I think a big part of what makes procrastination so common is that we underestimate how hard it is to “just get out your books and study.”
I always see tips for not procrastinating, and maybe they are really helpful to people with good self-discipline but I read them and feel worse about myself bc for some reason I had a preconceived idea that I just couldn’t do those things…maybe seeing all those tips and tricks made me believe that studying was an easy task, only suitable for people with the newest stationery, most aesthetic study spaces or prettiest notebooks.
I thought studying was just something i couldn’t do well, like my brain wasn’t built for that. I felt like I was destined to always procrastinate and be a failure.
A big part of getting over procrastination was realizing that studying is one of the most difficult things to do as a student. for procrastinators, it takes a huge amount of effort to stop scrolling through social media and get out books. personally there is a huge fear and anxiety associated with “studying” and it makes my stomach churn and heart race just thinking about it. to get out from the safe space of distractions to facing our fears is immensely difficult.
if you want to study, it takes a LOT of effort to turn off your phone, get out your books & pens and do questions that make you feel dread and anxiety and inadequacy.
it takes a great deal of effort to confront the habitual thoughts in your brain that say “you’re stupid” or “what’s the point” or “this is too hard” or “i’ll never understand this” or “this essay will never be perfect so why even try.”
it’s immensely difficult to fight your inner perfectionism, denial, avoidance, making excuses, or feelings of inadequacy as they are deeply ingrained defense mechanisms all created to avoid studying.
for some people like me these voices are even louder because they’ve procrastinated so much that there’s an overwhelmingly huge pile of studying they need to catch up on.
People regard studying as some sort of common thing that “anyone knows how to do.” but it’s actually a difficult skill that needs to be learned and practiced, like learning a musical instrument. you wouldn’t give up on that if you weren’t good after 2 days, why feel the same about studying?
but like any difficult task it is 100% possible and it will be worth it, you might even enjoy studying after a while. I promise that it will be freaking uncomfortable and stressful and terrifying at first to face your fear of studying. you might feel sick and every inch of you wants to procrastinate. But try to force yourself to study on a routine for maybe 3 weeks and it will get easier I promise. I’m trying to do that right now and you should too, I believe in you.
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