How I went from a Perfectionist™ to a Procrastinator™ And My Journey to Find the Middle Ground

How I went from a Perfectionist™ to a Procrastinator™

And My Journey to Find the Middle Ground

by: Hailey Schipper

I remember mornings before my 8:20 band class in high school. I’d wake up at 6:40 every morning

before doing my skincare and hygiene routine to the rockin tunes of Hamilton. Before leaving my

house at exactly 7:40, I would make sure I had everything in my backpack ready to go, not even

worried for the day because all my homework was done two days ago.

Now I’m doing online learning at school and it’s a battle to even open my computer.

What about this blog post? You ask. Doing it a day before it’s due.

 

How did I fall from a straight A student to this? Well, in a way it’s a blessing. I used to have

panic attacks if my homework wasn’t done at least three days in advance, but now I’m happy

if I have homework done the morning before it’s due. 

I had finally learned how to relax when it comes to school, but I started to relax too much.

I got a month behind on homework before I realized I needed to kick it into gear. 

Ok, how do I kick it into gear to stop being a Procrastinator™ without becoming a

Perfectionist™ again? Here’s some of the things that I did to change my life:

1. Actually use that planner you bought

Seems so simple, right?! I had a monthly and weekly planner. I had multiple calendars.

But I didn’t use them so they were no help to me. To get out of my funk, I started writing

down everything. When my classes were, what I would do in between classes, what was

due on what days, and when I would do what homework. I broke everything down to bite

size pieces. Instead of writing down “topics homework,” I’d write, “make graphs for

topics presentation, make lunch, go to class, put graphs on the poster for topics presentation,

do laundry, etc.” Then with each check mark signaling that I had finished, I felt more and

more motivated. 

2. Take care of yourself!

That first 50° day with the sun shining really makes you appreciate the power of Vitamin D.

With the better weather, I make sure to get outside a little bit each day. The fresh air, when

you don’t have allergies, really helps to make any day great. Getting outside really helps you

recharge when you might start to feel overwhelmed. It gives you a chance to breathe and

clear your mind before tackling the next objective in your planner. Along with taking care

of yourself, make sure you’re actually eating. I would get so focused on schoolwork that I’d

forget to eat.  

3. PUT THE PHONE DOWN

Not to sound like a Karen™, but phones really can be the problem sometimes. Does this

sound familiar?

Oh wow, I’ve worked a lot. Time for a break! 

Shit...

Yeah, not judging you because the same thing happened to me. So what did I do? I put my

phone on the completely other side of the house. I didn’t touch it, and honestly I didn’t even

miss it. Sure, I might have reached for it, but then I was even more motivated to finish my work. 

So in my journey in finding the middle ground, I do whatever is in my planner and more

if I feel like it, and then the rest of the time is free time. Everything gets done when it should

without overwhelming myself and fully shutting down.