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.
Finishing my Thesis
Hi, I gave a (very long!) introduction in the introductions section - "Pulling myself back from the Brink". (http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/4281) I am going to keep a log here of each day. So that I have some encouragement and record of how I am doing with getting to the end of my long due thesis.
11 August 2012
Most of the day was spent procrastinating watching tv or on the internet. I was worrying about not knowing how to start my final chapter of my thesis. It is 9.30pm now. My behaviour today has cost me $71 in tuition fees today.
I read the The Little Guide to Un-Procrastination by Leo Babauta. I am have decided to face my fears and conquer this problem slowly but surely.
I will start working in 10min slots from now for one hour and go to bed by 10.45, so that I can wake up at 6.30 everyday from tomorrow onwards.
Any other academics in here?
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Stuckinaphd!
Hi there! Thank you so much for you advice and encouragement! That really helps! So did you finish ur draft and hand it in the end? Congratulations if u did! If not, im sure it will get done pretty soon :) Hugs and Solidarity!
Update
You're welcome! :)
Solidarity indeed, I find it amazing how the phd process, particularly the thesis writing, is so much the same for so many students! You think you're alone in your experience until you hear someone else's. It's nice to hear from those who have made it through to the other side.
I didn't finish yet... too much to do in too little time, and I spent more time thinking and reorganizing the little I had written instead of just writing... I need to listen to my own advice, haha. Trying to finish this weekend though!
Where are you at now? Did you hand in the full draft?
Resisting like Hell
8.30 pm - been resisting like hell.
I am going to start with 10min the moment i sit on the chair. I'll ease into it. I can do 10min.
28 August
Update for 27 August - So I don't know how many hours I worked yesterday because I didn't count again because I was not working in 10min increments. The rush of the deadline meant I was working throughout. Went home at 1am because my brain had considerably slowed down. But had to wake up at 6.15 am to finish up the drafts.
I gave my supervisors most of the work, with two parts pending. I will have to send them the rest while they are reading this lot. Editing/writing was slow and it took much longer than estimated. I think it would have taken so long anyway but its just that as procrastinators we have a lop-sided understanding of how much time it takes to do something.
Plan for today.
Since, I am at uni, I will have lunch and work for an hour. 6 x10 slots. And then go home at 1pm and sleep from 1pm-6.30 pm. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on.
Then from 7.30-10.30, I will try and get in 13 x 10min slots.
Will update tomorrow. Thank you this website, you life saver!
27 August
Update for 26 August - I stopped counting 10min slots after a while at the end but i did fair bit without wasting much time. But in the end, my brain shut down and I could not seem to write properly at all or even think about anything. And then I started panicking and worrrying about not finishing. This would usually mean that I would start procrastinating, but as panicked as i was, I had some dinner and got into bed and went to sleep early. Best thing to do i guess. I fini
27 August
Yesterday editng and writing really took much longer than expected. I woke up today at and started work at 7am. I think I worked about 2.5 hours. Finished a section that I had left and hope to finish chap overviews by 12pm.
12-3.30pm teach
I'm working in ORDER today.
3.30-4.30 - Finish chap 1
4.30-5.30 - Finish chap 2
6 - 7.30 - Finish chapter 3
Hi thesis!
Great you are going so well and dealt constructively with difficulties by going to bed early. Wanted to send support to you as I did not make it to the chat box today as planned, due to internet problems, but hope to be there tomorrow.
26 August
Update for 25 August - 35x10 mts = almost 6 hours. Mostly finished section i was working on although I meant to finish by noon.
Today
I am leaving the little bit that I have left in a small subsection for now so that I can get a move on and get some momentum with the rest of the work. I will have to come back to that at the end of the day.
I woke up early today and got to uni by 9.20. Now it's 9.45.
I will only have a smoke after I finish chapter one today.
3.30pm- Finish chapter One
4.30- Finish chapter 3
5.30- Finish chap 2
I will update at 11.30am with 9 x 10mt slots done.
11.30am update - I have 8x 10mts so far althought I probably have another 10mts organising and finding stuff related to my work.
Next update at 1pm with another 8 x10mts.
2.10pm - another 11 x 10mts so far.
