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  • Hello.

  • My name is Emma, and I have a question for you.

  • I want you to imagine this.

  • Imagine you have a big English test that's going to happen very soon.

  • What do you do?

  • Okay? And I want you to be honest.

  • Do you open up your book and study right away, and every day study for your test?

  • Do you think about your test, feel a little bit sad and maybe go on Facebook?

  • Do you, instead of studying, text your friends?

  • Or do you think about studying, but instead just watch TV?

  • Okay, a lot of students will say that they open up their book and study, but in reality

  • a lot of people don't do this.

  • A lot of people before tests or presentations or work get really, really nervous, and they

  • do something different. Okay?

  • They don't want to do the studying, they don't want to do the hard work, they're really afraid

  • to do it so instead they do something like go on Facebook, call their friends, go to the mall.

  • Okay?

  • These are all examples, two, three, and four that is...

  • These three are examples of procrastination.

  • Okay?

  • So, "procrastination" is maybe a new word for you, but it's a very, very important word

  • if you are a student or, you know, even if you work.

  • It's actually an important word for everybody because most people procrastinate.

  • So what does procrastination mean?

  • Well, it's when you have something you have to do, but instead of doing what you have

  • to do, you do something else that's more fun, and you keep thinking:

  • "I'll come back to this", but you're very busy with these other things.

  • So let's look at some examples of the word procrastination.

  • We have it as a verb, an action: "I am procrastinating."

  • Because I'm not studying, I'm on Facebook, I'm procrastinating.

  • "I'm not studying. I procrastinate a lot."

  • Here we have another verb form. Okay?

  • "I procrastinate a lot", which means: I don't study, I don't do my English homework; instead,

  • I spend a lot of time texting my friends and doing anything but English.

  • I can also use it as a noun: "My procrastination is really bad."

  • Okay?

  • My procrastination is bad.

  • I have a problem with procrastination.

  • So this means I have a problem getting stuff done because I don't really want to do it,

  • I'd rather focus on doing Facebook or something else.

  • Or we can also have it as a noun to say what we are.

  • "I'm a procrastinator."

  • A procrastinator is a person.

  • Okay? So I'm a teacher, that's a person.

  • When I was in university sometimes I was a procrastinator.

  • This means before any big test or presentation I'd start working on it, and then I'd do something

  • else because I'm a procrastinator.

  • Okay? So let's...

  • We're going to talk about why people procrastinate, and then we're going to talk about

  • how to fight procrastination. Okay?

  • Because it's something we all need to fight.

  • Okay, so why do people procrastinate?

  • That's a very good question.

  • Okay?

  • So, different people procrastinate for different reasons, but usually a lot of the times people

  • have the same reasons for procrastinating.

  • People procrastinate when they think something is difficult.

  • Okay?

  • So for me I find math difficult, so when I used to do math I would procrastinate and

  • I would do something else like, you know, make a sandwich or clean my room even because

  • the math seemed so difficult to me, anything was better than doing the math.

  • So I would always get distracted.

  • A lot of people find English grammar difficult, and when they're studying grammar a lot of

  • the times they procrastinate, they text their friends or they, you know, do anything but grammar.

  • Boring.

  • A lot of people procrastinate when something is boring.

  • They don't want to do it because it's...

  • You know, they want to do something interesting.

  • People procrastinate when something is a lot of work.

  • Okay? And they know it's a lot of work, so they look at the task and it's just too much, so

  • then they want to feel good, so they do something else.

  • A lot of people also procrastinate just because they're scared or they're afraid.

  • They want to do something well, and they don't think that they can so it well, so you know...

  • Or, you know, they're worried about making mistakes, so a lot of the times people procrastinate

  • because of fear.

  • People procrastinate because of stress.

  • You know, they have stressful jobs, they have all these stressful things going on, so they

  • just want to relax.

  • They don't want to do things that cause stress.

  • Because if you think about it, you want to be doing something, you know, that makes you feel happy.

  • For a lot of these things because they don't make you feel happy you don't want to do them,

  • and that's why people procrastinate.

  • But you'll actually find that usually the thing that you have to do isn't that bad.

