Difficulty in making a start on a piece of work or revision
Do you find yourself constant putting back your starting time and
never actually getting going? Are you often waiting for the "right moment"
to start or for inspiration to strike you?
Craving diversion
Does the need to tidy your room, do the shopping, phone home and so on
become irresistible whenever you contemplate getting down to work? Are you
easily distracted from your work by friends and social opportunities?
Ineffective working
Do you spend time in the library but end up with little to show for it? Do you stare at a blank
piece of paper rather than being able to start writing?
Last minute rushing
Is all your work finally done at a breakneck speed the night before the final deadline or the exam?
Do you often think you have not left yourself time to do the work justice?
Missed deadlines
Do you feel you are always requesting extensions and making excuses? Are you losing marks on
work because it is late? Do you find it hard to get to classes?
Nagging guilt
Is your social and relaxation time spoilt by the continual feeling that you ought to be working? Do
you often feel you have got a lower grade than you should have achieved?
Disappointment and self-reproach
Do you feel you are letting yourself down by putting things off? Do you think of yourself as lazy
and as a poor student? Do you compare yourself unfavourably with others because of your
procrastinating?
If you answer yes to many of these questions, you may well have developed the habit of putting
things off. Read on to learn why you do this and how to help yourself.
Over-Aversion to Discomfort
Being a student is certainly not all easy and enjoyable. Much of the work needs effort to get
started and can be demoralisingly difficult to complete. In addition the lack of structure places a
considerable demand on the student. The reason that a degree is a highly respected qualification is
because of the volume of hard work which goes into getting one. It is normal to find the work
uncomfortable - and if you can face up to this discomfort, you can expect to get the knack of
dealing with it surprisingly soon and so cease to notice it so much. If however you have got into
the habit of putting off work whenever it feel too challenging, you never get good at doing
uncomfortable things. It is as thought you are never breaking through the "pain barrier" to the
comfort beyond.
Lack of Self-Confidence
Facing up to a complex essay or to a pile of demanding revision is never easy. It is made more
difficult if you see the natural problems that arise as a sign that you are not very good student
rather than just as a sign that the work is hard. If you tend to blame yourself when problems arise,
you then may not feel able to ask for help and to overcome the difficulties. This makes the
problems worse. Perfectly able students can convince themselves that they are "impostors" who
do not deserve to be at university at all when in fact they are capable of a high level of
achievement.
Getting Overwhelmed
If we sit down to write an essay and find there is a lot to research, it is natural to feel a bit
swamped. There are practical ways of solving this. If however you tend to lose direction, maybe
reading books haphazardly without having a clear idea of how they can help you, you may get
more and more overwhelmed until you put off starting the work altogether. Similarly if you have
got all your work in a muddle, you may not know how to start getting it back in order.
Under-Developed Study Skills
Study-skills are the tools a student uses - the ability to scan books
and articles fast; to summarize succinctly; to evaluate arguments quickly.
If your skills are rusty or have not been sharpened, you will be like a
carpenter working with blunt tools - everything will be much harder work.
This problem may be made worse if English is not your first language.
If you don't recognize this as a simple study skills problem and take steps
to remedy it, you may become demoralised and unable to face working.
Unrealistic Expectations
Some people decide they should never get less than full marks and that any grade below a first is a
mark of personal failure. Unfortunately most of us are not capable of such sustained excellent
performance and will soon grind to a halt if we put this pressure upon
ourselves. Unrealistic ideals can lead us to shy away from producing work
that reflects our true ability. By leaving
everything to the last moment we can keep alive the hope that we really
could get a first in everything if we just got started.
Resentment
Possibly you are not impressed by Royal Holloway in general. Maybe some aspect of your course
has proved to be a disappointment. Perhaps the course you are on was not your first choice and
you resent that you could not do what you really wanted. You might have felt pushed into going
to University against your will by parents or teachers. In situations where we feel wronged or let
down or coerced but we cannot clearly see who is to blame, it is natural for us to express our
resentment by not doing the work which is asked of us. It is a sophisticated form of sulking.
Habituation and Lifestyle
If you have become totally used to putting things off and to getting extensions, it can be
immensely difficult to take the first step towards breaking the habit. The situation can be made
worse if you have got in the habit of sleeping in very late, or of using drink and soft drugs to
distract you.
