How to Regain Control

Now that you understand why you procrastinate, you can take the next step towards overcoming it. Implementing strategies that work for you instead of against you. We’ve all experienced that relying solely on willpower is unreliable and does not always work. By reshaping your habits, you can make productivity more rewarding and distractions less tempting.

Recognizing What Makes You Procrastinate

Before you can change your behavior, start by identifying the moments when you’re most likely to procrastinate.

• Do you find yourself delaying tasks more often after a long day of classes?

• Does the sight of a large assignment make you feel overwhelmed?

• Do you tend to procrastinate when you’re in certain environments, like your bedroom or the living room where there are more distractions?

Being aware of these moments will help you in creating solutions. For example, if working in a particular space leads to distraction, switching to a designated study area can improve your focus.

Implementing Small Changes

Temptation Bundling: Temptation bundling is “the coupling of instantly gratifying ‘want’ activities with engagement in a ‘should’ behavior that provides long-term benefits but requires the exertion of willpower.” You should pair something you enjoy (like watching the next episode) with something you need to do (like doing that assignment). This method helps to rewire your brain’s reward system so that productive activities produce dopamine and become associated with pleasure. For example:

• Listen to your favorite music playlist, but only while reading notes or working on assignments.

• Only allow yourself to watch an episode of your favorite show after completing a whole assignment.

• Enjoy your favorite snack while studying.

Through attaching rewards to studying, you create a positive relationship with that activity, making it easier to stay on track.

Pomodoro Technique: The Pomodoro Technique involves focused, timed work sessions to increase productivity. To use this method:

1. List tasks, estimate the time needed for each, and prioritize them

2. Set a timer (typically for 25 minutes) and work on a single task

3. After 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break

4. Repeat the cycle

Longer tasks can be broken into multiple Pomodoro sessions. Some people choose to change the timing, using 50-minute sessions with 10-minute breaks. Use what works best for you. After four cycles, reward yourself with an episode or a quick social media scroll. This keeps motivation high while maintaining focus.

Adjusting Your Environment: your surroundings significantly impact how you are able to focus. If you find yourself struggling with distractions like Netflix and social media too tempting, try:

• Studying in a different room to separate work from leisure

• Using browser blockers to prevent access to certain websites

• Keeping your phone out of reach while studying

• Creating a designated study space to signal to your brain that it’s time to focus

The goal is to make distractions less accessible and studying more convenient in order to reduce your likelihood of procrastinating.

Can We Rewire Our Brains to Overcome Procrastination?

Our brains naturally gravitate toward activities that provide immediate gratification due to the dopamine release they trigger. However, it's possible to trigger that same dopamine release to make productive tasks more rewarding and engaging.

Research by neuroscientist Okihide Hikosaka shows that dopamine neurons are activated not only by tangible rewards but also by the anticipation of acquiring new information. This shows that our brains can find learning and goal achievement inherently rewarding when we associate them with positive outcomes. We can prompt our brains to have this response while studying in a few ways:

Create a Dopamine-Boosting Study Routine

Since you are looking for that dopamine hit while procrastinating your assignments, create a study routine that trains your brain to release it during productivity.

• Start with small, achievable goals. Instead of telling yourself that you have to study for 3 hours, tell yourself you need to study for just 10 minutes. Often, if the task seems too daunting you won’t want to start it. Once you start it, it will be easier to continue.

• Give yourself small rewards. After studying for 10 minutes or reading 10 pages, allow yourself 5 minutes of social media. Or, after completing a homework problem, take a short walk. If you are using this method, be conscious of your breaks and make sure you go back to studying.

• Make studying enjoyable by listening to music, lighting a candle or using colorful notes. Using small things to boost your environment will make your experience more enjoyable and will keep you engaged.

By making your study sessions feel rewarding and enjoyable, you’ll train your brain to associate productivity with those dopamine hits, making it easier to stay on track and less tempting to fall back into procrastination.

Time Blocking

Creating loose plans to study like telling yourself that you’ll study later creates too much room for procrastination and avoidance. Time blocking is a productivity method where you divide your day into dedicated time slots for specific tasks. Instead of multitasking, you focus on one activity at a time. Time blocking also encourages balance, making sure that you have space for relaxation and leisure.

• Instead of saying that you will do it later, tell yourself: “I will study from 6 to 8pm.”

• Use your planner or calendar to block out study time throughout the week.

• Block out leisure time after your study time.

By scheduling specific time slots for studying, you create a clear structure for yourself that helps eliminate the uncertainty that can lead to procrastination.

Limit Dopamine Overload

Streaming services and social media apps are specifically designed to keep you watching, making it very hard to stop.

• Turn off autoplay so that the next episode doesn’t play automatically. This makes you consciously decide to either leave or play the next episode, taking you out of the loop.

• Set timers on your apps to limit usage. Apps like TikTok are designed to keep you endlessly scrolling. When your usage is limited, this takes your focus off the app and helps you to stop scrolling,

• Log out after each session. This will make accessing the apps less convenient and allow you to think before you engage.

By taking these small steps, you can break the cycle of instant gratification and regain control over your time and reduce the temptation to binge media.

Finding Passion

Dr. Kelley shared with me that finding passion is extremely important to overcoming procrastination. When you are passionate about something, you are able to easily find the motivation to do it. Dr. Kelley's approach is based on the Self Determination Theory, a psychological framework that explains human motivation. Dr. Kelley described 3 key needs to beat procrastination: getting along, getting ahead, and making meaning.

Getting Along: Building social connections and seeking support from others can make challenging tasks feel much more manageable. When you work with others through study groups, you can create a better environment for motivation and productivity. This helps reduce stress and create accountability, making it easier to take action rather than procrastinate.

Getting Ahead: Procrastination can prevent your success. However, if you switch your mindset to focus on long-term rewards, it doesn’t have to. To do this, set clear, attainable goals with incentives to create a sense of progress. Being able to see the benefits of finishing a task (better grades, career growth, or gaining skills) can help rewire your brain to prioritize your assignments over one more episode.

Making Meaning: People tend to procrastinate more when tasks feel pointless or disconnected from personal values. For example, you may be thinking in class, “When am I ever going to need to know this stuff?” To create more meaning in your schoolwork, try to connect your assignments to a bigger purpose. How does this project align with your passions, future aspirations or ability to help others? Finding meaning in your work will make it feel less like a chore and more like a step toward self-improvement.

If you are able to find passion in your schoolwork, you are more likely to make productivity feel more natural, rather than procrastination.

Finding Balance

In order to overcome procrastination, you need to find balance. A middle ground between work and leisure time is possible. The goal isn’t to eliminate Netflix or force yourself into endless study sessions. It’s about you creating a sustainable balance where entertainment can enhance your academic life instead of hurting it. According to a summary of insights from Dr. Justin Sprung, an industrial-organizational psychologist, an imbalance between personal and academic life (between leisure and studying) may contribute to increased stress levels, which in turn can lead to avoidant behaviors such as procrastination. If you can begin understanding the science behind procrastination, recognizing your triggers, and applying some practical strategies, you can regain control over your time. Small changes can lead to lasting habits and most importantly, less procrastination.