(16, TX, USA) Arin - Winning Against Yourself

I sit on the bus coming home from school. I open the notes app on my phone and write, “Study for math quiz, finish chemistry homework, complete comp sci project.” With this plan, I’m sure to stay on task, right? 7:00 PM rolls around, and I’m on my phone, scrolling through Instagram on my bed. My computer is off to the side with one problem completed on the assignment at hand. I’ve just lost three hours. I can predict my sleep will be drastically shortened. My time management is poor.

This phenomenon is extremely common among teenagers my age. I see it all around me. When I message my friends late at night about an assignment, they are indeed working on it as I am. Inherently, we all seem to have bad working habits. It's the inertia of simply getting started on the work that holds us back. I know it, but deep down, I cannot control my impulses. I instinctually open my phone and start scrolling. Distractions abound. Distraction is the obvious issue, but our phones are such an irresistible distraction that they work every time. Our willpower is not strong enough to resist these urges.

What we need is a forcing function to activate our duties. It's like working out in a gym rather than in your bedroom, or removing all traces of junk food from your pantry after swearing to be healthy. In these situations, willpower alone will not keep you from giving in. Instead, these forcing functions will. Over time, this leads to discipline. Discipline is simply the key to unlocking our success. Instead of trying to forcefully give up these pleasures in a flash, you have to build up to it. Set goals for incremental progress. Don't cut out pleasures entirely; instead, control them. We are not robots; we are humans, and we need to enjoy some pleasures in life. Thus, setting time limits on social media or only using it on weekends are ways to maximize productivity.

As a teenager, an approach I use is to power off my phone, do the majority of my schoolwork, and then use my phone for 30 minutes before getting back to work. Ultimately, the main goal is to have a healthy sleep schedule. I am truly motivated by the prospect of getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep on weekdays.

So, instead of trying to kill these distractions or feeling guilty because of them (though actually, do feel some level of guilt to motivate yourself to fix your habits), try to time-box your activities and set mini achievements. This will hack your brain into feeling productive. We are controlled by a range of emotions, so instead of devoting all your time to rest or entertainment, include your duties to maintain a balance. Pride yourself on a sense of accomplishment.