Long Night Against Procrastination
When April approaches, most people get excited that spring is just around the corner. But for students, April means exams, deadlines and stress. That’s why on March 15, St. Thomas University hosted the annual Long Night Against Procrastination (LNAP) to try and help students get a head start on their school work.
From five to midnight, students took part in many different activities. There were study rooms, a spa in the gym, therapy dogs, free printing and free food.
Depending on the type of study atmosphere students prefer, they could go to a quiet classroom or be right in the middle of the action. Creating an ideal atmosphere is important for students to be able to be productive. It’s a step in the right direction for eliminating procrastination.
One of the study rooms was called the Pomodoro classroom. Students went into a quiet class and worked for 25 minutes. A large, red timer was projected onto the screen at the front of the class, slowly counting down the minutes. After the 25 minutes is up students get a five minute break. When five cycles of this is over, students get an hour break. This technique is used to promote productivity by guaranteeing students breaks so they don’t lose their attention span and can keep working.
The Pomodoro Technique was invented in the 1980s by Francesco Cirillo. It was named after Cirillo’s tomato timer he had in his kitchen when he was a student, pomodoro being the Italian word for tomato.
Heather MacDonald, the learning strategist at STU and the organizer for LNAP, has herself struggled with procrastination.
“I think everybody [procrastinates] to some extent. I’ve had my struggles. I think it is also situational, procrastination is something that we’re better at other times and we’re not so better at other times, it depends what’s on your plate. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never procrastinated at anything but I have internalized these strategies, I’ve gotten better and I’m able to help other people to identify what’s standing in their way and help them overcome it.”
But MacDonald knows with some hard work and concentration, people can overcome procrastination. She said that some tips for not procrastinating would be to not over estimate the amount of motivation it takes to do the task, and to understand what the consequences to our actions would be for not doing it.
“Once you start something, we all generally find it’s easy.”
Everyone struggles with procrastination in some form or another. Whether it’s doing laundry, cleaning, or washing dishes, there’s always something to procrastinate on. For students, adding homework to this messy equation creates a larger challenge.
But today, procrastination may be worse than it’s ever been before. Social media is extremely accessible and at most times is just a click away. It’s hard for anyone to stay concentrated for an extended period of time without a phone buzzing or a Facebook notification popping up.
“It’s had an incredible impact I’d say in the last 5 years specifically,” MacDonald said. “The internet is always there, it gives you instant gratification. We stop thinking critically about things because we find the answers immediately with our devices.”
One student, Melissa Shea, has been in and out of St. Thomas since 2006. She’s seen how the rise of social media has impacted her own ability to work and others around her.
“When I started it was like 2006, people were just starting to get Facebook. When I came into St. Thomas I hadn’t even heard about it. I had a second year roommate who convinced me to get it,” she said.
“Absolutely It was a huge distraction. I’ve now cut back almost completely. I have a pseudo-name on facebook so I’m not as easily found, I really feel like I’ve just reached a point where I’ve noticed that social media is just eating up so much of time that right now I can’t do it, I have to focus that time somewhere else.”
But through events like the Long Night Against Procrastination, MacDonald has hope that students can find out what works for them to eliminate their tendency to procrastinate.
“Humans in general are terrible at self-control,” MacDonald said. “I’m hoping that through events like these and through support systems at St. Thomas that students will see that getting out and talking to people really does help overcome the challenges we face when it comes to social media, and the internet, and procrastination in general.”
You can check out these tips to learn more about overcoming procrastination.
