When I taught a course called Developing Academic Success, my students identified procrastination as their number one obstacle. Procrastination is so prevalent that scientists are beginning to study it. I don’t have a cure, but I do have one tip, and it is drawn from physics.

We know that a body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion. Sir Isaac Newton might also have told us that a body that is studying tends to keep studying. Here’s proof: The very act of avoiding our work takes an enormous amount of energy. Think of all the stress you experience when you know you need to sit down and read your chemistry textbook, but you continue to put it off all week. You never feel quite easy in your mind because you know, come exam day, your procrastination will have dire consequences. You may use the time that you steal
from your academics to do something fun, but you don’t enjoy yourself as much.

Now think of how much energy it will cost you to sit down and work just for five minutes. Hardly any, right? But when you begin studying, that guilty feeling drops away and is replaced by a burst of virtuous energy. Working actually takes less energy than worrying about not working!