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.

Midterm Coming up. My thought process.

Ok PA, I have a physics of the Earth Midterm coming up this Tuesday. I have not yet started studying for it and I couldn't even finish the last assignment because I didn't know how to do it. I get lost in class and I haven't kept up.

 

Right now I feel like even if I do study that I will just fail anyways. I don't think there is any way that I will pass the midterm.

Then I read this blog by a fellow procrastinator on this site: 

http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/3978

 

The story about talking to girls really hit home with me. I should really stop trying to avoid the thought of failure, and I should stop going on youtube and stupid forums. I think I should just accept that I will fail and try my best to fail with as high of a mark as I possibly can... if that makes any sense.

 

 

I seem to go through cycles. Cycles of time where I have good work habits and cycles where I have horrible habits. I awakened some bad habits last week (reading week) and they haven't quite left me yet. It's very important not to fall into bad habits.

 

This sounds very defeatist, but I'll give it a try. 

The value of egg timers...

I totally get where you're coming from.  and so so true - try my best to fail with as high of a mark as I possibly can - it releases the 'Perfection Pressure Valve". 

 

One technique that often works for me is the Egg Timer.  set it for 10 or 25 or 50 min - (depending on your distractability that day).  As soon as it starts, scribble a line to mess up your 'clean' note page [its an evil trick on your Perfectionator], then aim to do one question as much as you can in that time.  When it goes off - either finish for quick (timed) break or if you're on a roll,  finish the question and take a nice (timed) break.

 

You can do it - and by It I mean something;) 

Hello my friend, how are

Hello my friend, how are you?

 I wrote that post you were talking about and I'm glad it helped. I understand what you're saying but I feel like it may be worthwhile redefining your perspective on failure. Ha, you failing an exam isn't failure. Failure in general really isn't a bad thing I have to be honest with you in life we tend to fail all the time. 

 I guess a good question to ask is, "and then what"

Seriously let's say you take this exam and you bomb it horribly, you get a 4%. And then what?

Will life be over, will your ability to become something great change, will people hate you, will you be doomed?

Probably not, the whole point yes you are much better of just trying, you're always better of just trying. Because then you'll atleast know what doesn't work if you fail. I think there is a lot of importance to be gained in dettaching yourself from the outcome of the situation.

All you really can do at this point is your best right, and that will produce the best possible outcome you are capable of generating even if that outcome sucks atleast you gave it an effort. And believe me effort in life is much more important in outcome because, sustained and lifetime effort will always (atleast from my experience) with time produce good outcomes. And the effort itself IMO is a good outcome or good way to spend your time. 

Edison failed 1000 (let's say he failed once a day for about 3 years imagine that) or so times before he got the light bulb right, so what?

I brought up the story with the girls because that's when I came to realize all the negative stigma that's attached to failure. It's BS garbage you were handed to as a child in 2nd grade where the one kid who got things first was given a golden star and this was supposedly the holy grail. And the people who didn't do well got red marks on their papers and the parents said bad, bad. So we thought failing was a bad thing, ha as if it was a reflection of who you are 

So I say study for this freaking exam study for it like you need it to breadth or something. And if you fail then own your failure,own that shit. Because you haven't been defeated, you can't be defeated by an exam it's a piece of paper.

 I should stop going on youtube and stupid forums. I think I should just accept that I will fail and try my best to fail with as high of a mark as I possibly can... if that makes any sense> this makes complete sense to me and I think is a noble act good luck. 

btw, you honestly don't know

btw, you honestly don't know maybe you can pass if you study enough right?

Response

I realized this method doesn't actually work. Studying now though with my study group ^_^

well I'm glad you figured it

well I'm glad you figured it out, study groups can be quite helpful.

Eeeeeeeeeeeh!

Had the test today and....

 

Wasn't that hard imo imo. I definitely got one part of Qn 3 wrong where I was supposed to integrate twice (just forgot an equation, I thought they'd provide us with it but they didn't D:)

Everything else, I had a good chance of getting right. 

I think they made the midterm really easy, either because they like to do that in the physics department, the TA's are nice and don't want to fail us, or they have brutal finals.

 

I've gotten like 8 hours of sleep the past two nights combined though.  

that's great :)

I'm really really pleased for you, now get some sleep :)