Got to try and finish this chapter in an another hour. Will update in an hour.
4.10 - another 10 x 10mts - getting to end of chapter. Will update in an hour, hope to really finish it.
25 August
24 August - 37 x 10 mts
Today
It's already saturday and almost 1pm. I have to work smart and fast to get stuff done today. Maybe will try and write without thinking too much.
Plan for rest of day.
1-3.30pm Finish Methd.
4-6pm - Finish chap 1
6-7.30pm - Finish chap2
8.30-10.30pm - Finish chap 3.
Next update at 3.45 pm.
5pm update
I only have 11 x 10mts after starting at 1.30pm which is almost 2 hours out of 3.5. I have been writing slowly, but the slowness is frustrating me. Consquently I procrastinated for half an hour by reading random sites. I am back now and will start with 10mts and keep going instead of panicking about upcoming deadline. I will do what I can because if i fret and do something else I will feel like crap.
I will update at 6.30 pm with 7 x 10mts at least and having finished most of this section.
7.05pm update
Another 6 x 10 mts only and i wasted time procrastinating again. I am starting to feel anxious and more prone to procrastination. I will try and forgive myself and consider it a break. I will just focus now and wont surf any sites anymore.
Will update at 8.30pm having finished this section. I will also do 7 x 10mts in this period.
9.30pm - 9 x 10mts. Section not finished yet. I will give myself an hour to finish the section. Will start in 10mts. I will write crap if I have to.
(thesis)
Do you HAVE to be online to write your thesis? If not, have you considered unplugging your modem, so that it's not so easy to open your browser for "just a quick look"?
H.
Hi Hypatia, I do have to be
Hi Hypatia, I do have to be online pretty much all the time, at least at this stage of my writing as I am revising draft and finding and filling in information. I didnt waste a lot of time yesterday surfing the net ...hmm maybe a bit. Maybe about 1.5 hours i reckon. I will cut that out today.
When i dont need much stuff to look up, i find unplugging the modem reallllyy helpful like you say!
24 August
Update for 23 August - 1pm onwards after teaching - 26 x 10mts = 260mts = almost 4 and a half hours. I also spent about 1 hour plus reading related stuff but not directly helpful to write.
Today
Today I got in late, it's already 12.30 and I was feeling anxious because so much time has gone by. I got stuck at home because of some stuff which came up. I am worried about missing deadline again because my writing has been slow. I will try and let go and focus fully on my 10mt slots and leave the rest.
Today, I will try my UTMOST not to read anything extra unless its's directly related to what im writing now. Other stuff, I can do later.
I am going to start my 10mt slots now. I will update at 1.30. I hope to get in 5 x 10mts and will have completed this section in max 3 x10mts. Work smart.
1.30pm
Well I did 5 x 10mts. I didnt read anythign uncessary, it just took longer than i thought.I am almost done with section apart from a footnote and a concluding sentence. I will have lunch, restart at 2pm and update at 3.30pm. with 7x10mts slots.
6.15pm
Forgot to update here because I was using chatroom instead.
I have 18 x 10mts = 3 hours of work. Need to really focus more on writing stuff. But i did find some material which I will include in my writing. I am feeling a bit slow right now and resisting getting back to work. Not sure why. I hvn't been thinking rationally about how i feel happy when i do work and unhappy when i don't. I think part of the problem is work has been slow even when im doing my 10mt slots so its a bit demotivating.
Am I willling to give myself one good hour of fullonwork. i.e. 6 x 10 in 1 hour. I need some motivation. Getting bit worried about deadline again because my estimation is always off by a lot. I will try and focus on writing 125 words every 30mts.
Update 10.40pm
I have 33 x10 mts today so far = 5.5 hours. Taking a break now. Writing is slow, but maybe thats how it is. I have been reading stuff which is helping my writing. I am just worried about the deadline.
end of day update - 37 x 10 mts. But writing is very slow. Going to bed. Hopefully will be faster writing tomorrow than labouring over few sentences for so long.
24 August
Update for 23 August - 1pm onwards after teaching - 26 x 10mts = 260mts = almost 4 and a half hours. I also spent about 1 hour plus reading related stuff but not directly helpful to write.
