How I Stay Focused Throughout the School Term

A lot of people seemed to like my Study Tips & Uni Advice post so I decided to blog about school again! I’m currently doing a Social Work degree at UBC, so I’m taking five courses while doing a practicum. I can still blog and watch anime because I usually finish all my assignments early.

1. Use a calendar to record all your due dates and make a to-do list. Check these very regularly! 

I try to minimize my to-do list all the time because I know that it will get longer. If I see that I have a lot of due dates in the next couple of weeks, I start working on my assignments whenever I have free time. Thinking about the future will help you to not procrastinate. I don’t mean, think about your future career because that is a long time. Instead, think about your future weeks and how tired or stressed you might feel if you procrastinate now.

More importantly, I think the key to not procrastinate lies within your habits. Working on assignments early is a simple task for me because it’s so ingrained in my daily routine. It doesn’t take much willpower. It just happens on its own.

2. Self-care is super important. 

Taking care of yourself physically and emotionally is important because if you are sick or feel a lot of stress, it will be harder to focus on school. To a lot of people, self-care is jogging or doing some sort of exercise that makes them feel good. Honestly, exercise just makes me tired and I don’t enjoy it at all. Self-care really differs from person to person. To me, self-care is watching anime and getting a lot of sleep. Watching anime is not a waste of time if it helps you relax or take your mind off of school work. We all know that self-care is important, but also understand that it will look different for every person.

3. Understand what your priorities are. 

I prioritize school, doing a good job at practicum, and this blog. When your priorities are clear, it’s easier to say “no” to procrastination with your inner voice.

4. Live a fulfilled personal life, while maintaining balance with your school life. 

My personal life consists of being a cosplayer and blogger, and eating foods with friends. These are important to me because if my identity was only tied to being a student, that would be a very sad life. Your hobbies, interests and friendships give you more purpose and you’ll have fun outside of school.

It’s dangerous when you focus too much on your outside interests and not enough on school, so always do self-reflection and think about these different roles.

I write myself letters whenever I feel dissatisfied with my life, and I make an action plan on the things I can do to immediately change my current situation. It’s generally pretty effective. Take comfort in knowing that no one will read these letters except for you, so there’s no need to filter your thoughts! Be as vulgar, petty, or shallow as you wish, given that you do some reflection afterwards. 🙂

5. Know your self-worth. 

I feel like I am going off-topic but this is also related at the same time because if you feel good about yourself and view yourself as a person of value and importance, you might not procrastinate as much. I feel that often times, procrastination stems for feelings of insecurity or dissatisfaction with some aspect of life.

Every person is important and every life matters. Your grades are NOT an indicator of your worth as a person. Please don’t let negative thoughts get the better of you. Each day is a new day, full of possibilities.

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Every person is different, so maybe just one thing on this list will help you. Maybe all five are helpful, or maybe none at all. I also procrastinate sometimes. However, when I do, I forgive myself and move on. It rarely happens but I’m only human.