How To Start a College Essay?

The hardest part of writing a college essay is getting started. Yes once you actually sit down and focus yourself, the task of writing becomes less and less intimidating. However getting to the point where you are ready to start composing, takes a lot of work. Many students struggle with the dreaded curse of procrastinating projects, especially when they are assigned with long deadlines. What starts out as “I have plenty of time to get this done” very quickly turns into an all night writing session the day before the paper is due. This common problem amongst students today, is detrimental to the learning process because instead of doing your best work, you simply do your fastest work and your grades suffer for it.

What is Procrastination?

To be blunt procrastination is a combination of mental blocking and laziness. Psychologists have even proven that procrastination is actually a blocking function in our brains that compromises our intended behavior with enacted behavior. In simpler terms what this means is as humans we are pre-programmed to put off tasks that we are dreading or find unappealing and migrate towards things that give us joy.

How To Overcome Procrastination and Start Writing Now

The good news is we can actually trick our brains into not allowing us to procrastinate by finding joy within the task at hand. I know what you are thinking, “How in world am I going to enjoy writing an essay?”

Well, depending on what kind of person you are you may not find joy in the “writing” process, but you will enjoy the satisfaction of having the work complete, and moving on to something that truly makes you happy. For this reason instead of focusing on how you do not wish to get started writing your essay, try to focus on how great it will be when the essay is complete and out of the way. Essentially you have to dread, dreading the assignment.

The reality is if you want to get good grades then you have to master your own procrastination habits. Start working as soon as the essay is assigned and allow plenty of time to revise the final product before it is due. Honor students have mastered this simple skill, and that is why they are so successful in their academic careers.