Have you ever planned to study and decided to just finish watching another 10 minutes of your TV episode?

Have you ever told yourself you need to get on with your homework and then decided to do it a bit later and, before you know it, it’s 11pm and you still haven’t got started?

Have you ever sat down at your desk to work and just had a quick look at Facebook… And then continued to have not such a quick look at Facebook?

Well then you need to start employing tried-and-tested techniques to combat procrastination and to stop you from postponing your studying.

Thanks to these techniques, I make sure I’m super productive and that I never miss a deadline.

… And best of all, I know exactly when I will finish studying and be able to do something I love without feeling guilty 😀

As well as a bigger to-do list of tasks you need to complete over the coming weeks and months, it’s a very good idea to plan exactly what you are going to get done every day.

This gives you a list of all the things you need to do, broken down into smaller steps so that you can cross tasks off as you go and feel like you are making loads of progress.

Schedule everything, even non-study/work-related tasks! Allocate each item in your to-do list a very specific time slot.

Having a start time and an end time gives you a very fixed goal to work towards, rather than feeling like you are going to just work and work until you’ve done everything.

This helps to avoid procrastination, which is often the result of feeling overwhelmed by a long list of tasks that we feel we’ll never get through!

During breaks between work or study sessions, allow yourself to do something you really enjoy!

I occasionally watch Friends in my breaks, but in general I strongly recommend that you try and get away from your desk. Try to speak to a friend, have something to eat, go for a run or just go outside for a quick walk.

Socialisation is probably the number one way to boost your mood, so it is well worth trying to get some human contact during these lil’ chill-out sessions.

Make your first work or study session of the day fairly brief. When I was in my most procrastination-heavy period doing my A-levels, I would schedule to have a short 25-minute session first up to ease me into the day.

I’d have a quick 5-minute break and once I was then into the rhythm of studying, I felt I had more motivation to carry on for the rest of the day.

When I lack motivation, I visualise how I will feel when I succeed in my exams, and imagine the feeling of knowing I really tried my best.

I then imagine how it will feel to know that I could have tried harder - you know that sinking stomach feeling. I tell myself that the choice is clear - I need to work so that I can enjoy the first feeling.

I then visualise the steps I need to take (me working really productively at my desk) in order to get to that end goal of exam success and feeling like I did my best!

Then, I get to it.