Today
Today I got in late, it's already 12.30 and I was feeling anxious because so much time has gone by. I got stuck at home because of some stuff which came up. I am worried about missing deadline again because my writing has been slow. I will try and let go and focus fully on my 10mt slots and leave the rest.
Today, I will try my UTMOST not to read anything extra unless its's directly related to what im writing now. Other stuff, I can do later.
I am going to start my 10mt slots now. I will update at 1.30. I hope to get in 5 x 10mts and will have completed this section in max 3 x10mts. Work smart.
23 August
Update for 22 August - recovering from allnighter. i didnt realise how exhausted i was until i felll asleep at 4.30pm and when I woke up at 8pm I felt like a truck had ran me over. I was in no shape to do work. I was slowly lacking sleep from Friday night (6hours) and Sunday night (4 hours) before the allnighter on Monday so I had a lot of sleep to catch up on. I'm glad my supervisors gave me some extra time. But I can't afford to sit on my ass with the extra time.
23 August
I'll try and get as much written today as possible and focus hard. I just finished teaching my last class for the week. will get some lunch now. Start work at 1.45pm.
Will update at 3.45pm.
4.30 update
I started work at 2.15 eventually after lunch. Now its 4.30 and I have 8 x 10 slots. I have 135 words and sorted out some references. Will try to focus on getting words on paper from now. Next update at 7.00 pm.
11.30pm Update
So far I have 19 x 10 mt slots of proper work = 190 mts. I probably did 7 x 10mts of reading a thesis which was helpful but not for what im writing now, but probably when im editing my chapters and writing my conclusion.
Will get another 4 x10mts in before going to sleep. Will finish this section today. WILL!
You can do it!
I so recognise what you are saying with regards to all-nighter and even just feeling too tired to work. My productivity is absolutely zero when my eyes want to close every minute.
Glad you took some time to sleep well, I'm sure it will help your productivity tremendously. Only a few more weeks and you are done Thesis! You can do this.
Sleep well, enough & get up early so you have a bulk of work done before noon.
(and that goes for me too!)
Success! Stay focused and you'll be ready for the Monday deadline.
Hi Wolke was getting a bit
Hi Wolke was getting a bit distracted today reading around my topic instead of focusing on writing. Thaks for the encouragement. I am going to give another good shot at this before I go to sleep. Which means 3 or 4 x 10mt slots.
Good luck with your dissertation! we are on the same boat! :)
22 August 2012
Update for 21st August and allnighter into4pm on 22nd August - NEVER EVER DO THAT CRAP AGAIN.
Notes to Self
- Wake up early if you need to, but go to sleep.
- I grossly undercalculate the time I need to finish stuff. Stop doing that. Give yourself a realistic time and work steadily towards that 10mins at a time. Foreign concept for your (my) silly head I know. Get used to it.
- Staying up without sleep gives you diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimers. You are killing your brain cells.
- When you stay up all night and deadline approaches and you feel its pointless, you end up procrastinating more and staying up and not doing work. Even all the hours you put in were not at your most productive.
Number of hours for yesterday - I don't know. I lost count. I dont even know where the night went. I got some stuff written but it's probably crap. Without enough sleep, you cannot produce good work.
I missed another deadline. At least this time I had the decency to go to her office and see her and explain to her instead of avoiding emails for days and dreading to check email. She was very understanding and asked me to get some sleep and gave me a few days extra and told me to do it properly and hand it in by Monday instead of staying up again tonight which is what i thought I would have to do after a few hours nap in the evening.
Supervisor told me to be positive and that I am a good two weeks' work from submitting my thesis if I work consistently instead of running from it again.
Realistic Plan for Today and a bit of Tomorrow
Sleep 4.30-8pm.
Work 1 hour -8.30-9.30 - 250 words of S.C
Go do admin chores
Sleep by 11pm
Wake up next day 8am.
9Aam-10.30 - Finish S.C.
Teach 12-1pm.
Take one hour off for lunch
2pm - 3.30 pm - 350 words of method.
