Week 3 - 2 minutes left....I'm already improving =P

After re-reading chapter 5, I have designed my operant conditioning program… finally!

BEHAVIOR: Procrastination | CHANGE: Stop procrastinating!

REINFORCEMENTS: Positive - Extra reading/online time when I do not procrastinate (measured in how many goals I meet or assignments I complete). That should motivate me to finish whatever task that I supposed to be doing. And of course, getting better grades is always a positive reinforcer.

Negative - Hm…When I do not procrastinate, bad grades will be “removed”. That’s negative, right?

SCHEDULE OF REINFORCEMENT: I will follow a fixed variable schedule because it seems to be an effective one for me. I will give myself reinforcement every three hours IF I did not procrastinate during that time. I did not choose variable ratio, which, according to Mr. Nevid, is the most effective, because I will not be able to administer a reinforcement without keeping myself from knowing that a reinforcement is coming. Unless of course, I have two brains that could hide information from each other...

PUNISHMENTS: Positive - If I procrastinate, I will slap myself. Just kidding. I really cannot think of any positive punishments. Bad grades should be punishing enough.

Negative - I will cut off my internet connection for an hour. Period. That means no email, no research, nothing. If needed, I will also give my camera and phone to my mother for safekeeping. Yeaa, that should work. And as a last resort, I shall deactivate my Facebook account.

From this website (CLICK HERE), I learned that success often leads to success because success is a positive reinforcement. Phew. Thus, I have designed my program so that it has the potential of being very rewarding from the beginning. From past battles with procrastination, I can confidently say that disconnecting my internet is sure to lead to success. So I will not hesitate to do so if I catch myself on Facebook instead of reading my textbook.

If I am successful early on, I will -HOPEFULLY- continue to be successful.
I also learned (from the same website) that breaking goals into smaller parts makes them more doable. As I try to avoid procrastination, I will have to make goals. To increase my chance of achieving these goals, I’ll try to break them up into steps. I find this tells me where to start, which can be helpful especially when facing an intimidating project.