school help: So finals are coming up… - Help.com

well fist things first clean your room lol switch off your comp then sit at a table schedule yourself to do say 1 hours work then take a 20 min break go on facebook or get a drink or food then back to work.dont think oh **** i gotta do work all night instead think okay 1 hour then ill watch my fav programme or something. good luck on your finals and hey itll be worth it in the end

Your post sounds like it could have been written by me. I have several pieces of advice for you, from a professional procrastinator.

1) When you are having trouble focusing exercise is a really effective way to burn off some of the stress and get yourself to ready focus. Instead of sitting around stressing about something, go for a run (or whatever you prefer for exercise) for about 45 minutes and you will be more able to focus when you come back. You might think you would just be tired, but you actually get more energy of the kind you need for schoolwork when you exercise.

2) Break the work into smaller pieces. This is old advice but it works. Think of what steps you really can do without losing focus. If that means that the first step is just opening up the file and then rewarding yourself with a break, start with that. With my grad school work, my first task is usually to set up a template where I copy the assignment instructions into the document so that I don’t have to refer back to a separate piece of paper. I can do it by rote and it provides a framework for working quickly. You can delete the directions when you are done if you want, but it actually is nice to have in because it makes the printouts much more useful as study aids later.

3) Take small breaks in between sub-tasks. Since you almost certainly have a poor sense of the passage of time, you should use a timer, such as one on a digital watch or a kitchen timer on a microwave or stove. Set it for five minutes and go back to work when it goes off. Don’t ever NOT set it when you step away from the task, even if it is for a bathroom break. If you can’t return to the task right away, set it again.

4) Don’t work through the night. If you are tired, go to sleep. Avoid caffeine because it amplifies stress and anxiety, so although it can keep you awake it actually is counterproductive.

5) Get a body-double. This is a pro-tip that helps even for people who have serious ADHD. When you need to work on something, get someone to site with you while you get started. If you need help talking through the things you need to do and in what order, they can listen and help you work it out. Then let them just sit there and read their own book or whatever while you work. This technique bypasses the executive functions part of the brain and engages other parts to help a person stay on task, even though the other person is just sitting there. Don’t let them help or chat unless there is some specific need because what you really want is just to have the body-double sit silently while you get moving on your assignment. The odds are that after 30 minutes or so they can get up and leave and you will be able to stay on task for a while. This might sound odd but many people are willing to do this. Pick someone who is not wiggly or goofy — an overly-serious student works best in my experience, and most people don’t mind helping out this way.

Let me know if you have specific challenges you want advice on — I have gone from failing lots of classes in my undergraduate days to being an A student in grad school by overcoming some of the same things you described. It’s still a challenge for me, but I have received a lot of helpful guidance over the years and I’m happy to pass it along.