Challenges for College Freshmen - Part 3 of 6

Another major concern for freshmen, as confirmed by my grandson and all of my work with students on academic probation, is procrastination.  This is a difficult problem to tackle as it is totally up to the student to control.   

My probations students tell me they procrastinate because:

·       There is something better to do – more fun, more interesting, easier, etc.

·       The academic work seems overwhelming

·       They are distracted/tempted by friends, socializing, social media, etc.

·       They just don’t want to do the work

One thing that contributes to the procrastination is that you are making an immediate choice to either do something right now that is pleasurable or something that will contribute to your long-term success but is far in the future and maybe not pleasurable.

I do feel this is a difficult problem to fix, but things that have worked for my students are:

·       Start productive habits at the very beginning of the semester and don’t vary.  For example, go to the Library immediately after class to study or work on assignments.

·       Remember the Nike slogan, “Just do it.”  It will be uncomfortable the first few times you pass up a fun activity for studying, but eventually you will enjoy your success.

·       Before the intrinsic pleasure of doing well begins, reward yourself with something you enjoy AFTER you are done studying.

·       Break a large assignment down into small, doable parts and just do the first thing.

·       Unfortunately, if your friends only want you to party and are not interested in your success you might want to find new friends.  Friends should want what is best for you!

·       Review your major.  Maybe you are not interested in the material and need to find an area where you do want to learn.

·       Make a to-do list and enjoy crossing things off. 

·       Review your longer-term goals for the semester as well as when you graduate.  It seems helpful to write these down and post them where you are reminded of them every day. 

The next blog is one of my picks: self-discipline.   With all of the free time you will have and no one to tell you what to do, how will you be sure you are productive and doing what needs to be done? 

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First Semester Success: Learning Strategies  and  Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the  upper right link.