3.45 - 5.30 - Finish method
Est hours for chapter 1 - 4 commited hours
Est hours for chater 2 - 2 commited hours
Est hours for chapter 3 - 2 commited hours
Est hours for chapter 4 - 6 commited hours
Est hours for chapter 5 - unsure. (possibily 9 commited hours)
A wise supervisor
I think that calls for a celebration. Well done for your bravery in taking that first step in going to see your supervisor and confessing all. And how fantastic that she has taken such a sensible practical view. She obviously wants to see you succeed and so do we all.
I gave up all-nighters some few years ago. My brain just won't take it any more, and I can do far more in the morning if I've properly rested.
Do stay with us and keep us posted about how you get on.
H,
21 August
Update for 20 August - 195 mts - from 3pm onwards after teaching = 3.25 hours. Lack of sleep meant I was very tired and writing was very slow.
Plan for remainder of day
Edited plan
3- Finish editing c 2.
4.30 - Finish S.C.
6.30 - Finish Method.
8.00. - Finish c. 1
9.00 - Finish c.3
10-10.30 - Finish chap overviews
10.30 - 2pm - Finish chap 4.
8.50pm update - So far I have done 23 x 10 mts = 230mts. Fairly productive during those slots but in between I spent quite some time being overwhelmed and not knowing what to write. Important thing which helped was to plan in a more detailed manner - what's the next two sentences going to be on, and focus on that.
Good Luck
You seem to be putting in a lot of time and effort, more than what I can do. Good luck!
20 August
Update for 19 August - I did overall 30 x 10mts = 5 hours. This seemed to have been spread out over all morning, evening and night. That was totally unncesssary. If i had just focused on getting my work done, i could have been in bed by 12am. Instead it was 3am and worse, i got distracted obsessively 3am-5am which has left me without much sleep today :( I caved in so many times. But i know for sure, even more so now, that if i procrastinate knowingly or cave in to my lower impulse, I will feel worse afterwards. If i focussed and did my work, I can finish and get stuff done and go have a rest.
BTW, I am not trying to kill myself, I am trying to meet a final deadline on Wednesday to submit my thesis draft.
Today I will be able to start work only at 3.30 pm because of teaching.
Instructions for today.
1. Don't cave in to impulse. Think rationally. Use your rationality to overcome impulses.
2. Don't waste time READING. Only read if you REALLY have to. Try and write without reading as much as possible.
3. If i even slip up a little bit, i would go off track and spend many hours wasting time. I want to make this deadline because this the last reading period available to my supervisors.
4. Check phone for detailed time breakdown for next two days. And keep checking/rectifying IF needed.
Detailed Breakdown for today
4pm - Finiish this section
4-6.30pm - Finish adaptation
7-8.30pm - Finish trans.
9.00-11pm - Finish S.C
Update- 9.40pm
Having major trouble again sticking to stuff. 5 x25 mts = 125mts (almost 13x10 mt slots)
As the deadline gets closer, there is a sense of defeatism that I am very familiar with. I feel its too late, it cant get done, why bother.
But I can't afford to do that. What I want to do is just do as much as I can in this time. Maybe I will go back to 10mt slots. Why tinker with what was working?
Writing output is dismal even in those 2 hours because have been trying to find material/research to include in review.
I want to finish current section by 10.30pm. I will update at that time.
Update 10.15pm -Section completed. Yay!
10.25-11.30 - 450 words of next section- use earlier written stuff too. Keep it short. Don't read too much. Next update at 11.30
Update 11.30pm Had a really productive 30mins but then had a long phone call come in. I am going to do 2 x10min slots and if it is slow im going to call it a day. I notice im a bit slow this evening, with thinking, forgetting things, doing the wrong things. I'm calling it on the lack of sleep yday night due to procrastinating for 3 extra hours and having only 4 hours plus sleep. Surprisingly the classes I taught really went well and the students seemed really into it. Or maybe I was just so zonked that I was hallucinating. lol
Good luck with the deadline
I'm
not sure how much it's possible for a chronic procrastinator to avoid impulsive
behavior and think rationally. This is what has brought us to this situation in
the first place. According to the 12 steps, it's only possible to avoid this
type of behavior with the help of a greater power (sponsor, a friend from the
program, group meetings...) and a higher power (praying to Him to remove the
impulse..., writing about it...), because we are powerless over our addiction
(step 1).
