Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.

Hi I'm Lisa

I just activated my account and I thought I would introduce myself to everyone.  I am a college student in her final month and I have been battling procrastination throughout my college career.  Because of my procrastination I am on the tightrope gpa wise.  I need to get certain grades in order to graduate.  My major is english literature.  Right now I am up because I have two papers due tomorrow and an overdue textual studies paper.  I am doing okay in the majority of my classes, mostly because they are "tailor-made" for my habit and because I enjoy them.  But right now I am failing my shakespeare class and I still have to finish my senior project which consists of a 4-page paper detailing what I am going to do with the skills I have learned after I graduate. When I procrastinate, I go on the internet and watch youtube videos.  The more I procrastinate, the more behind I get, the more I procrastinate, that is until I'm momentarily motivated then I get caught up only to undo the work I did the very next day. 
I think I know why I do it.  Fear.  I used to put things off when I was younger and the more I did the more I got used to it until I believe my behavior or what my behavior has told me over the years.  Also, I have gone to school since I was three and in one month, I'm done. I don't know what I'm going to do after other than I have tentative plans to attend an internship.  I guess in a nutshell, graduating to me means I would have to grow up. I don't know if I'm ready. But the thing of it is I want to graduate because if I don't it will haunt me.  I will always wonder what would have happened if I would have just done a little better, never mind the fact that I already have my diploma and associates degree.  Not to mention, I know that even though my gpa is a little low, I do have a lot to offer: I am a good writer and I love to help others.  Anyway, honestly, I really didn't intend to share that much on my first posting but, I guess the reason why I joined this group is that I wanted to communicate with others who may know where I'm coming from.  I look forward to hearing from you guys and I hope you all had a great weekend!

hi lisa

Welcome, and thanks for sharing.  Your posting here helps us all know we're not alone!

I certainly know where you're coming from.  I have walked that tightrope nearly all my life.  Recently i've been staying a little distance away from it, thanks in part to this site and the 12 steps.

I wish you the best on your papers.  I can imagine the stress you're under.  Take care of yourself.  Good luck.  I hope next time we hear from you you can say they're done--but if you've read other posts here, you know that people post their results here in success AND failure.  We want to hear from you no matter what.

Fear.  Especially fear of failure, or fear of trying and then failing, is a huge part of it for me.  One of the great things about this site is that it's not so mortifying to fail here.  People here understand.

I dont know how much you've browsed the site, but many people here get much assistance from Check-ins or "Book-ending". For example "Monday, April 14, 08" is the thread for today.  Also many people here get assistance from the 12 Steps and we just started online 12 step meetings: Sundays 7:30pm GMT: online 12-step meeting of Procrastinators Anonymous.  That, and just the support of sharing with people our common struggle, helps many of us.  We're all different, but there is a common thread in our common struggle.  And i find this site full of friendly, supportive people.  It's a pleasure to hang out here.

I hope you find it that way too.  But i also hope you dont trade your youtube addiction for a procrastinators-anonymous.org addiction lol.  Many of us struggle to control the time we spend on this site.  Oh the irony.

Take care, lisa

thanks for replying

Hi Clement,

Just wanted to give an update from this morning.  I did not finish those papers last night and I ended up going to bed at about 5 in the morning.  I spoke with my shakespeare professor today and he basically told me that at this point I should focus on my other classes.  That is a very bitter pill to swallow because it increases the probability that I will not be graduating this spring and this is my last sememster no matter what, due to financial aid issues.  Not to mention my friends and family are fully expecting me to graduate in may and now I may have to tell them that its not going to happen. 
My prof did give me a slim hope: if I get caught up soon and turn in an exceptional research paper at the end of the semester, I might pass.  I am also getting a b and above in my other classes out side of my senior project.
Earlier today after first finding out from my professor I resolved to finish every thing before May, no matter what and leaving all of the Yuck behind.  But, I have done such a number on myself through self sabotage and procrastination, that I don't know if I can.  I want to because the alternative would be to give up and do nothing until finals week and then have to tell my family the "good" news. they have enough to worry about without me adding to it and they need good news in their lives. 
Just so you know I have been seeing someone over this and she has been working with me to separate the emotions or "parts" that are distracting me and take the leadership role over these parts. Some times this works, but most of the time I don't give any attention to these "parts" until it is too late.
Anyway, I'm going to stop for now and try to get something done. I hope everyone is having a great night.
Lisa

i feel ya...bigtime

Lisa,

I feel that you are writing a page right out of my book! I am a grad student in the midst of somewhat of a crisis in trying to figure out how it is that I'm going to get eveything done. I know exactly how you feel and understand how debilitating it can be too.

It's interesting (albeit unsurprising), the more I work, the better able I am to continue working. The less I work, the harder it is to even start or keep going. I suppose the lesson therein is that, at least for me, that when I screw off (procrastinate) I get into a funk and it makes me think that I don't have the ability to work. If I'm working, I feel a hell of a lot better about myself and I can keep working. Unfortunately, as I'm sure we both know that's a lot harder to do than it sounds.

I wish you luck in getting your things done. I hope that you can visualize yourself walking up to get your diploma and use that as motivation to get your work done. The more you think  of telling you parents that you will not graduate, the more it becomes a reality, and vice versa

philbert

Lisa

It sounds like a very hard time in your life right now, but I want to congratulate you on taking responsbility by speaking with your professor. I have found that having there are times when I am frozen and cannot begin them. You know now what you are up against, which you did not know yesterday. That is a great, big first step.

There are some tools here which can help you make progress towards what you need to do.  Some people have found that signing into the chatbox and talking yourself through a project can help you stay on track. Every little step in the right direction reinforces further action and the chatbox seems to help with this enormously. The other thing is that you will see many other folks here who are in the same place you are. Many of us have made progress towards things we thought we would never handle: keep coming back, keep posting: others will cheer you one. You fall down, there is a hand here to help you back up.  There are also timers that you can download for free, such as Instant Boss, which I have used to help me stay focused.

Finally, many of us have been exactly where you are, myself very much included. I have a great deal of hope for you, because you have found this place. I would suggest that you speak with your college counselor as well, and see what they suggest. 

hugs, e

agreed (msg)

Welcome Lisa!

It looks like you have some real situations, and are gettting some great responses here.  I'm wishing you the best with everything.  Keep coming back!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here! :)