To begin, time management is a common problem among students on any college campus. Students must divvy their time between classes, extra-curricular activities, studying, and sometimes working. Let’s not forget sleeping. Outside of the academia of college life, students must delegate time to spend with friends and family as well. From what I’ve learned over the past six weeks, the life of a college student can be very hectic but so much fun at the same time. It’s a fast paced life here at UCLA, and it’s been a slight struggle to keep up with it all. There’s always something happening on campus whether it’s a club activity or an exciting event, and I can’t do everything. So my peer counselor suggested that I attend a procrastination workshop, to help me learn what I can do to make this transition from a relaxed high school student to a diligent college student, a little bit easier.

So I attended the procrastination workshop in the Student Activities Center and learned a lot of great tips on what causes procrastination and how to stay focused and organized. First, procrastination can actually be caused by perfectionism. I could not believe my ears when I heard this, just because I always thought that procrastination was a lazy person’s problem. How ironic. Perfectionists want their work to be the best it can possibly be, so they delay until they are able to achieve what they believe is the right mindset to do their work; only sometimes this mindset doesn’t strike them until hours (or even days later). And this problem gets even more complex. Procrastination can also be caused by a fear of achievement (I know, sounds unbelievable). Sometimes people don’t want to be accomplished in certain areas because then it becomes an expectation. This in turn causes anxiety. I don’t mean to turn this into a thesis on the principles of procrastination, but I just found this information to be so interesting and insightful. The things one learns outside of lectures.

However, the most important thing I learned was to set less daunting goals for myself. UCLA students are very ambitious and hard working, and sometimes we become a little too preoccupied with our goals and forget to give ourselves a break. We’re not perfect and sometimes, we need to just let ourselves rest and relax. This is the key to enjoying the chaos that sometimes occurs when your to-do list requires more hours than you have in the day. Even though things may seem exhausting and hectic, just relax and be happy with what you’ve already accomplished, while looking forward to what you will accomplish.