I'm not trying to discourage
you. Admitting I'm powerless helped me cope in a healthier way and face the
problem. We are not different from a drug addict who knows that his usage will
harm him but cannot help himself, though we don't use substances to avoid life,
we procrastinate.
Good luck in making the deadline. I'm sure it will work out for the best
Thanks Roab - about HP and powerlessness
Hi Roab,
Thanks for the wishes and encouragement! :)
It's true, I have been praying to the higher power to help and guide me. However, I think the way I understand it is a bit different. The first step is to admit that we WERE powerless over our addiction. It does not seek to drag that identity into the now and the future. Otherwise, it would be termed we ARE and ALWAYS WILL BE powerless. The first step is written in past tense for a reason I believe.
Now for the higher power to actually work, He will have to work THROUGH us, isn't it? He will change us, he will alter us, he will restore us to sanity (Step2). The other option is to keep believing that we ARE insane/powerless, but if the higher power has to work, he will empower us. 'I can do all things through Him who strengthens me' .
As we turn our will to God, I think we must humbly believe that He will work through our will and rationality because those too are His tools. Once we are done with the first step, we must climb on to the next one.
Powerless
I won't go into a long explanation. Too busy trying to work on my deadline (today). Interesting in Hebrew it's in the present tense.
Here's a link to how it's explained at 12steps org: http://www.12step.org/the-12-steps/step-1.html
My point is that one should not believe that his problem is under control, because it will prevent him from getting out a a vicious cycle.
19 August 2012
Update for 18 August- Away on Holiday. Could start work only at 5.30pm. Did a total of 12 x 10min = 2 hours of completely productive work. I think I spent a little bit extra time reading work stuff in procrastination mode, i.e. unproductive reading instead of writing.
Time wasted - Random conversation with work mate. Cigaratte breaks. Don't understand why I could only go home at 10.30 although i did only max 2.5 hours of work. Ahh also breaks between 10min slots. Maybe reading stuff online a little bit and posting stuff here. But the latter didnt take much time. Posting here is therapeutic and it is helping me a lot in terms of anxiety and productivity. So I wont consider it waste of time.
Plan for today
Start work at 10.25am. I am already at computer now and will turn on timer immediately.
I have to finish current section and section on methodology today. Which is about 1500 words.
Sunday I tend to panic and be less productive at home. So today I came to uni and meeting a friend at 2pm in library to do work together. I thought that might make me stay on track with my productivity. Bad sunday leaves the rest of the week in disarray because anxiety kicks in bad.
Ok next update at 1.30P.M.. I will do at least 12 x 10 min slots in this time but I will focus on starting this 10mins for now. Every 3 x 10mts, 125 words.
2pm update
I caved in to my impulsivity and it almost felt like I chose to do it although the rational part of me kept trying to reason with the impulsiveness. I lost one hour due to total procrastination.
Overall I have aonly 6 x 10mts. I spent some time again reading stuff related to my work which i really did not need to read. I think about 15mts was spent doing that. So in 3.5 hours, I have only 1 hour of work done :(
I'm going to be serious about it and start properly again. I will start with 10mts. I will give it a go with all my might. Though a million people stand before me with sword drawn, I will say, OUT OF MY WAY and go forth!
8 pm update
Work was slow today in terms of number of 10min slots as I kept getting into conversations with my friend who was working together with me. But i still think overall, it was a great idea to ask to work with her as usually my Sunday get wiped out at home alone and fills me with anxiety by the end of the day.
The good part is i discussed with her some of my ideas on what I was writing, and she gave me some clarity and ideas about how to structure and write the rest of the chapter.
Apart from that, cigaratte breaks have been taking a fair bit of time I realise. Because I have to roll one and go all the way out of the building to the smoking place, that's a good 10mins. 10 x 7 cigarettes is already an hour. That is shocking. I will smoke less often and roll cigarettes in advance and try and use nicotine gum.
Apart from that I caved in twice to procrastination today but the last hour has been going good. I have 18 x 10 min slots so far = 3 hours of work only today. I got in at 10.30am. Outright procrastination cost me almost 2 hours. Lunch + conversations plus breaks + interruptions = rest which seems to be adding upto 4 hours. That's ridiculous. Where is the time going?
