As the leaves turn brown and winter jackets are brought out, the singular overwhelming thought on any student’s brain is about that essay they have due tomorrow, and have not even started. So what is it about the autumn weather that causes persistent, and damaging procrastination?
Well you know that feeling on a mid-November morning when your alarm is going off but you can’t help it; the soft and warm weight of your blanket makes you forget all about your work and hit that snooze button? Well, that’s how it starts.
Autumn procrastination is usually a side effect of transitioning from summer days of relaxation to a structured routine of constant work and deadlines to meet. In the beginning, students believe they have a new-found motivation to do well this academic year, but as autumn rolls around the all too familiar reality begins to settle in, and motivation falls just like the September leaves.
The lack of energy, motivation, and enthusiasm found in students is often a result of the time change. Leaving your house to go to school when it’s still night time, and returning around 5 for it already to be dark out is a huge demotivator. How can we be expected to come home and study, when our brain is telling us “Hey! It’s dark out, let’s relax and get ready to sleep.”?
Additionally, autumn brings about far too many holidays, markets, and festive celebrations for anyone to volunteer their time to work. Are you really going to question someone who goes to the Montreux Christmas Market instead of doing their bio lab? I wouldn’t.
So what can we do? Battling autumn procrastination is difficult, but definitely not impossible. For example, I find the most successful technique is to create a structured schedule that allows you to do all your work over a week. That way you can allocate time for every piece of work, and you will find yourself with guilt-free free time, as you know you’ll have time to complete your assignments.
Furthermore, I’d highly recommend adapting your environment to your studies. Even if your phone’s near you just in case someone needs to talk to you, we all know you’ll end up reaching for it. You’ll start scrolling on social media and by the time you’ve looked up half an hour has slipped out of your hands. Move your phone away from you, as well as any other distractions. You’ll discover you can complete the same amount of work you would in 3 hours, in a fraction of the time.
Finally, find a motivation buddy. You are not the only one struggling with procrastination, so find a friend you can rely on to remind you and push you to focus on the task at hand.
So yes, autumn procrastination is incredibly common, irritating, and difficult to battle. However, if approached correctly, students can get out of this slump before the rain turns to snow.
But what do I know? I had three weeks to write this and wrote it last night.
