Do you feel your heart pumping? Is your mind unable to shut up about everything you need to finish in the next hour? That’s because you decided to procrastinate and leave every single assignment that is due at 11:59 p.m. until 11 p.m.

We all procrastinate, some more than others, but everyone is guilty because college stress gets to us so we just leave everything to the last minute to stress us out even more. The problem is the act of procrastinating itself causes more stress than actually getting it done early.

Although there is nothing better than the relief of getting something done right before the due date, procrastination is not always the best for your GPA. Pinterest offers many different techniques to stay clear of procrastinating, even though you are most likely procrastinating if you are scrolling through the app.

Do the thing you hate first

Many people think to start with something they don’t mind or find easy first to ease into the loads of coursework they have, but this could lead to more procrastination tendencies. If you get the thing you hate over with, it is only uphill from there.

Break up assignments into small tasks

When looking at all the textbooks, notes and assignments due, it is natural to become overwhelmed, but if you keep the tasks small it is less stress. For example, if you have a 10-page paper to write, write one page and then take a short break. Essentially, if you take it all one step at a time, then procrastination will never be a problem again.

Be exact

Planning every second out might sound awful and annoying, but it can relieve the stress of assignments. Plan a time for everything: what you are exactly doing and how you are going to accomplish it. This leaves less room for that 20-minute thought process on how you’re going to finish all of the assignments due.

Make plans

This would probably be the most effective in college. If you plan to go out with your friends at 8 p.m., you have to get those assignments done before then, unless you want a zero. If you do not get everything done by 8 p.m., then you won’t be able to go out with your friends. So finish those assignments so you can have a social life.

Why

Figuring out why you are procrastinating sounds easy, but most people say, “I just don’t want to do the work,” when in reality there is more to that statement and the actions behind it.

Procrastination could be from fear of failure, perfectionism or the overall fear of college. By getting to the root of why you are procrastinating, you can attack it head on and get past it.

Just stop talking about it

Most college students complain about all the assignments they have left to finish and how close they are to the due date, but while you are complaining about your procrastination you could be solving it by finishing the assignments.

Imagine the free time

Once you finish everything, it is done and gone. Yes, there will always be more assignments, but for now, it is your “me time” (once you finish the to-do list).

If you imagine all the things you can do if you did not have these due dates piling up, then you have something to fight toward to. Imagine the social life you could have without procrastinating.