  • It's actually your mind and the way you think about things that make it seem very bad and

  • very scary, but a lot of the times actually it's just once you start it's a lot easier.

  • So let's look at some ways to fight procrastination, because almost everybody procrastinates and

  • there are some really good ways to stop procrastinating.

  • So, I want you to think about something in your life right now, something that you have

  • to do but you don't really want to do it, and you keep procrastinating.

  • Maybe you have to write an English essay, maybe you have a test coming up, or a big

  • presentation, or a job interview. Okay?

  • It can be so many different things.

  • Maybe you actually just hate cleaning the dishes, you hate washing the dishes and you

  • have a sink filled with them.

  • So these are things we can procrastinate about.

  • For me, I have a big presentation in two weeks-oh no!-and I have to get started on it.

  • So I've been procrastinating, so now I'm going to use some of these tips to fight procrastination. Okay?

  • So, to get started with our fight against procrastination,

  • I want you to look at this as three parts.

  • We need to fight procrastination before we start our task or our activity.

  • So, for example, if you're studying for a test, you need to start the fight before you start studying.

  • We also need to fight procrastination while we're studying or, you know, working on our

  • presentation or whatever, and there's things we can do after we finish our task.

  • Okay? So there's three stages to this and we'll go over each one.

  • So, before you start what you're procrastinating on, before you start the work you have to

  • do, the difficult, scary work, there's a couple of things you can do so you don't feel so

  • scared or, you know, so you're not so worried about what you have to do.

  • First of all, this is probably one of the most important tips: You need to give yourself time to accomplish things.

  • People always underestimate how long something takes.

  • Okay?

  • So a lot of people, they think: "Oh, I have a test.

  • I'll study the night before.

  • You know, it's okay, I'll learn everything. It doesn't take me a lot of time."

  • You really do need time to learn.

  • Learning takes time. Okay?

  • It's actually better to do a little bit every day, than to do everything the night before,

  • especially for learning a language, you learn more by doing a little bit every day than

  • all at the same time.

  • So give yourself time to finish what you need to do.

  • No cramming, which means don't do everything right before it's due because you're going

  • to have so much stress and you're not going to be able to do things as well.

  • So give yourself time.

  • Set up a schedule. Okay?

  • So if you're studying, what days are you going to study on?

  • How long will you study each day?

  • Maybe you'll just do 20 minutes a day, maybe 30 minutes a day, maybe an hour a day, but

  • it's good to set up a schedule.

  • So Monday I do this much time, Tuesday this much, Wednesday this much, etc.

  • Again, if you're learning a language or you have a test coming up, a little bit each day

  • is the way to go.

  • Okay? You remember a lot more by doing this.

  • So plan for to do a little bit every day for tests.

  • At night, the night before you start your task...

  • So, for example, imagine I want to study on Monday - Sunday night what I'm going to do

  • is I'm going to come up with a list and I'm going to think about:

  • What do I need to do for Monday?

  • Okay?

  • The reason it's good to come up with a to-do list at night is right before bed if you make

  • your to-do list while you're sleeping your brain is doing a lot of work, and your brain

  • is actually going to start working on some of these things you need to get done and it's

  • going to prepare you for it.

  • So it's really, really good to make your to-do list the night before so your brain is ready

  • to go the next day when you actually have to do the task.

  • Okay?

  • I actually found this one to be a very interesting tip because I never knew that, but when I

  • started learning about procrastination I found that that can really help you with your procrastination.

  • Another thing that's very important to do the night before is to decide:

  • What time will you start and what time will you finish?

  • A lot of people just decide on what time they will start at.

  • "I'm going to start studying at 1pm."

  • And then they have the whole day and there's no finish time, so you know what this does?

  • It makes studying look terrible because it just seems like something that's just going

  • to go on forever, and then that's why they get so distracted because you don't have a finish time.

  • Okay? So you have no idea of when the pain of studying is going to finish.

  • It's a lot better to decide a finish time, and once you finish, relax.

  • Give yourself a break.

  • You don't have to worry about what you were working on.

  • Okay? So have a start time and a finish time.

  • Now let's look at some more tips.

  • Okay, so we just have a couple more things you can do before you start.

