By taking some advice from the $100 bill.

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

Benjamin Franklin

Begin with a plan.

We all enjoy the pleasures of life. No matter who you are, you have likely indulged from time to time. Whether scrolling through social media, video games, or Netflix, none of us are immune from pleasure.

So why are these vices harmful to some and helpful to others?

The difference is a plan.

We can only be distracted when we have planned to do something else.

A distraction is anything that takes you away from what you have planned. If you plan free time, Netflix isn’t a distraction. It’s exactly what you should be doing – enjoying your free time.

Here lies the power of planning. When you have the foresight to plan your days and weeks, you take the first step against procrastination. If you schedule an hour to work on your assignment, you cannot help but feel guilty as you sit aimlessly scrolling through your phone.

Without the schedule, this isn’t the case. You know you should work on that project, but the guilt isn’t the same. You haven’t planned to do anywhere, so you’re no longer blatantly defying a promise you made yourself. 

You’re not squandering away assignment time; instead, it’s just time. Without a plan, it’s far easier to keep putting things off and to rationalise away another day of work for play. 

When you come home at the end of the day tired, what will get you to clean the house? Good intentions, or promising your partner the night before? 

When you make a plan and a promise to yourself that you’re going to get something done, procrastination hurts too much not to take action.