Dear Davida,

I’m a huge procrastinator, and I am falling behind in a few of my classes. I spend a lot of time on my phone and before I know it, it is 3 in the morning and I haven’t even started my homework! Any tips on how to kick this habit before it really messes up my grades?

Signed,

Lost in the Last Minute

Dear Lost,

Procrastination is an epidemic that has been sweeping campuses since the dawn of time. Unfortunately, with the advent of electronic time-eaters like smartphones, it is easier than ever to get caught up in something trivial and to not make time for important things like homework.

First, before you pick up your phone, you have to ask yourself: is it really worth it? Flappy Bird died months ago, but your Core I homework will still be there waiting when your battery drains.

Next, take action. Try giving yourself hours of availability. Designate a certain time of the day for homework, and tell your friends that you will not be able to talk so that you will not be tempted to check texts. Next, log out of all your social media apps that usually keep you logged in. Updating your status at that moment might not seem worth the effort of logging back in.

If these things do not work, try turning off your phone completely or putting it in a difficult-to-reach place. You could even leave it in the hands of a trusted friend.

These changes will be hard to handle at first, especially the first few times your fingers wander toward your phone and do not find it, but as soon as your grades pick up, you will feel so good about yourself that you will probably want to tweet about it. So, go ahead! You’ve earned it.