  • Actually before you start I have the most tips because I think getting yourself ready

  • and your brain in the right mindset can really help you stop procrastination.

  • So my next tip is: Think about when will be a good time to work on what you need to do.

  • For different people times can be different.

  • Some people love doing things really late at night, some people like doing things in the morning.

  • It's also good to think about: When will you be the least distracted?

  • If your favourite TV show comes on at 4 o'clock, 4 o'clock is probably not a good time to study

  • or work on your presentation because you're going to want to watch the TV show.

  • Right?

  • So think about when is a time where there's not a lot of distractions and when you feel

  • comfortable getting a lot of work done.

  • Another example of this is think about with food.

  • For me, whenever I eat lunch right after I feel kind of tired, so for me, putting a huge

  • project to do after lunch, I'm not going to want to do it.

  • I'm going to feel, you know, too tired to do it.

  • Whereas for me, doing things in the morning, I tend to get the most done in the morning.

  • So know yourself and know what is a good time for you.

  • Another good idea is a lot of students have these big goals.

  • "I want to learn English", "I want to learn, you know, the present perfect", you know,

  • they have a lot of goals, and thinking about the big goal is good, but if you think too

  • much on it, it can become very stressful because you think about:

  • "Oh my god, I have so much work to do."

  • It's actually better to take the big goal and put it into smaller goals.

  • Okay? So, for example, imagine my big goal is: I will learn the present perfect.

  • Okay? This is what I want to do.

  • I need to learn the present perfect.

  • This is a good goal, but it's nicer if you put it into smaller goals.

  • A smaller goal might be: "I will study the present perfect for 20 minutes."

  • Okay?

  • This goal, then you can look and you can think: "Did I study the present perfect for 20 minutes?

  • Yes I did."

  • Okay? So you can be more accountable for your goals, and it's actually better to focus on time

  • than on product. Okay?

  • So what do I mean by that?

  • Well, in this case I'm saying: "I will study the present perfect for 20 minutes."

  • If you can think about an amount of time you want to spend on something-usually 20 or 25

  • minutes is really good-it will help you get over your procrastination.

  • Focus on how long something's...

  • How long you can work on something.

  • Usually it's less scary and difficult if you just think: "Okay, I'll spend 20 minutes on this."

  • And if you spend more, great, but, you know, just having an amount of time can really be

  • less stressful than thinking: "I have to learn the present perfect."

  • Okay? Which would be the product.

  • So focus on time, how long something takes, and you know, how much time you're going to

  • spend on it, versus you know, focusing on the product at the end.

  • All right, now let's look at some more tips.

  • Okay, so now, you know, you're actually ready to begin what you need to do.

  • Okay?

  • So this is how we stop procrastination.

  • The first rule is the most important: You need to remove distractions.

  • So what's a distraction?

  • A distraction is something that's going to take your attention away from what you're doing.

  • So, for example, Facebook is a big distraction.

  • Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, you know, all sorts of different things.

  • Netflix, movies, TV, your cellphone.

  • If you have friends who are constantly messaging you, that's a big distraction. Okay?

  • It might even be something, like, in your house.

  • Maybe your mom vacuums, that's a big distraction if you're trying to get some work done.

  • Or maybe, you know...

  • It can be all sorts of different things.

  • Maybe your roommate is very loud and has a lot of friends over, that can be a distraction.

  • So what you need to do is you need to find a place that is quiet where you won't lose your focus.

  • And again, number one thing: Turn off your cellphone.

  • I would not even bring my cellphone to where I'm going because I know the distraction to

  • want to turn it on and look at it is too much for me.

  • So I won't even bring it if I'm studying or working on a presentation.

  • Okay? So know what your distractions are, and make sure you get rid of them, you put them away

  • before you start.

  • It's also important to remember that getting started is actually the hardest part.

  • A lot of the times when we procrastinate it's because we're afraid.

  • We have a lot of fear or we think something's really hard, but usually getting started is

  • the hardest part.

  • So keep that in mind.

  • I'm a big fan of the Nike expression: "Just do it."

  • I think this is a really good expression for when we're talking about getting something done.

  • We have all these thoughts in our mind: "Oh, I'd rather do this.

  • I don't know, it's so hard."

