We open our calendars and count the weeks. We know what is between the now and then. We know it will take hard work, good time management and dedication to make it through another semester. We plan, we prepare and we create intention for the new year.

Then out of nowhere two months creep on by and our intentions have faded a new shade and our calendars have not been opened in a couple of days. Procrastination seems to settle into our bones and the social scrolling takes over. We allow ourselves to wait for another day and then find ourselves the night before scrambling to figure it out.
Isn’t this undergraduate nonsense?!
I wish I could say, absolutely, but in fact, this is human nonsense.
 
We have to constantly fight the battle of distraction. We have to continue to sharpen our tools and be better versions of ourselves, but how do we do that in a world full of “more” and “not enough”?
 

1. Be Intentional.

Find your voice and own it. Be known around you and most importantly, be authentic. Stay true to your goals, yourself and your time. When you are intentional, you are giving yourself respect. You are respecting your boundaries, time and dreams.
 

2. Set Boundaries.

This is more practical, but very useful. In the midst of assignment deadlines, work schedules and for me, caring for the baby… you want time to ‘just be’. This is completely normal and okay to indulge in a mindless activity. This could be checking Instagram, hitting up a new song on rock band or simply just taking a nap. These are good and needed, but we have to make sure we set boundaries and time frames.
 
Having too much of good… well you know the rest.
 
All that to say, give yourself a practical boundary that you can honor. Maybe that is only 30m on social media for the day or an hour of rocking out. You choose. Just remember to respect your boundaries and time.
 

3. Give yourself Grace

This is a big one. We are human and like I mentioned before, this is not undergraduate nonsense, this is human nonsense. We all have those days where we are just not ‘feeling it’ and procrastination gets the best of us. And guess what? This is okay. Give yourself grace and start new the next day. Know you do not want to let procrastination a habit, but you also do not want to beat yourself up when it does happen.
 
So, breathe, and allow grace to settle through your veins.
And remember, you are enough.

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Jenny Nuccio
Jenny is an Ed.D. student participating in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Doc@Distance Program.