There’s that productive kind of procrastination․ It’s not that you don’t ever get around to doing anything, just not what you’re supposed to be doing․
After planning to study or work on assignments, your bedroom suddenly needs to be cleaned up; maybe the rest of your house does too. Clothes folded‚ desk cleared‚ things have to go exactly in the right place․ It all seems like it matters when you’re doing it․ But somehow‚ when it comes to opening your notes‚ that momentum is gone․
There is the “getting ready to study” phase‚ which never actually ends‚ where you get your water‚ the snack‚ the study music or show‚ you adjust the light‚ you set the tone․ Then you can convince yourself you’re going to start studying soon․
Making a study schedule is another big one․ You spend so much time planning exactly what you are going to do, breaking everything into sections, and maybe even color-coding it. It feels productive․ But you haven’t actually started anything yet․
Rewriting your notes is another way to waste time․ You tell yourself that rewriting everything will help you understand it better‚ and that’s sometimes true‚ but it’s sometimes a way to avoid the bigger issue․ You feel like you’re making progress‚ even though you’re not learning anything․
Even if it is something that sounds tiring, like going for a run or a walk around campus, there is always the same excuse: taking a break before getting started, with the idea that after moving your body or working out, you will get around to schoolwork. It might be true‚ but at the same time you’re actually pushing things off again․ At SUNY Cortland‚ it’s even easier not to do your work when everyone else is outside enjoying the weather․
Checking things over and over becomes part of it too․ Refreshing your email‚ checking assignments‚ looking at your calendar like something might have changed․ It gives you something to do‚ even if it doesn’t actually move anything forward․
And then it gets to this time of year‚ with finals coming up and graduation just around the corner‚ and everything kind of gets crazy‚ and it’s easier to do smaller things‚ the little things‚ instead of just sitting down and studying․
The tricky thing is that it doesn’t feel like procrastination․ It’s not like you’re scrolling on your phone‚ or staring blankly at the wall‚ you’re doing something productive‚ and ordinarily that would be a good thing․ That makes it easy to justify the decision․ But then you realize you did everything except the very thing you needed to do‚ and now you’re either out of time or you’re more stressed than you were when you started․
It’s not that you’re not motivated‚ you’ve just channeled that motivation into every other thing․ And once you finally sit down and start‚ you realize it wasn’t as bad as you made it out to be․
Still‚ somehow‚ the next time you have something to study‚ you’ll probably do the same exact things all over again․