Depression
Inability to concentrate and lack of motivation can be a symptom of depression. If you have other
symptoms, like sleeping problems, lack of energy and appetite, weepiness etc. you may wish to
see our page on Depression.
Do Something ... Anything ... Now
Do not wait for the moment to be right before you start work. Use an odd half-an-hour waiting
for the bars to open to read a book and make some notes. Start an essay in the middle if this come
easier than starting with the introduction. The quicker you find a way to get going on things the
quicker you will finish them. Learning to get started without ceremony is one of the main skills of
time management.
Don't Stop Because Something Is Difficult
If you come up against an obstacle, look for a way round it. For example if you cannot seem to
get the structure of an essay right, make a rough outline and show it to the lecturer or check with
a friend. It is important not to just put everything on hold when you meet a problem since the
problem will then never be solved.
Make a List and a Timetable
List what you have to do and estimate how long it will take. Then draw up a squared plan to
represent the next few weeks, mark the deadlines and fit everything in. It might be a painful
process if you have a lot to do, but will soon give you a sense of direction. Don't beat yourself up
if you don't stick to it 100% - or even 50%. It takes time to learn to plan. Blank timetables with hints on time
planning are available from the Counselling Service.
Arrange your Work in an Achievable Way
Only the exceptional person can regularly do more that forty hours good quality work on one
subject in a week. Similarly it is hard to do more than one and a half hours at one thing without a
break. Give yourself generous time off in your timetable. This can be a reward if you do well and
can be used to complete work if a totally unexpected event has thrown you off course.
Don't Aim for the Impossible
Work out realistically what standard you can achieve and start working towards that. It might be
disappointing to decide you might only get a lower second,
but a lower second in your hand
is probably distinctly better than the first that exists only in your dreams. Once you have got started on the
work you can always revise your estimate of your capability upwards if you find you have
untapped potential.
Consider your Lifestyle
It is difficult to work in an organised way if you tend to sleep in an unplanned way and so cannot
predict when your day will start. Staying up late then sleeping late becomes a difficult cycle to
break. The best way is to plan to get up early, irrespective of when you went to bed. If necessary,
shower, lay your clothes out and have everything ready for the morning before you go to bed so
you can get going in the morning with a minimum of hassle. Try not to sleep during the day even
if you feel tired so that you can get your normal daily cycle back. If alcohol or drug use are
slowing you down, look at our page on these subjects to see if you can gain more control.
Aim to Get More Organised
Research shows that the less worrying distractions there are, the better we work. Therefore aim
for a clear desk, sorted notes, clear priorities and so on. The more you can focus your mind, the
better you will perform. However do not substitute tidying up your room and sorting out your
notes for doing some actual work or you will never get started. Keep tidying and listing as a
relaxing task to be done at the end of a day's work.
Take Action about Anything you Really Cannot Stand
If you really don't like the College, your course or some units, think about how you can make the
changes you need. Better to act now and find something you like more than drift into the future
not working and then fail to pass your degree. However if after consideration you decide you
want to stick it out and work, go back to the top of this list and begin to get the work done.
Find Help if Needed
Academic staff can usually offer a lot of support and advice if you are confused about as piece of
work. The Language Centre will support Overseas students in improving study skills. Fellow
students and those in the year above you can be a great help. Useful books are listed below and
available from the Counselling Service bookstall. Student counsellors will help you talk through
your problems and find a solution.
There is no great shame in finding studying difficult so try not to be too proud to ask for assistance.
Beating the Comfort Trap - Windy Dryden and Jack Gordon
A good motivating book for those of us who tend to put uncomfortable tasks off or run for the
bar at the first sight of a problem - i.e. most of us!
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway - Susan Jeffers
The title says it all
The Student Writing Guide - Gordon Taylor
A comprehensive guide to writing essays for arts and social science students
All these are available from the Counselling Service. We also are researching other titles which
are available from the library.
Comments to Christopher Butler, Head of Student Counselling.
The material has been written by the Royal Holloway Student Counselling Service and is the property of the Service. For information on obtaining permission for use please refer to Counselling Page.
We would welcome any comments you may have.
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