Let us consider student A. It is Monday morning. A knew they were supposed to wake up early to master that one topic in Quantitative Aptitude. It has been bothering A all week, but they say to themselves “just a few more minutes” as they head back to sleep. It is now 9 AM and they are well on their way to office, knowing that they delayed their preparation once again. What’s more – their micro-managing boss has resulted in increased work-related stress. A comes home and lets off some steam by doing activities other than CAT prep. “After all, I can start tomorrow.” 3 tips to beat procrastination is a far off art form that A is yet to master.
Do you relate to our protagonist, A? Do you spend an inordinate amount of time creating the perfect schedule only to not follow through? Have you delayed your start date for preparation, week after week, and eventually, month after month?
You are in the right place if your answer to any of those questions was yes. Through this article, you will be provided a guide regarding 3 tips on how to beat procrastination and win at productivity on a daily basis. You can start with these actionable tips as early as today! (Which is great, if you are a serial procrastinator).
If you are currently in a b-school and are looking for how to be productive there, check out this blog that extensively details how to be productive during your MBA: https://online.2iim.com/cat-exam/blogs/mba/how-to-be-productive-during-mba/
Without further ado, let us begin.
Organization
Tip 1 of 3 tips to beat Procrastination
There are essentially two kinds of procrastinators: Passive procrastinators and Active Procrastinators. The former delay their activities because of a distinct difficulty in making decisions and following through on them. The latter delay their activities because they seek the tight deadlines to speed-run their tasks while under pressure.
Organization can prove to be god-send when it comes to increasing productivity, which is why we have listed it at the top position in our list of 3 tips to beat procrastination.
There are two kinds of organization that will play a major role in increasing your productivity. The first one being, physical organization.
Ensure that you have designated one study spot in your home/hostel. This study spot should be clean, without clutter, with adequate lighting and away from noise, and comprising of all the tools you might require for CAT preparation. You can add some personal affects such as indoor plants or family photographs to make you feel comfortable. Over time, your study haven will become a safe space, a mind palace, and ultra productive zone all at once. Having a designated study spot will reduce your tendency to avoid work, and will serve as a reminder to keep at your goals.
The second kind of organization has to do with tasks, goals, and schedules. Let us delve into each one by one.
SMART Goals
Tip 2 of 3 tips to beat Procrastination
S.M.A.R.T. Goals, as outlined by George T. Doran form the basis for our next tip on 3 tips to beat procrastination.
How should you frame your goals? Well, according to Doran, the acronym S.M.A.R.T provides a roadmap for successful goal framework.
S.M.A.R.T.
S – Specific. Targeting a specific area of improvement (in A’s scenario, quantitative aptitude), will ensure that you are focused and specifically tuned to what you need to do. This can be a particular section in CAT or a particular topic. Not having specific goals is a primary reason for procrastination, thereby making it important to avoid generalized goals.
S.M.A.R.T.
M – Measurable. Setting an indicator for progress such as “Completing 2 DILR sets every day” is an excellent way of quantifying your preparation plan, and provides that extra push to prevent you from putting your work off for another day.
S.M.A.R.T.
A – Assignable. We can take this to mean accountability. Similar to managerial roles in an organization, you are the manager of your CAT preparation goal. You are accountable for completing the objectives or for delaying them.
S.M.A.R.T.
R – Realistic. We have all come across the “99%ile in 3 days” videos on YouTube. We all know that it is not achievable. However, plenty of students flock towards similar goals simply because the outcome seems too good to be true. While setting goals, it is important to set them to realistic objectives. This will reduce procrastination because you know that it is something you can do, thereby removing the inhibitions for progress.
S.M.A.R.T.
T – Time-Related. If you are preparing for CAT, this aspect is perhaps the easiest to accomplish. You know that the exam happens every year in the month of November; therefore, your deadline is essentially set. This is important because having a vague deadline, or worse, having no deadline at all can increase complacency and procrastination.
Read more about S.M.A.R.T goals here.
Agendas, To-Do lists, and Timers
Tip 3 of 3 tips to beat Procrastination
Three main areas of focus that can improve productivity and reduce procrastination include:
Creating an Agenda based on SMART Goals.
Now that you have outlined your goals in a SMART way, it is time to create an agenda based on them. There are some fabulous online tools that can help you create agendas with various decorative elements. However, for the purpose of this article, and time, let us proceed with good ol’ Microsoft Excel.
Download our CAT scheduler as a template for creating your own agenda on Excel.
Watch this video to see how you can create a planner on Microsoft Excel.
By the end of your agenda creation, you should have a plan that is set to the tune of your SMART goals – that is, Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-Related.
Regular To-Do Lists and follow through.
Having an agenda for CAT prep centered around SMART goals is great; however, a lot of students struggle with balancing work and home life with CAT preparation, or college schedules and CAT preparation. That is where the To-Do list comes in handy.
Incorporate all your day’s activities into the to-do list and tick them off as you complete them. It is ideal to create the to-do list either the previous night (if you are a night owl) or first thing in the day (if you are an early riser). This will provide context to your day and helps keep you on track with ALL your activities.
With to-do lists, you can beat procrastination and make the first steps towards being a more productive aspirant.
Using Timer-based study to limit distractions.
If you are a procrastinator who has difficulty with sticking to goals and maintaining concentration during your tasks, timer-based study will definitely help bridge that gap.
The Pomodoro Technique is one such timer-based technique wherein you can set the timer for your study sessions. For example, you can set four 30-minute study sessions each with 10 minutes break in between and with one 30 minute break post your study rally. There are various online tools that mimic the pomodoro technique, one of which you can try is this one.
The main idea behind timer-based study is to limit distractions and reduce procrastination through continued reminders.
Final Words
These 3 tips to beat procrastination and boost CAT prep productivity might take a while to sink in, however, it is a worthwhile endeavor with long-reaching positive outcomes. Go forth into CAT prep without any hesitation or fear of delays, and make the most of your time as an Aspirant.
For more tips on how to create a schedule, watch the below video.
Swetha is 2IIM’s Product Manager who can’t wait to level up in the many video games she is currently playing.
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