I might switch to full pomodoro mode to ensure I can make better use of the hour. 25mts +3 mts. So in an hour I will get close to 50mts of work. Then longer break of 15mins after three pomodoros. Meals coinciding with longer breaks, extended to 45mts.
I'll give it a go and see how! ill update at 10.30pm. I need as much of this chapter as possible tonight. Blah.
Support to Thesis
That's impressive how persistent you are in the pursuit of your goal. Good luck! :)
Thanks Pheobe
Thanks Pheobe. I've been trying to sound determined but keep falling off the wagon. I procrastinated again because of some anxiety and feel bad at this point. I only got 20mins of work done since last post. Now i'm trying to get back on track as I am really behind schedule.
I couldnt find any active members in the support chat. So I am going to commit here to do 3 x 10mins and write 125 words in this time. I'll report in 30mts. Im putting the 25min plans on hold coz it still seems slightly daunting and makes me want to procrastinate.
Update - done 3x10 mts but only 70 words.
Will do another 3x10 mts after 10mt break and target another 125 words.
3am update
So i have 30 x 10mt slots today = 6 hours. But i hvnt written barely enough at all. Quite dismal. Maybe 400-500words max. I was working remarkably slow and just got stuck reading around the concepts for my writing. When what i need to do is get words on paper.
I am teaching tomorow noon and usually i wont get any work done in the morning. So i decided to stay up late and sleep in till before class. But now i just started to procrastinate again. I should go to bed because this could be dangerous and screw up my entire day tomorrow. :(
18 August 2012
I am back from my break. It was lovely and good to clear my head. Lot of driving though, so im quite exhausted but I need to catch up on my work. It's already 5.20pm.
I will start with 10mts of work and see how it goes. Was getting anxious thinking about looming deadline but I will just try and focus on the NOW.
Will update at 6.30pm.
Struggling with anxiety. Did
Struggling with anxiety. Did 3 x 10mts slot. Had to exercise a lot of willpower to stop myself from surfing net randomly, because I know if i start, I will be surfing for hours on end.
Update 8.45pm
I have done totally 7 x 10 mts and hav 222 words. I had anxiety but I took some ashwagandha. I managed to get back to work without caving in by using the following techniques.
1. I thought about what I will feel like after i procrastinate. I wont feel better, but I will feel worse. Since my only happiness was in doing work, i chose rationally what made more sense.
2. I came back from break chanting, i'm doing my work now, i'm doing my 10mts now. That helped me to turn on the time the moment i sat at my desk and work on it.
3. I thought about my wife and how I dont want to let her down anymore.
well done thesis
well done for getting stuck in and getting those 70minutes done.
We're rooting for you!
Thanks Hypatia! I managed
Thanks Hypatia! I managed to go on for more and made it to 12 x 10 mt slots, which was 2 hours :) and then went straight to bed without procrastinating by starting to surf net which would have led to bed at 3-4am.
It feels really good to have a community of people understanding what you are going through and supporting you through it! :)
17 August 2012
I couldnt sleep until late although I was in bed. I only have about 1.5 hours of work time today before getting ready for my trip.
I commit to everyone on this board to do as many ten min slots as possible in the next 1.5 hours starting now at 12.05pm. Will post update at 1.35pm.
17 August update
I did 4 x 10 slot = 40 mins and then it was time to leave. Back from break now on 18 August.
16 August
Update for 15 August- 35 x10 mts = 5.8 hours of work
I did well until i stayed back until 12. The tendency to procrastinate kicked in and this time I gave in. I surfed net for a bit but then managed to get back to work but then started reading other stuff again.
What worked yesterday
Constantly focussed on the the 10min slots. Taking a break and coming back straight to the task and turning the timer on. Committing to that 10 min slot without fear. Ignoring everything else.
Also, I noticed when I was in a roll, I managed to get through a few 10 min periods together without WANTING to stop. So that was good.
What didn't work yesterday
Towards the end, when im tired and when I feel like procrastinating, I have to decide that's it and switch off and go to sleep. Catch the thought early on and fight it with all your might. If i give in to procrastinating even a little bit, then it becomes a MONSTER that i have difficulty handling.
