Along with skills like time management, prioritizing, impulse control, and organization, initiation—the simple act of getting going—is an important piece of the Executive Function puzzle. We’ve all fallen prey to procrastination at some point, when a task is unappealing, overwhelming, or opaque. Often the dragging of feet diminishes once we take a first step, and with the right push momentum takes over. These tips are designed to help students overcome the initial friction of initiation and get to work.
Avoid the blank page blues
The cliché of writer’s block, in which a frustrated artist hunches over before an empty page, is rooted in reality. In French, this frustration is called l’angoisse de la page blanche, or anxiety of the blank page. There are many reasons why that white space is intimidating—because it represents a heap of work still left to do, because it doesn’t offer any structure for making forward progress, because anything that appears on it is immediately subject to perfectionistic self-critique. To say goodbye to the blank page blues, never write from nothing. Start with notes, a graphic organizer, an outline. Dive into one quote or idea halfway through the paper that you feel particularly comfortable about. As soon as you can, and with as little reflection as possible, get words down on the page—it’s important to demystify the process of writing so that we can avoid falling into the temptation of French angst and instead go about our writing one step at a time.
Work in chunks
On that note, always set yourself interim goals and shorter tasks, breaking down large assignments into their component pieces. Work step by step, sentence by sentence, and you’ll find yourself making quicker progress with less anxiety about the larger assignment.
Break bad habits
We all develop patterns of procrastination that emerge when we’re feeling anxious, unmotivated, or unsure how to proceed. This could mean checking social media, reading the news, falling into a cycle of youtube videos—even ‘productive’ procrastination like cleaning our space or checking email. Recognize these habits and do what you need to in order to short circuit them, as outrageous as it may seem. Put your phone in another room, download a site-blocker to restrict your internet access to the sites you need for a limited time, and find a space with minimal distractions.
Build healthy habits
As you resist old patterns, create new ones. Start every work period with a certain song, or in a specific environment when you can—develop a habit that your body will recognize and snap into work mode. As part of these habits, use a timer, whichcan be invaluable for tracking smaller goals, keeping yourself on task, and delineating work and break times.