Even the most disciplined of students can succumb to procrastination, so Student Academic Success Services (SASS) is helping them fight back with an event this weekend.

Get It Done: The Long Day Against Procrastination is a day-long writing event for first-year students aimed at helping them get an early start on their final assignments of the term. Co-hosted by Residence Life, the event will bring students together in a quiet and distraction-free environment to plan, write and edit their work. Those in attendance will have ample support from SASS staff and student volunteers who will help them set goals and plan out their work.

Lisa Chandler, Comm’15/ArtSci’15, is a Peer Learning Assistant (PLA) and will be present at Get It Done to help students plan out their work. She’s excited to help students tackle what may be their first major assignments.

“We know that first-year students often see that they have to produce a large research paper that may be 10 or 15 pages and are overwhelmed by that,” she says. “As a PLA I want to help make that work seem manageable and to help them get started.”

Ms. Chandler will be hosting a workshop at Get It Done on covering topics such as brainstorming, planning, outlining and designing a strong thesis statement. There will be three other workshops throughout the day focusing on tips and strategies for productivity.

“Not every strategy works for every person, but sometimes getting a small start is all you need to build momentum,” she says. “When I was a first-year student, I had trouble starting work too, so I want to help use that experience to make things smoother for other students.”

Events similar to Get It Done are held at universities across Canada and the globe, with the first iteration held in Germany in 2010. Called The Long Night Against Procrastination, the event had students pull all-nighters to try to get their work done. SASS decided to take a different approach.

“A big part of the work we do is encouraging students to practice good self-care, so we really don’t recommend they stay up all night,” says Susan Korba, Director, SASS. “We want to encourage good habits and show ways to reduce stress, so we’re putting a Queen’s spin on the event by having it during the daytime.”

Get It Done will be held from noon-10 pm on Sunday, March 1 in Ban Righ Hall’s Fireside Room. The event will have free snacks and raffle prizes, and students are encouraged to drop in throughout the day.