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Ever since I shared my middl...
The following is an actual letter to the author. Identifying information has been removed.
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Dear Meghan,
Can you please give me advice on how to deal with procrastination? I procrastinate a lot and I am hardly able to study. It has gone to the point that I don't even study before exams. I get extremely nervous in front of other people, too, and feel insecure about my looks. Can you please help me?
— Why Do I Procrastinate?
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Dear WDIP,
You're not alone in your battle against the gods of distraction. Procrastination is one of those aspects of life we all deal with, to some degree. Especially when it comes to studying for exams covering topics that don't interest us, humans can be incredibly clever at concocting methods of procrastination. Procrasti-cleaning, procrasti-napping, or procrasti-shopping, for example.
Procrastinating is a double-edged sword because, in addition to the growing anxiety of still having to complete that looming task, now you're also dealing with the shame of putting it off for so long. As the minutes, hours, and days go by, that feeling of shame compounds and makes it even tougher to get to work.
There are a bunch of ways to trick yourself out of procrastinating, from making multi-tiered daily to-do lists, to speaking mantras out loud to yourself, to buddying up with a classmate.
Because you mentioned feeling insecure in general, I'm going to suggest that you focus on letting go of that secondary problem first: the shame. We live in a capitalist society that values productivity and profitability above all else, so it can be easy to transfer those values onto ourselves. But your worth as a person never depended on your ability to pass any test or perform to any particular academic standard. There's nothing shameful about being a round peg in a square hole. Creativity takes time, mental space, and an impulse to think "outside the box" as they say. Once you reframe procrastination as giving yourself creative space to let your ideas marinate, you'll be able to shake off that lingering shame.
You do have to pass those exams, though. It's possible that your brain works differently than most other people's, and that's why you're struggling to adhere to the standard expectations of your school's testing system. Make an appointment with a psychiatrist, or even with your school guidance counselor to start, and explain the situation as specifically as possible. You might discover that like many of the most successful people, you're neurodivergent, for example with a diagnosis of ADD. From there, you'll be able to access the right tools and possibly medications to harness that neurodivergence and use it to your advantage in test-taking and beyond.
In solidarity, Meghan
Disclaimer: This advice column is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I'm not a licensed mental health professional and the advice provided is not intended to replace professional advice. Neither I nor Wattpad bears responsibility for any outcomes resulting from the advice given.
