor” is just lying to yourself.
And go do the work we all know you’re putting off by sitting there.