Productive Hours: Overall I did 35 x 10 mts. That is almost 6 hours of work. I am really hopeful but I have to be watchful of complaceny which kicks in after a good day normally.
16 August
I also have to make sure I finish up early today because I don't want to be burnt out. Wednesday nights I will try and work till later because Im teaching on Thursday.
Going to eat now and start 10 min slots at 2.15pm max. Will update at 5.30. Soldier on:
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. - Calvin Coolidge
6.20 Update
I only managed to do 4 x 10mts = 40mts. I was distracted by planning stuff for tomorrow's trip and i kept going back to it as a means of procrastination even though I should have been focussing. I lost out on more than 2 hours of possible work i.e. almost 12 x 10 mt slots. That is no good.
But i forgive myself. I mean it, I really forgive myself. Now I will do another 10mts. I will update at 9pm. Aiming for 12 slots of 10mts each but I will just think about this 10mts for now.
8pm - HELP!
Help! Oh no im losing it. I cant get back to my work again and im procrastinating like crazy all over again. I cant afford this. I dont know what am I doing! Why am i going downhill again? I need to focus and get started. It feels so hard all of a sudden again. :( :(
I need to breathe. Will I commit myself to another 10mins? Is that ok with you? Ok I will do another 10mts. I can do another 10mts. I will do it now.
((thesis))
slow down, slow down! Youre going to get your brian in such as twist it won't co-operate with you.
a couple of thoughts:
1) are you overcommitting? when you've got a lot of work to do it's easy to set yourself unachivable standards and then beat yourself up beucase you haven't met them. You've already done a lot of 10 minute slots; 6 hours in one day is more than I could ever do! I was always taught that it is difficult to concentrate solidly for more than about 45 minutes, which is why in the Uk school lessons are about that length. If you are forcing yourself to do 12 lots of 10 mins without a proper break, no wonder your brain is protecting. I'm currently writing a university assignment, and what works best for me is an hour of work (broken down into slots if needed), then half an hour of something that doesn't require brain power like gardening or washing up or a cup of coffee, and then back to the assignment with a fresh brain.
2) and don't forget to make time for something you enjoy, that isn't just idly surfing the net.
3) have you tried logging in the chatroom for real time support?
H.
End of day update
Hi hyptia, the 6 hours of work was yesterday. At the time when i had posted i had only got done 40mts of work for today and it was already 8pm in the evening thats why i was freaking out because i need to do at least a few hours of solid work to not miss another deadline after 5.5 years of missing deadlines.
I stumbled into the chat box soon after there, and one of the members calmed me down and we both started a 1 hour period of work together. and that made me feel better. i'm feeling more hopeful now although im behind coz of procrastinating all afternoon/evening.
Tomorrow afternoon taking trip to mountains to catch some snow! :)
Note for myself - 17 August round up: 22 x 10mts = 220mts or 3 hours 35mts approx.
Wasted time a little bit and started panicking which made me procrastinate more. I could have gotten a lot more done than 3.5 hours if i had worked steadily and systematically.
I have to set myself hourly word count tasks. Will start work tomorrow 9.30am.-1pm and off for the rest of the day coz of commitments.
the chatbox is great
I'm glad you found the chatbox helpful. There's something about having other people who understand and are trying to solve the same problem which has made it far easier for me to stay on task.
I'm just wondering if after 6 hours on one day, your subconscious was complaining that a second consecutive day of hard work was unfair - a sort of demand resistance.
I'm glad you're going to get away - do try to get some rpoper relaxation and come back refreshed and ready for the fray
H.
15 August 2012
Update for 14 August:
Worked 10m slots: 20 x 10 = 200 mts. = 3 hours 20mts.
This is a big jump from the zero mts on many days last week and prior. The dangerous thing is that I have been here before. I have felt I have done some work, and then I let my guard down and before you know I am reading something else and then I can't get back to my work and then anxiety kicks in and i dont end up doing anything productive for a few days.
So I will have to be very watchful of my mind and how it will find some excuse to procrastinate - both postive and negative reasons.
