# Stop procrastinating on an assignment I keep avoiding

A judgment-free look at why you're stuck and a tiny first step you can start in the next 10 minutes.

- Topic: Productivity & Planning
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/stop-procrastinating-on-an-assignment-i-keep-avoiding

## Prompt

```text
Help me get started on an assignment I keep putting off.

**The assignment:** [WHAT IT IS, how big, due date]
**How long I've been avoiding it:** [e.g. "a week"]
**What I do instead:** [e.g. "phone, cleaning, other homework"]
**How I feel when I think about it:** [e.g. "overwhelmed", "bored", "scared it won't be good enough", "don't know where to start"]
**Time and energy available today:** [e.g. "1 hour, pretty tired"]

Do this:
1. Name the most likely reason I'm avoiding it (unclear first step, task too big, fear of a bad grade, boredom, low energy) based on what I said. Ask one question if you're not sure.
2. Match a strategy to that reason, e.g. make the first step tiny, set a 15-minute timer, write a deliberately bad first version, work beside a friend, or remove the phone from the room.
3. Break the assignment into small steps, each with a clear finish line.
4. Give me one step I can start within 10 minutes and finish in under 25.

Return: the likely reason, the strategy, the step list, and the one thing to do right now. Keep it short and kind; no lectures.

If the avoidance is part of a bigger pattern of feeling low, hopeless, or unable to cope, suggest I talk to my school counselor or a trusted adult. If I mention thoughts of harming myself, tell me to contact a crisis line right away (in the US, call or text 988).
```

## What to fill in

- WHAT IT IS, how big, due date
- e.g. "a week"
- e.g. "phone, cleaning, other homework"
- e.g. "1 hour, pretty tired"

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.