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.
Battling on with my PhD
Inspired by Thesis I will start checking in every day. I am starting from a very unproductive place so to begin with I will just try to do as many 10-minute bursts as possible - on whatever thesis-related work I can manage. Later on I hope to become more focused on writing new stuff and progressing with a timeline. The first goal is to not let weeks and months (years?!) go by without daring to go near my thesis.
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4 March
Well, I haven't been posting here as I said I would, but I have finally discovered the amazing usefulness of the chatbox! I am still battling on and I am making some progress. If (when!) I finally finish this thesis it will be thanks to discovering this site and the people here.
5 February
Time to get to it. Been traveling and now it is time to focus on what is most important to me. Will have the in-laws visiting soon and I really want to be able to do my work even with such distractions. Praying for strength.
29 January
Read the War of Art last night on Resistance... Painful reading because I can recognize what I am doing but I am not convinced that I can overcome it.
"Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it."
I found that refreshing since I have often been told that if I really wanted to write this dissertation I would have done so...
what is "Resistance" that
what is "Resistance" that you refer to? i struggle so much with resistance, and i definitely do relate to the spiritual aspect of it, but i'm not sure what you're referring to. please fill me in!
@phdmom
I was referring to a little book by Steven Pressfield called "The War of Art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles". It is good but I have read so many books on procrastination and none of them contain a magic pill. What works for me is to break the tasks down and then encourage myself to take just one step. I also feel I need to be nice to myself always. Not feel bad about lost time but congratulate myself for each step I take, even if it is just reading ONE sentence relevant to my work. In the past I have often turned even positives into negatives, e.g. if I had a good session I would think: if only I had started sooner!
It is also important for me to "touch" my thesis every day. Committing to not "losing contact" (avoiding) with my thesis has helped me in the last few months. Believe me, I still have a huge problem with procrastination but I try to not say negative things to myself...
Now I remember that I did read a very useful book once. It was called, "finish your dissertation once and for all". The interesting thing about that book was that it focused on psychological barriers to writing the dissertation. It also touches on something I think you mentioned once: that we may not have all the skills needed for writing the dissertation but that doesn't mean we are not intelligent. I know I used to think that I should be able to do this and if I can't it must mean I am not smart enough.
Good luck to you and me! I read somewhere that you can write your
thesis/dissertation once you believe that you can do it... and after
several years of not making progress I am starting to believe I can do
it.
Thank you all
With the help of this community I will work hard and succeed! Today i have sent off a timeline for completing a draft of my dissertation/thesis by the end of this year. This is an important step for me and my plan is to break this down further so that I know where I need to be by when. I have to make things concrete instead of the vague thought I've had of needing to submit 100 000 words in 3 years or so...
I have been paralyzed with fear
As I've written previously, I had to prove to my supervisor at the end of 2012 that I was on track or I might not be allowed to continue. Despite this hard deadline I could not make myself work as well as I needed to and for the last few weeks I have been paralyzed by fear, just waiting for an answer. Today I am very relieved to report that I have been granted a new lease on life: I can continue. Now I must make this the year that I learn my lesson and move on with my life. Yes, I am going to do it!
congratulations!
Let your purpose rule your day - Steve Chandler
wow, i must have missed that
wow, i must have missed that - so glad to hear you are approved to continue and that you're committed to moving forward. so, what's the plan? what's going to be different? cuz i have the same questions for myself. how can we help each other?
Congratulations!
It's going to be hard, but you ARE going to do it. We're all behind you!
(marcelor)
Welcome. Keep coming back. I find "fear"to be the root cause to my major blocks. The support here may not take away the fear, but helps you find a way to work through the fear. Other perks are helps with all parts of your life. You are not alone.
Excellent! Excellent!
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
Fantastic News!
That is fantastic news Marcelor! Delighted for you. Wishing you all the very best.
Great news Marcelor
Yay Marcelor, I am really pleased to hear that. I hope you can get over the paralysis and feel relaxed.
Hooch
6 January
I realize it's been a few days since I checked in though I have been going to this site daily. I have been working a bit, but it is slow going. I need more training! :-)
@ Marcelor
You know what they say - Practice makes ...improvement.
Keep up the good work!
Hooch
2 January
Yesterday, I did a last-minute push to complete something for a deadline. This was after procrastinating for months and the result is not very good. After events like this I usually experience mixed emotions: euphoria (feels great to "be rid" of the thing I have been fighting with) and guilt (why could I not start sooner and have a better result?). The thing is that in recent years I have not always managed to do even this last minute effort, and so even though I know it's not good I feel somehow proud of myself for not just giving up.
I want to know what the best approach is for "the day after". I assume it is just to get back to work, trying to take small steps. I am grateful for this community.
1 January
It's just another day here :-/ I can no longer make myself believe that I will change my ways dramatically: at this point I would be happy with just a tiny step in the right direction.
Best of luck!
best of luck Macelor! happy new year.
marcelor, nice to meet you!
marcelor, nice to meet you! another fellow dissertator, yay! slowly, we'll go far.
how many fellow dissertators do we have on PA?
here's to a new year, and baby steps!
Hello to you, PhDmom
I have read your posts too :-) I must say I feel less alone since joining PA, and it also feels good to be honest about my problems here. Not completely sure that I am actually getting better at not procrastinating though...