The good part is there is still tremendous room for improvement.
15 August
I got in to work at 10am today. So that's good. Woke up rested.
I will start 10mt slots at 10.30 onwards. I will have to read a bit less and write more today. I will update at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm today.
I have to do what makes me happy today. That's all. I know I will feel unhappy at the end of the day if i waste time. This is the TRUTH. I am rational and my rationality tells me that the only way i can feel happy is when i do my 10mt slots.
I was distracted today by
I was distracted today by trying to find information about an upcoming trip that we needed to book asap. However, even after doing that I kept checking additional accomodation, weather details which I didn't need to.
Overall, I only have 5 x 10 mts this morning. Its close to 2pm. I will update at 5pm. I will make sure I get at least 13 x 10 mt slots in those 3 hours. One at a time. Breathe. You can do this.
5.20pm update
I have done 9 x 10mts slots which amounts 1.5 hours of solid focussed work. I didn't particularly waste time (had lunch and some conversations and short breaks) but I need to focus more deeply. I experienced a lot of anxiety because of deadline reminder from my supervisor but was eventually able to sit down and write.
I felt urge to procrastinate as I was coming up the building after a smoke but i know it wont make me feel better, so I am choosing NOT to do that.
Instead I will soldier on. It's about how hard you can get hit, and KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
I will update at 7.30. I am
hopinggoing to get in another 12 x 10 mts and will write another 420 words during this period. I'm at 1622 words now.7.50 pm update
I have 12 x 10 mts. But im not happy with my writing output. I spent a fair bit of time searching for articles or books which i do not know if i will use in the end. I need to look through them a little bit but i need to write more. I have written only 260 words in this period.
I am going to take a break by going to library, clear my head, have dinner. Will start a 10 min slot at 8.45pm.
14 August 2012
Yesterday night after I did 40 mins of work, I got distracted by searching for other stuff on net. So I could not put in another 40mins of work after I got back from the library
I will have to make sure I don't go down that path today. This morning I was going to leave home but then started checking news and that took me a while and I was starting to freak out, turned on tv. But eventually managed to pry myself away from it and wasting whole day.
I am at uni now and its 12.50. I intend to write at least 1000 words today. i will tick off every 10 min slot today to monitor my daily productivity.
Yesterday I only did about 6 x 10 mins of work. I can push that up by heaps today as long as I get encouraged by every 10 min slot of work.
I will update in 3 hours at 4pm.
4 pm update
So it's 4pm. I have pleasantly stuck to the task. I have filled in 11 x 10min slots. That is 110 minutes in the last 3 hours. Had a lunch break. I am encouraged and feel motivated as it is the first time in weeks that I have been able to work consistently for an hour plus period.
Let me list what works.
1. Breaking it down into 10min slots.
2. Breaking tasks down into achievable slots of 20mins.
3. Catching thought of procrastination early on - as soon as thought enters the mind, ask yourself - You pride yourself in being a rational person. Think about it. If you waste time, how will you feel after one hour? If you do work, how will you feel after one hour? Choose that which makes you happier. THIS is being rational.
4. Coming back from breaks, right into work.
I have 903 words. I want to write another 600 words today. This should take 3.5 hours maximum. 10 mins at a time.
Thanks
This is good advice. Thanks
It's almost 7 and I am
It's almost 7 and I am hitting a wall. I need a break. I exercised my will power and im going back home to take a break rather than sit around n waste time on the internet today.
I will get back to work at 8.30pm-10.30pm. Might throw in meditation session too to calm down nerves a bit. Today has been very promising. I wish I had written more but if at all time was spent unproductively, it was reading stuff related to my research.
I don't need to read so much and I must be careful about using reading as a way of procrastinating when I know i should be getting words on paper at this stage. But I wont be too hard on myself. I deserve a pat on the back.
Today was enjoyable. I feel good when i do my work. When I dont do my work, I feel like shit. Follow your bliss. Think rationally. This is my motto.
Looks like I did 17 x 10mts = almost 3 hours of solid work. It should technically be more considering extra time that I might not have logged. Will try to be more meticulous in logging.
Tomorrow I might consider pushing those 10min slots to 15 min slots. Not sure if it would be too soon.