For a week now, I've been keeping track of how much I procrastinate. I tried to catch myself every time I put off something. Then I made the decision to either be good and go back to my work, or continue putting it off.
Seeing as I am posting this entry at this hour (lol! Rachele prophesied this in class), you've probably already guessed that I did continue to procrastinate most of the time. What was I supposed to be doing? A ton of homework for five different classes/studying for three exams that are within the next week/starting on several projects, including the psych paper. There is also other stuff, but what matters is that I have been putting everything off for the last minute. I realized that part of my problem is that I use my laptop to do most of my homework. This is a bad thing because I get distracted easily when I am doing homework, and the internet and Photoshop are extremely distracting. I am not proud of the fact that I spent a lot of time re-doing my Myspace last week (although I am proud of my new profile ^_^). I also spent a considerable amount of time editing pictures and chatting. Sometimes I caught myself and switched back to homework, but that did not really happen often.
I have noticed that I procrastinate bigger projects more because I am slightly afraid of starting them. That's why I like Winston's idea of breaking goals into smaller, do-able, ones. In fact, I did make some goals for myself this past week. I wanted to finish all of my homework the night before it is due, before 10 pm. I accomplished this for a couple classes. I also told myself: "Repeat after me. I will start Project 2 for CSCI within the next few days." And...well.....I will start on it, seriously! Tomorrow :(
I can say that I procrastinate often, and once I start, it is very difficult to stop. My incentives for doing other things instead (photography, myspacing, biking, youtube, etc) is simple: I enjoy doing them more. In order to make long term changes to my procrastination habit, I will have to get rid of certain distractions that perpetuate it, such as the internet, my camera, and phone. While working on something that does not require internet usage, I can disable my connection. I can also give my camera to my mother to hide somewhere until I have completed whatever assignment that I should be working on. I will try this for a week, and if it works, I will use these methods to design a program based on operant conditioning. I can't wait to start punishing myself...woah! This must mean that I will not procrastinate this blog once I start the actual behavior modification.
:D
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Definitely, go for the punishment. It will take something as drastic as giving up youtube and myspace to get a hold on procrastination. I currently have the misfortune of not having internet at home - and yet this has forced me to really focus my energies on using it wisely. But I should also mention that, sadly, I miss going on extended cybertrips to sites like hulu. Except in your situation, the temptation will still be around and you will have to resist...
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of disconnecting your internet when you don't need it for homework. Also, try writing out your assignments first and having your laptop off. You can go back to it later. If you say you are really going to do something, then try with all your might to do it. I know you can! It is hard, but in the end it all pays off.
ReplyDeleteHi Mehwish,
ReplyDeleteI found an article on procrastination from the Study Skills Library – Cal Poly. The article explains that procrastination is a very complex psychological behavior that could be related to aspects such as stress and others. You may want to check it out. It gives some suggestions to overcome procrastination and it also talks a little bit on the benefits of overcoming procrastination. Here is the link, so you can take a look: http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/procrastination.html
Hey Mehwish!
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem! I do all of my homework while I am checking my email, checking facebook or myspace,playing puzzles, or chatting! It is such a distracting problem! Hiding or getting rid of things is a great idea. Also, telling yourself that "I can do all of those things after I finish ALL of my homework/studying first" will greatly help the mindset to finish. Plus finishing all of your hw first gets rid of the stress and worry, and it gives you more time to do all the things you enjoy :D! Hope your plan works well!