You might remember me lamenting about the struggle bus back in the beginning of
the semester, and let me tell you, I’m still on board! Unfortunately, en route
to my final destination (winter break!) I’ve made far too many stops at
Procrastination Station! Full disclosure: I find it really hard to think more
than a day or two in advance and its really really difficult for me to work on
a project or paper more than 48 hours before it’s due! Maybe that’s why I have
no interest in getting a doctorate or completing a dissertation… I always think
I work best under an intense time crunch, and that my stress produces a better
product by the deadline than if I had taken a lot of time to think about it,
but that might just be me making excuses :-P
So I wanted to show you all what MY procrastination looks,
sounds, and feels like – maybe yours is similar (you’re in good company) or
maybe you procrastinate a lot less than I do, in which case, congratulations –
try to keep that momentum fueling you through grad school! You’ll be glad you
have that kind of work ethic! I wish I had a better drive and motivation to
complete my assignments...
So let’s assume I get home from my GA around 3:15pm one
afternoon, and my paper is due “tomorrow”, let’s say in class at 9:00am.
Here’s what a typical schedule for my night will look like on that day…
3:15pm: Walk in the door of my apartment with the full
intention of starting my paper (almost) right away
3:20pm: Change out of my work clothes, open up my computer,
and open the documents and readings I plan to use for the assignment
3:23pm: Open Gmail. Delete 47 emails containing news
articles I don’t care about, sales at some of my favorite (and not so favorite)
retailers, and general unwanted messages.
3:25pm: Open Facebook (READ: BAD IDEA!) Scroll through my
homepage to see what I’ve missed since this morning (too much!) Open 18
different links from people.com, Buzzfeed, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.
3:45pm: Finish looking through those posts and others that I
linked to. Go back to staring at the blank document in front of me. Reread the
assignment description and attempt to start the paper, or maybe just identify
the thesis…
3:55pm: Paper looks like this.
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| This episode of Spongebob is so accurate! |
4:00pm: Seems like enough work. At this point I decide to
take a shower so I can save that time later in the evening…
4:30pm: Sit back down at my computer and try again to start
the paper. Get the idea to write an outline first! Start outlining the paper
(progress!)
4:45pm: Get bored with the outline. Decide to make
tomorrow’s to do list instead. Also, since we’re in the process of making
lists, write a grocery list, a list of things to buy at Target next time I’m
home, and a list of things to do over the next 4 days (why am I suddenly
thinking so far ahead?!?!)
5:00pm: Go back to the outline and keep working. The paper
keeps growing and changing as I keep writing. Try to refocus it.
5:45pm: Detailed outline is complete. I suddenly notice that
I’m hungry. Go downstairs to my kitchen and search for something to eat.
Finally settle on whatever I have leftover in the fridge…or pasta. Pasta is
always a good choice. While I eat I catch up on what I’ve missed online during
the past two hours. I see this as a good decision – it’s efficiency and
multitasking, right? Here are some things I pinned on Pinterest during this
efficient break!
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| Minion Cupcakes!!! |
6:15pm: Return to attempted outline writing. Try to fit in
the information and research in the appropriate spaces to organize my thoughts
and information – the outline grows from 1.5 pages to 4 pages long!
(single-spaced) Uh oh… It’s going to be a long night.
7:00pm: Attempt to start the actual paper itself. Rewrite
the opening sentences over and over until I finally settle on one. Write for a
while and get through the opening paragraphs.
8:00pm: Brain realizes I’ve been writing for a whole hour!
Decides that’s enough for now and I need a break. See ya later, productivity!
Tummy realizes I’m hungry – snack time! Grab a few cookies and decide to take a
short break. Oh! Big Bang Theory is on? Looks like my break is going to be 30
minutes!
8:30pm: Turn off the tv and try to re-motivate myself to
finish the paper. It doesn’t work. To Facebook! Catch up on “news”. Check out Things You Learn in your 20's, Nerdy Jokes and Awkward Happenings of 2013 on Buzzfeed. Wait! See that my friend’s ex-boyfriends’s new
girlfriend just had a baby? 25 public pictures of the baby on Facebook – look
at them all. Long-lost acquaintance just got back from a trip to Spain – check
out all 352 pictures she posted. (Try not to feel like a stalker by “liking”
the pictures 3 minutes after they were posted.)
9:30pm: Realize it’s already 9:30 – PANIC! Frantically try
to start writing again. The stress is helpful! Productivity happens!!
11:00pm: Realize I’m hungry again. Time for snack number
two!
11:05pm: Watch a few Jenna Marbles videos on YouTube to mindlessly relax for a few minutes. Haven’t seen the last 4 weeks of videos so I watch
those, followed by my favorites - Landshark, How Girls Pack a Suitcase, and What Are This!
11:45pm: Now I’m falling asleep. Time to set my alarm for a
20 minute power nap. Maybe I’ll work better when I wake up. Zzzzzzzz…
12:05am: Alarm goes off. Time to do some work – but first,
coffee!
12:10am: Return to my desk with coffee in hand! Let’s start
working!!!
4:29am: SUCCESS!! THE PAPER IS DONE!! Print it out and
reward myself with three and a half hours of sleep before I have to get up for
class…
8:00am: BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Good morning world! It all starts
again…Time for a large iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts and another long day as a
grad student!
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