Productive Procrastination

Halloweekend came and went, and now there’s only Sunday scaries and Pollock Testing Center appointments left. You may be finding yourself cleaning your whole dorm/apartment instead of studying. Although avoiding schoolwork isn’t ideal, procrastinating productively can be a game-changer for pushing through the final weeks of the semester.

The Art of Productive Procrastination

As Lara Jean from “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” said, “My life was a mess, but I could clean my room.” Controlling the controllables is essential to making it through finals, and a clean room makes for a clear mind. Using this burst of energy to clean as inertia to start working on actual responsibilities is the ultimate goal of productive procrastination. It’s the same idea as sending that email you’ve been putting off and ending up with your assignments finished because you were in the mood to work. Your preferred procrastination method doesn’t have to be cleaning, but it should be something that gives you energy or sets you up for success.

Doing poorly on an exam doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things if you’re working toward better study methods and meeting your personal goals. VALLEY doesn’t encourage slacking in classes, but keeping yourself motivated in any way, instead of rotting in bed and scrolling online, is ideal.

Redefining Productivity

The idea that being productive must produce specific tangible results can be discouraging and even be harmful to how we experience life. Focusing on the results of an action instead of personal growth discourages experiencing life for intrinsic joy. Like Miley Cyrus says in “The Climb,” it’s about the journey, not tallying wins and losses.

When it comes to productive procrastination, sometimes it’s about alleviating stress in other areas of life to focus on the more daunting tasks. Maybe you just need to journal out stressors or dance around in your room while singing into a hairbrush. However, if you’re able to start with the largest task first, the rest will come easily.

Here are a few ideas for some productive procrastination for when you want to do anything other than your schoolwork:

Finally, clean those dishes that are piled up in the sink.

Tackle that massive pile of laundry.

Evict your dust bunnies (trust VALLEY that you probably need to.)

Reorganize your wardrobe.

Write a letter to your future self.

Journal out all your thoughts.

Clean your makeup brushes (this will help your stressed-out skin too!)

Call your parents – you know they miss you.

Get coffee with someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with.

Take a walk outside while it’s not too cold.

What’s your favorite way to productively procrastinate? Let us know @VALLEYMag on Instagram or X!

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