It happens to the best of us: you are given two weeks to write a paper, such as a feature article for a journalism course. It is now 10:00pm the day before it is due, and it is the perfect time to start writing! Here are some tips for creating your ungodly academic concoction.
Scrap Your Ideas And Embrace Optimistic Nihilism
That article you were going to write about overconsumption in the beauty industry? Too much thinking, too little time! Choose something that you can scrap up in about an hour, factoring in distractions. Keep any work that you already have, in the event that you can put it toward something else and hopefully prevent yourself from being in this situation again. Better luck next time!
Perhaps more sound advice: make compromises. The simple fact of the matter is that if you did not give yourself enough time to complete the work to your standards, it will not be as good as you want it to be – but you will be okay. Take a deep breath, follow the criteria to the best of your ability, and make sure it gets done. In ten years, you will not look back and feel some sting of humiliation or shame for the one shoddy assignment you handed in. Overthinking is awfully tempting, but unnecessary and counterproductive.
Keep Your Chin Up
A friend of mine in college told me a story about how, in a depressive rut at one in the morning, he spoke to himself a sacred utterance: “Queen never cry.” He then proceeded to chug a Monster Energy drink and cram for all of his exams, which were that week. He did great on all of them. I have no idea where the phrase “Queen never cry” came from, but I now repeat it whenever I have to scrape off my car in the morning or write when I really want to be sleeping.
The moral here: beating yourself up is not going to get you anywhere, nor is refusing yourself the dignity of putting in effort. In the words of Harry S. Truman, imperfect action will always be better than perfect inaction. I know nothing about Harry Truman as a person or president, but I really like that quote, and I believe such a mindset is imperative to maintaining resilience in the face of difficulty.
Minimize Distractions
If you are anything like me, eliminating distractions can be nearly impossible. I get it. If put in a padded cell with nothing but my laptop and Google Classroom, I would still be too busy playing Rorschach with the stains on the wall to get anything done. However, that doesn’t mean distractions cannot be minimized. For demonstration’s sake, I currently have Reddit and YouTube disabled on my phone, I’ve already completed my nightly routine, and I am heavily considering removing my guitar and paints from my line of sight. It is only for demonstration purposes, because I am writing this article in a very timely fashion. I am the executive function connoisseur.
For those times when my mind inevitably begins to wander, I’ve found that it helps somewhat to repeat affirmations to myself. “I am present, I am here, I am devoted to completing this task, not to pondering the practicality of running away to the forest and becoming a member of the fae…” I then review what I have already completed and gently set my mind back on track to continue. I then do that about a thousand times a minute, but it gets done in the end.
Allow Yourself Breaks
Being cognizant of time, these breaks may have to be short and sparse. However, they are still necessary – for me, at least – for preventing one’s brain from spilling out of their ears. I have had good experiences with the Pomodoro method: 25 minutes of work interspersed with 5 minutes of break time, on a cycle. Keep in mind that breaks are most effective when your mind is actually given a break – scrolling social media is highly counterproductive for this. Even if it feels like relief, you are still flooding your brain with stimuli, and it will make you much less inclined to return to work. I usually spend my breaks with some sort of physical activity, such as stretching or a couple sets of an exercise, both to rejuvenate my body and relieve my mind of the load.
Organize Yourself
If there’s a lot to get done, it can be easy to let the landslide knock you down. I’ve found that it helps to create a list of everything that needs to be done, and then organizing it in order of priority, difficulty, or time needed to complete. If a certain part of an assignment is worth a higher portion of the grade, for example, I will focus primarily on ensuring that it meets the criteria. I usually do this with a simple Google Doc that I keep pinned to my tab bar.
Choose a Source of Caffeine
Nothing says “College Ready” like a little sleep deprivation! Depending on the length of your assignment, you can adjust the caffeine levels accordingly. If you are writing a full-length essay, you may want to abandon all of your hope and drink a Monster Energy. If you are writing something shorter, such as a feature article for a journalism course, you may opt for something with less caffeine, like the zero-sugar Dr. Pepper I am drinking right now as the executive function connoisseur.
That being said, sleep is important. If you have to stay up all night, try not to let it alter your sleep schedule for the proceeding days. If it is practical for you, try going to sleep on time and waking up earlier to complete your work.
The Bottom Line
Ideally, we would never put ourselves in this situation to begin with, but once you’ve procrastinated, there is no getting that time back. Instead of dwelling on the panic and surrendering to paralysis, take a breath and compose yourself. You will get it done – but you have to start it first. And sometimes that’s the hardest part.