All the best for 2013, and good luck with starting a job!
taking action
i too struggle with making changes. i do think that the first step is self awareness, being honest about our struggles, and also accepting and loving ourselves even when we hate that part of us. i am generally very self aware, but it is so much harder to take action. the problem is that if we have unrealistic expectations, then even when we take those baby steps, we'll be critical of ourselves. so taking action and making changes really needs to be slow baby steps and we need to be our own cheerleaders. no one else understands how hard those steps are, and that's what i think we can be for each other. glad to have you along for the ride.
Marcelor: That's how it starts.
A tiny step in the right direction. Go for it!
Thank you, Chattydo
I am trying, but my work "muscles" are very weak from all these years of avoidance.
20 December
I am here and that counts for something. I am not being very productive but at least I am "maintaining contact" with my thesis daily. There have been times when I have feared going near it.
@ Marcelor
I think "maintaining contact" is great. Hopefully then the fear cannot build up too much.
I am wishing you the very best,
Hooch
19 December
It is 2 p.m. and I am about to start working.
Day 22
Showing up and trying to stay positive.
Lessons repeat until they are learned
I want to learn this lesson and finally move on. I want to be the next success story here. Tomorrow is another day...
Day 21
Have family staying with me now but will choose to work for at least a few hours every day.
Day 19
showing up. will edit throughout the day.
Well, I did do a bit of work today
Mostly planning and organizing: wish I could write more!
Good stuff Marcelor
Planning and organizing are important. They underpin your writing.
Good luck for the next step.
Hooch
Day 18 - spent 45 minutes in the zone
I haven't spent much time in that state lately, but grateful for it and trying to revel in it as much as possible. I managed to draft a chapter outline in that time.
Well done Marcelor
Well done for hanging in there.
Hooch
Day 18 - not giving up quite yet
I really had that terrible feeling yesterday that I should just face it and give up. But I am going to keep trying for a little bit longer. The problem is that my supervisor is expecting progress by the end of the current year. She has already been very understanding but if I don't have anything to show again it is very possible that she will not let me continue. Basically I need her to sign a paper that allows me to stay registered. Oh well.
Today I will just try to keep working and not think too much about scary stuff.
Marcelor, let's be buddies?
Hi Marcelor, I'm in the exact same boat, just about.
Can we support each other? I'm so desperate to move forward, even just an inch to start.
Lots of Love,
emily
sure, slowpoke
I could use some help :-) How do we start?
Day 17
At my desk and ready to take small steps towards conclusion. I need to remember what I said in the introduction: I am starting from close to zero productivity and need to work on building my strength again. I am inspired by the feats of PA members like thesis and wolke, but I should not be discouraged if I don't manage to write 9 000 words in 15 days!
Please keep showing up
Please keep showing up 10mts a time! Solidarity! I hv had months go by like that, and if i could, i would hv done something/anything that helps me progress a little bit.
If the task scares u, start doing some 'busy work', fixing up some references, making an outline etc, list of readings to do and so on, anything to get some momentum going. I know it goes against the pareto principle, thta we need to focus most time on most productive tasks, but for us, getting a move on is important, and this can be vital.
Dont think about the task as a whole coz i know when u think about it , u are looking at the difficulty and enormity of the task. If u must think about the task as a whole, why dont u think of the pleasure u will get once it is done. Keep checking ur thoughts, every minute. We are playinh these patterns of thinking in our head which gets us overwhelmed. Replace it with tiny tasks, or replace it with the pleasure of completion, visualise handing in your thesis/dissertation, feel that in ur body. That puts in a much more easier state to begin n persist.
GOODD LUCKK!!
Thank you thesis
Thank you.
Please keep showing up
Please keep showing up 10mts a time! Solidarity! I hv had months go by like that, and if i could, i would hv done something/anything that helps me progress a little bit.
If the task scares u, start doing some 'busy work', fixing up some references, making an outline etc, list of readings to do and so on, anything to get some momentum going. I know it goes against the pareto principle, thta we need to focus most time on most productive tasks, but for us, getting a move on is important, and this can be vital.
Dont think about the task as a whole coz i know when u think about it , u are looking at the difficulty and enormity of the task. If u must think about the task as a whole, why dont u think of the pleasure u will get once it is done. Keep checking ur thoughts, every minute. We are playinh these patterns of thinking in our head which gets us overwhelmed. Replace it with tiny tasks, or replace it with the pleasure of completion, visualise handing in your thesis/dissertation, feel that in ur body. That puts in a much more easier state to begin n persist.
GOODD LUCKK!!
I just had the thought that I need to give up
Feeling scared and paralyzed. Not scared and frantically working like I would ten years ago. Unfortunately, I think my procrastination has gotten worse with age because I know that life is not over if I screw up. This should be a good thing but in my case it just means that I give up more often. :-(
Day 16
Showing up and hoping to find some focus again today. Anything is better than nothing.
2 x 10 min of writing before lunch... a start!
Bravo for showing up and 2 steps progress already!
Good luck!
Continue your steps, however small now, you're now making it possible that one day they will be "Final read and edit of the conclusion".
Solidarity,
Wolke
Work today, win tomorrow.
thank you Wolke!
So wonderful to receive words of encouragement from someone who has been successful!
I have managed 11 x 10 min today - 11 steps towards completion :-)
Trying out "the magic bullet" in combination with the focus booster and it seems to be working somewhat.
Day 15
Showing up.
Solidarity to marcelor!
Thinking of you with good thoughts.
Thank you movingalong
I am very grateful for this site and all the wonderful people here.
Managed to do 4 x 25 minutes today.
Positive: managed to focus
Not as good: got stuck in perfecting-one-paragraph mode instead of writing new stuff
Well, I will try to find the focus again tomorrow
Day 14
Showing up. That's all I can do for now.