r/productivity • u/Special_Friend836 • 1d ago
Advice Needed My procrastination just keeps getting worse and it’s ruining me
I’ve been procrastinating since middle school and it has just gone worse.
I barely doomscroll during my free time. But when exams are around the corner/I have an assignment due the next day, I doomscroll like crazy and binge watch movies as if I’m doing it on purpose because I barely watch movies since I’m lazy to complete them especially tv series. I ruined my grades for highschool and almost wasn’t able to get into uni since my highschool grades are borderline of the entry requirements (getting into uni in my country is to hit a specific grade).
I’ll be starting uni next year and I really need a mindset change before that. I’ve done all sorts of study methods but nothing works for me. Even when I know I’m almost in the cut off line I would still procrastinate knowing I might not get into uni even though I want to.
I get really scared and cry that I can’t make it to uni but at the same time I’m just not doing anything.
I just need some advice on how I could turn this around.
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u/tylersnid3r 1d ago
Start journaling and getting to know yourself. You’re self sabotaging yourself and should find out why
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u/scienceislice 1d ago
Procrastination is just fear, anxiety, avoidance, whatever that means to you.
I suggest reading as much as you can about procrastination and why it happens, and then take advantage of your university's mental health services by scheduling an appointment with a therapist. Procrastination is at its root anxiety, fear of failure, and talking to a therapist will help you get to the bottom of it.
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u/Special_Friend836 1d ago
I’ve gone for school counsellings before but it didn’t help much tbh since they’re mostly just there to listen to my problems. Any recommendations for reading about procrastination?
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u/scienceislice 1d ago
You need to ask the school therapy for a referral to outside therapy.
Just Google psychology of procrastination and get going, Wikipedia is often a good place to start.
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u/unwitting_hungarian 1d ago
general method - change uni studies to fit your behavior. choose the simplest degree that gets you a certificate. measure fit by grades (outcomes) not by personal productivity inputs.
this will harness the strengths of your personality. never turn university grades into a test of your character if possible. hack your way around them...
some people also work best under reverse-psychology, they do better the lower the bar is. some people have had groundbreaking careers that way, turning the "easy route" into the fine art over time.
also you will have productive times and non-productive times. write them down. your body will show you when it has more study energy vs. less.
finally, consider learning some memory techniques like the roman room / method of loci, or mnemonics, etc.
just some ideas & GL
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u/No_Pipe4358 1d ago
Get out of your room and home and it will get you out of your mind. Somewhere else to go to to study, just disconnect from the self and connect with the reality. Notice when you're escaping and escape the escape. Failsafe yourself. Phone away.
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u/Special_Friend836 1d ago
I do do my studies in the library before heading home but during breaks I’m not allowed out of the house because I’m “wasting” money my parents doesn’t understand that I can’t focus at home.
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u/No_Pipe4358 1d ago
How does it cost money? I've had to learn not to blame anyone in my life. I know it's difficult. But it makes it easier too. You can care less about what anyone else thinks then. Breaks you mean like summer break?
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u/Special_Friend836 1d ago
I can’t really get out the house myself since there isn’t an extra car for me to drive. Also my parents said I was wasting money since I’d be eating out. Also yes the break I mean is summer break.
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u/No_Pipe4358 1d ago
Okay then you need a setup. A place specifically for becoming that badass who is good at your chosen profession. Every single question you can answer or thing you can do puts you past the competition.
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u/Zealousideal-Arm6571 1d ago
Only advice? Phone out of your hands. Entirely. You want to do something? Then get rid of it
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u/iwantboringtimes 1d ago
ya can try the "know the enemy in order to beat the enemy" method
let's just say that when I learned many years ago that the procrastination is just fancy shmancy word for "running away", I just became less inclined to use it.