  • Just tell your brain to be quiet and just do it.

  • Start.

  • That's what this means.

  • Just start on what you need to get done.

  • So, one thing you can do is if it's really hard and you're really, you know, not in the

  • mood to do something, give it five minutes because usually if you just tell yourself:

  • "I'm going to just do this for five minutes", usually that's what you need to get started.

  • Okay? So usually you'll actually go a lot farther than five minutes, but just give yourself

  • five minutes and see if, you know, maybe that will be enough to get you started.

  • You can also try the 25-minute technique.

  • For most people 25 minutes is bearable, it's something you can do.

  • So what I like to do, I have here my alarm clock or my timer and I will set this for

  • 25 minutes, and then I start working on what I have to do, and then after 25 minutes this rings.

  • Instead of focusing on what I have to get done, again, focusing on time:

  • "I'm going to work on this for 25 minutes", is very helpful for getting over procrastination.

  • Another important tip is: Know yourself, and know about secret distractions.

  • Okay? We talked about Facebook, we talked about Instagram, we talked about your friends text

  • messaging you - those are the obvious distractions, but there are also secret distractions.

  • What are some of these secret distractions?

  • Well maybe you're in your room and it's messy.

  • So while you're trying to get to work, you think: "Oh, wow, my room's really messy right now, I need to clean it right away."

  • Or you have dishes in the sink: "Oh, you know what?

  • Before I start I'm going to do these dishes."

  • These things that seem like they're good to do are really just distractions, too.

  • So be careful of the secret distractions. Okay?

  • You know what you need to get done, focus on that.

  • Different people have different techniques in terms of what to start with.

  • Some people like to start with the hardest part.

  • Okay?

  • Because that way, once you get started on that, you know, you know everything's going

  • to be a bit easier.

  • Other people like to actually do the thing that's going to take the least amount of time,

  • so they choose the thing they can do the fastest.

  • The nice thing about this is if you start with the fastest thing then it usually gets

  • you in the mood to do more work.

  • So, you know, test them both out, see what works for you because different people are different.

  • So you can start with the hardest thing or the thing that will be the fastest to do.

  • So, after you finish...

  • After you've done all this and you've been working and you've finished what you're doing,

  • and you know, again, you have a lot of time, you do a little bit every day, it's very,

  • very important to reward yourself.

  • Do something nice for yourself to tell yourself: "You know what?

  • I did a lot of work today, I worked on, you know, IELTS for 25 minutes.

  • I worked on my presentation for half an hour", it's a really good thing to reward yourself

  • because then you'll have positive experiences with these things and it'll be easier to start

  • the next time because it's not going to seem so bad, and you know that there's something

  • good at the end of it.

  • Another tip I would say for after you finish, think about what you just did.

  • Think about what made you maybe procrastinate.

  • What were your triggers?

  • What caused you to procrastinate?

  • Is it the work was too hard?

  • Was it scary?

  • Think about: Was it really that bad?

  • Or were you way more scared before you began than while you were actually doing it?

  • Maybe, you know, you were distracted this time, so maybe you can write down:

  • What was that distraction, and how can you stop those distractions in the future?

  • Each time we do something it's not going to be perfect, so sometimes you may have a better

  • time fighting procrastination, other times maybe you're not so successful.

  • But the key here is these tips will really, really help you be successful more often.

  • Okay?

  • So, I hope you've enjoyed this video.

  • I think there are a lot of very important tips here that can really, really help you

  • with your English-language learning because one of the most difficult things with learning

  • a language is getting distracted and procrastinating because we feel, you know, bad when we don't

  • know how to say something or when the work is hard.

  • So you can do it.

  • You can totally do it.

  • Follow these tips, and they will really, really help you with your English-language learning

  • or whatever projects you're doing.

  • I hope you subscribe to my YouTube channel.

  • I have a lot of great resources there.

  • Although, if you have something important to do, I don't want you to procrastinate by watching me.

  • You know, but if you're learning English this is something you can do.

  • So, subscribe to my channel and also I invite you to visit our website at www.engvid.com.

  • There, you can actually do a quiz and practice all of the tips you learned today,

  • along with your English.

  • Until next time, thank you for watching and take care.

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