This chapter is from my new ebook: Freedom from Exam Stress
CHAPTER 6
PROCRASTINATION – BREAK THE CYCLE!
Procrastination is probably the one area that students find creates the most stress and frustration when preparing for their exams.
Does this sound familiar? You have a project, the deadline for handing it in is in a few days time and you haven’t even started it. The pressure is building daily, you will hand something in, but it will be rushed and untidy – not your best work!
Why do you find it so difficult to get on with your homework, revision? All you have to do is make a start but you’ll find something else to do, like check Twitter, Facebook or get lost on the internet. You may even find washing up or tidying your room has some appeal. If you weren’t worried before, your recent love for household chores should be cause for concern. If this sounds familiar, then you have fallen victim to the procrastination bug! It’s time to break the cycle.
I would like to show you how to deal with this personal sabotage that you may be inflicting on yourself. I will help you focus, be free of distractions, release the pressure and experience the joy of producing your best work.
What homework or project are you struggling with at the moment? Common feelings are: fear of failure, being criticised, frustrated, angry and desperate. What emotions do you feel at the moment?
Scale how you feel from (0-10). 0 would indicate you feel calm and focused. 8, 9 or 10 would reflect the frustration building up inside.
We will now start to tap on the body’s acupressure points to help release that pressure.
Using your index and middle finger, lightly tap your karate chop point and repeat all the phrases below.
“Even though I am frustrated because I get easily distracted, I accept myself and how I feel.”
“Even though I have this fear of failure and my work not being good enough, I accept myself and how I feel.”
“Even though I have this fear of my work being criticized, I accept myself and how I feel.”
Repeat the reminder phrase below as you tap on the body’s acupressure points. Start with the top of your head and follow through the points. Lightly tap about five times on each point and don’t worry if you miss a point out, just focus on the words. Do the sequence twice.
“I am frustrated, I have this fear of failure and worry about my work being criticized.”
Take a deep breath and scale how you feel, has the number changed? You should feel a little calmer, less frustrated. To reduce the number, we’ll tap again introducing- ‘still’.
Using your index and middle finger, lightly tap your karate chop point and repeat all the phrases below.
“Even though I’m still frustrated because I get easily distracted, I accept myself and how I feel.”
“Even though I still have this fear of failure and my work not being good enough, I accept myself and how I feel.”
“Even though I still have this fear of my work being criticized, I accept myself and how I feel.”
Repeat the reminder phrase below as you tap on the body’s acupressure points. Do the sequence twice.
“I am still frustrated, I have still have this fear of failure and worry about my work being criticized.”
Take a deep breath and scale your level of frustration and worry. It’s common after a few rounds of tapping to feel calmer more relaxed, so now we introduce some positive.
Using your index and middle finger, lightly tap your karate chop point and repeat all the phrases below.
“Even though I’m still frustrated because I get easily distracted. What if starting my work could be easy?”
“Even though I still have this fear of failure and my work not being good enough. What if I could be free of those feelings as they’re not helping?”
“Even though I still have this fear of my work being criticized. What if I choose to trust myself, just do the work and be content that I have just done my best?”
Repeat the reminder phrase below as you tap on the body’s acupressure points. Do the sequence twice.
“What if starting my work could be easy?”
“What if I could be free of those fears as they’re not helping?”
“What if I choose to trust myself, just do the work and be content that I have done my best?”
Take a deep breath, scale again how you feel. Can you feel any tension in your body? With your mind clearer we will tap again just on the positive, using the wonderful ‘I choose’.
Using your index and middle finger, lightly tap your karate chop point and repeat the phrase below three times.
“I choose to release the fear of failure and being criticised. Focus on just making a start and getting on with my work. Take small steps, enjoy the feeling of making progress. I choose to be open to finding a different way of working, embrace being organised, optimistic and enjoy the wonderful feeling of being in control.”
Repeat the reminder phrase below as you tap on the body’s acupressure points. Do the sequence twice.
“I choose to release the fear of failure and being criticised. Focus on just making a start and getting on with my work. Take small steps, enjoy the feeling of making progress. I choose to be open to finding a different way of working, embrace being organised, optimistic and enjoy the wonderful feeling of being in control.”
Take a deep breath. How do you feel? By now you should feel calmer. Also, it’s common for that pressure to be replaced with a feeling of optimism and wanting to get on with your work.
Many students feel procrastination is a difficult habit to break. EFT is remarkable at removing those stubborn emotional blocks that get in the way of you moving forward.
How does procrastination affect you? What have you tried that has helped? Contact me at sean@confidenceontap.com for a free 15 minute consultation.
If you’d like to buy or sample my new book which includes chapters on pre-test anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, the inner critic and perfectionism click here: Freedom from Exam Stress