You know what feeling when you want to do something, but not the something that you actually need to be doing? Yeah, that feeling is tough. When this feeling hits and you feel like temporarily avoiding responsibilities, why not avoid them in a productive manner so you can at least feel some sense of accomplishment?
I’ll be honest–my definition of procrastinating is writing the essay ONE week before it’s due instead of TWO. Oooh, we got a bad ass over here, don’t we? Your eyes probably just rolled back into your head in annoyance as you reminisce on the time you wrote a ten page paper an hour before it was due.
I’m a cold-blooded doer. With that being said, I do fall victim to the endless bouts of boredom & procrastinating things I don’t need to do but should do but don’t want to do. This includes (but is not limited to): replying to a professor’s e-mail, taking all of the dozens of papers off of my desk, writing a post that’s due in a week but I know I should do now and so on.
Anyways, here are some productive ways to procrastinate when you want to feel useful without actually doing what you’re avoiding. Ahem.
1. Clean your room.
This is an obvious choice. Crank up some tunes and just start de-cluttering and tidying up. If you get bored with it, move on. Personally, nothing makes me feel more productive and important than cleaning. Here’s a guide to cleaning your dorm room if you feel like you want to truly divide and conquer.
2. Enter giveaways.
Scour the internet for some giveaways and enter away. Who knows? You could end up winning. As someone who rarely wins things, I can say I’ve won some cool stuff in giveaways and raffles in the past.
3. Apply for scholarships.
For any students, regardless of which year of schooling, applying for scholarships is possible. Just imagine a giant pair of scissors chopping off a chunk of your student debt. Isn’t it a beautiful sight? A simple Google search such as “Undergraduate College Student Scholarships” or “Female Nursing Student Scholarships” can get you hundreds of results.
3. Read a book.
Currently, I’m reading four different books at once. “Are you on some kind of drug?” you might be thinking. No, I’m not. I’m just a little bit crazy because I’m trying to finish all of the books I got for Christmas and have on my “To-Read” list before Spring classes start up. The books are all different genres–a collection of poetry, a realistic fiction book, a self-help book and an autobiography. Does that make it any better? Anyways, I’m not saying you should read four books at once but at least try to read one.
4. Cook something.
Instead of idly scrolling through deliciousness on Pinterest, why not get up and actually make one of those recipes you’ve been salivating over? It’s productive because you’re doing something besides staring at a screen and you (hopefully) will get to eat the delicious product.
5. Delete pictures from your phone.
Free up some much-needed storage by moving pictures onto your laptop and deleting the ones you no longer need from your cell. This is a productive way to procrastinate AND a fun trip down memory lane. Ah, nostalgia.
6. Make playlists.
I love, LOVE making playlists for every mood or emotion or time of day. I have playlists for mornings, jam sessions, dance parties, anger, sadness, throwbacks and even a playlist for when you’re feeling really cute and like I want to break some hearts. Do I listen to these playlists often? Nope. I get a craving for a specific song and then listen to that. Do I love making them? Heck yeah! If you’re feeling extra wild, why not make a playlist for a friend with songs you think they might like?
7. Make a list of eateries you want to try.
When I’m feeling extra dreamy and adventurous, I’ll try looking up new places to eat in New York City, my love, and in my hometown *cough* which is still a piece of New York City. Is it even really a hometown? Is Staten Island even a town? When I hear “hometown” I picture some nice Southern girl eating a peach and naming some small town with under 100 people where they all know each other, not a borough. Anyways, there are so many places to eat and try, make a list of these places and try to check them all off. So far my list consists of macaron shops and cupcakeries in Manhattan, nice.
8. Add events and deadlines to your calendar.
This can be a physical calendar or a phone calendar. Why not take the dates from your syllabus and add them all to a calendar? Take all of your plans and upcoming events from school calendars and your planners and combine them into your trusty phone. Add all of the birthdays you’re chronically forgetting! Being able to check due dates and event times on the spot can help you when scheduling future plans–it can also help you avoid double-booking.
9. Update your resume.
…or make one if you don’t have one yet. I recently realized my so-called “updated” resume that I almost submitted for something had one of my jobs listed twice, with different dates on each. Good thing I caught that. If your resume is already dazzling, why not find some internships to apply for in the summer or upcoming session?
10. Watch a documentary.
Instead of watching yet another episode of the mindless but addictive series on Netflix, why not watch a documentary? I have a weird obsession with all of those healthy food is great, fast food is evil sort of documentaries like “Fed Up” and “Food Nation.” I don’t know why–I don’t eat particularly well nor do I have much of an emotional investment in fast food chains or lettuce, but I LOVE watching documentaries about these food places. Netflix is chock-full of every sort of documentary that can entertain you and make you feel productive through the gaining of knowledge. Whoo!
11. Exercise.
No, I’m not telling you to go for a run. God, no. I mean, if you want to, by all means, do it. I am saying to maybe just dance around your room or go to the gym or even do a YouTube video workout (there are so many, I recommend the dance ones, they’re so fun!). You might be avoiding responsibilities, but you are burning calories and that’s certainly productive.
12. Do something creative.
For me, something creative is writing. For you it might be playing music, drawing, painting, baking cupcakes or doing nail art. Whatever your something creative is, do it for a bit! It’ll definitely be an enjoyable procrastination experience if you’re being creative and doing your thing.
13. Fulfill another obligation.
Do an assignment for another class or something else that’s on your to do list. You might just be procrastinating one specific task. Trying a different task could help you break your procrastination. Try it!
14. Catch up with family/friends.
Calling home or a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while is sure to brighten your mood and theirs. Catching up isn’t the most productive thing, but it’s a great mood booster for you and the person on the other end of the call.
15. Back up your files.
Grab your hard drive (or buy one) and back up all of the files on your laptop. It’s always great to have backups, just in case you spill coffee on your laptop *cough* or lose it.
What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?
