<p>How do you all deal with the mountains of work you have to complete in just a short time? I feel like I'm just doing something completely wrong.</p>
<p>I always have a million things to do. There will not be one day until the end of the school year that I can truly say I have nothing to do, or that I'm bored. But I have a really hard time actually finishing things. I always make all these grandiose plans to finish my work. I'll tell myself things like, "I'm going to write a page of this essay within the next hour." Then, no matter how much I seclude myself from distractions, the hour passes and I've only written three sentences.</p>
<p>I want to finish my work, but I just can't. There seems to be some sort of barrier that prevents me from just sitting down and working. I've tried shutting off my computer and TV, locking my door, and using ear plugs, but none of that works. If I don't have any of the traditional distractions, I just stare off into space and think about something else.</p>
<p>So what I'm asking is this: how do you manage to finish your work and rid yourself of distractions?</p>
<p>because if you keep expecting so much of yourself, you won’t achieve it, and your plans will have little value to you because you never carry them out anyway. so you’ll feel demoralized and helpless and won’t know what to do because the only thing you can do to help your situation (planning) has been taken away from you</p>
<p>so instead of a page of the essay…try two paragraphs? what could you realistically finish in an hour if you worked at it?</p>
<p>I get that all the time! I KNOW that I have to get this homework done or else I’ll be stressed out, but I just start wasting time. Internet, magazines, and staring off into space are my main methods of procrastinating. It’s usually the first step that’s the hardest.<br>
You could try working in a different environment other than your room, or go to one o the library’s study rooms instead.</p>
<p>I’ve thought about doing my work at the library. I could probably do it every once in a while, but the library closes at some ridiculously early hour, so I probably couldn’t finish all my work there. I always seem to be really productive at school. I wish I could have more time there to do my work.</p>
<p>Another problem is that I realistically COULD finish a page of the essay in one hour, but I just always get distracted. Of that hour, I’m usually only writing for ten minutes. Increasing my attention span doesn’t seem to come very easily.</p>
<p>I’m guessing I’m not alone in this problem.</p>
<p>Give yourself an hour to do the WHOLE essay (well, depending on how long the essay is supposed to be, but a class period is ~1 hr, and I [and others] often have to write in class essays, so that seems realistic to me [I’m not talking about a term paper here, lol]). Pretend like you’re in class - you don’t even have the option of extra time in that scenario, so I’m sure you’d get the essay done in class (so the one hour at home shouldn’t be a problem). This is the only way I ever get my essays done - I just give myself an hour and say that I’m not going to work on it at all after that (actually the solution is to put the essay off so long that you only have 1 hour till it’s due, and you’d be surprised how quickly you can crank out an essay)</p>
<p>Actually, I don’t restrict myself to time limits. I don’t think about it, I just go for it. I go for priorities first. Like, the classes that are first in the morning and the core classes are my priorities. If I have to stay up at a later time, I just do. I don’t overwhelm myself no matter how much work I have to accomplish, 'cuz that drives you NUTS. I’m not joking, you go crazy, and that’s when you get distracted.
Like, if you’re tired, go take a nap. If you’re hungry, go eat a snack. Fulfill your needs first. And if you have problem writing essays - I take forever to write essays unless it’s creative writing 'cuz I think of gazillion of things - brainstorm. Make an outline. Just think of what you’re going to do first, make a list and mark them off when it’s done.</p>
<p>Start with priorities and just do it. Don’t give yourself time limits. I think it’s bad to be continuously looking at the clock. It’s better to be lost in your obligations because you’re working so diligently.</p>