SUMMARY: I procrastinated a LOT near the beginning of the week. Later, when I went to take inventory of my workload, I felt a deep sense of foreboding… and hopelessness because I am a bit behind now. I still feel like dropping a couple classes and then maybe dropping myself off a bridge for being stupid enough to procrastinate so much.
What I did instead was punish myself. I haven’t touched my camera for almost two days now, and I promised myself not to log onto Facebook for at least a week. And it is working!!! I have already written the first draft of my psych field study paper, and got it reviewed at the writing center, all two weeks before the due date...yea, I can’t believe it either ^_^
BEHAVIOR:
Saturday: Volunteered. Commented on blogs. Slept/procrastinated the rest of the day (facebook, myspace, the usual) PUNISHMENT: Gave camera away for the day =(
Sunday: No homework due for Sociology. Just another excuse to sign onto aim
Monday: I HAD to take pictures of an interesting caterpillar I found. Tsk tsk. Again, I punished myself by giving my camera to my mother. Then I worked a bit on schoolwork. Completed a lot of stuff that isn’t due till next week! However, I totally forgot about the psychology quiz until right before going to bed.
Tuesday: Submitted psych quiz in the morning. During English 1a, I discovered that an essay was due and I went through the five stages of denial…. (how could I have missed an essay??). Retook the quiz right before Psyc, got a pretty decent score. I left Psyc class with a note to myself to finish computer science homework, which was due that day. (Note to the whole world actually, because it was pinned to my clothes-positive punishment for procrastinating). Finished the homework fifteen minutes before it was due and threw the embarrassing note away.
Wednesday:
Wait a sec…
Today is Tuesday. Not Wednesday. I have been typing this up, thinking it is Wednesday night. 0_0 I guess this is a good thing, because now I am almost done with tomorrow’s homework.
_____________________
Ok, today is tomorrow, or Wednesday. I am finishing this entry now, two hours before it is due…not because I procrastinated (really! I didn’t) but because I decided to complete stuff that was due sooner. I know, I could erase all of this Tues/Wed confusion and start over but…as I make progress, I am learning that time management is key…so for now I will just continue =]
Wednesday: A very good day. I have not logged on to anything besides email and Blackboard, and for that, I am proud of myself. I have to write only one more essay for tomorrow (extreme progress!). I did waste an hour or so “breaking norms” at Costco and the mall, but it was for a sociology assignment.
SUMMARY: I am depressed because I wasted a great deal of time last week, but I am feeling better now because I have made positive choices in the past few days. I’m assuming that these choices are the results of the punishments (notes on my clothes, giving camera away, bad grades).
As you might have noticed, I did not reinforce my recent positive efforts because 1) I’ve realized that I do not have time to read or go online anymore 2) I find that I am motivated right now simply thinking of the horrible grades that I will get if I continue to procrastinate. Again, bad grades is a positive punishment of my program, and seems to be affecting my progress for the better.
At this moment I feel depressed, yet almost optimistic. I hope my results continue to be positive.
Good luck on the exam!!!!!!!!!!!
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Glad to see that your starting to put procrastination behind you... or at least some what. but i was wondering how is the post it notes on the clothing working out? are you still going to post them on your clothes?
ReplyDeleteGood progress! I'm also motivated by the bad grades I will get if I continue to procastinate. I was wondering where exactly do you put the post-it notes on yourself? Is it clearly visible? Anyways...keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteYea! Bad grades are definitely motivating..
ReplyDeleteI usually stick them on my sleeves or anywhere where they are visible. I get weird stares from people in my classes and some people try to read the notes. I've noticed that the tasks that I write on the post-its stay are harder to forget about (attention does that!) and I get them done pretty fast. xD
Glad to see you're making progress! I'd say any step in the right direction is better than not trying and giving up!Thinking about bad grades will definitely keep you on task, especially since you have high expectations of yourself to get good grades. It is sad to look back and see all the time you waste, I feel that way too, but you can use those feelings and make sure that it doesn't happen again. I like that you are completing work way ahead of schedule, because it will really give you a leg up and no stress when the due date comes around. Now that you have found your niche keep up the great work! Oh p.s. thanks for all the great advice! haha and don't worry about the blog mishaps, T-T I make plenty more than you!
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