<p>So I'm transitioning into my 3rd semester as an aerospace engineering major. Unfortunately I'm having to retake Calculus II and Physics I over this summer because I slacked last semester. I just feel that I'm not built for this major. I'm a lazy person. I procrastinate. I cheat occasionally. I started writing this post in the middle of my physics homework at 1am because I'm really down in the dumps. I would say that physics is the hardest subject for me. I really love engineering & all that it encompasses and my math skills are above average but I just can't see myself doing anything else because no other major or career really interests me. In my heart, I know that if I put all of my effort into it, I can pull through but I rarely do that. I feel that if I quit out on this major, I'll become depressed and have no idea what to do with my life. I feel that any other career would have me always depressed because I settled for the easy major and I know that I could have done better. I'm partly sticking with this major because of this reason. I think I'll go insane before I complete another 3 years of procrastinating and having to stay up until the sun comes up during the last week of class just to catch up on homework assignments. (That's what I'm currently doing :() I've had a real problem with procrastination for as long as I can remember. I would also say that I'm a sort of bare minimum kind of guy. I hate to say it but I don't like working hard and I know that that this major requires hard work plus harder work. To some, that would be a deal breaker right there and that I should change majors but again, I can't see myself doing anything else. I'm stuck and don't know what I should do. Any input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>P.S. I just laid my heart on the line with this :( More to come if I think of anything.</p>
<p>Only 8% of Bachelor’s degrees are award in Engineering and computer sciences. 92% are awarded in other fields. These other college grads are doing just fine, switching majors will not be the end of the world.</p>
<p>With that being said, procrastination is something you need to resolve now, before it kills your college grades (and impacts your life, after graduation). It is something you can get better at, but you’ll need to want too…</p>
<p>You can switch majors if you want. Plenty of people graduate with other degrees and get jobs. What’s critically important is that you do well.</p>
<p>I’m going to be real with you here. You need to get motivated in school and do well. I guarantee you’re smart enough, how sad is it you doing ■■■■■■ because you aren’t motivated enough? You continue on the same path two things will happen. One, it will probably take you longer to graduate and you could rack up more debt. Two, you will not land a job or it will be very challenging. So basically college with cost more and you’ll be jobless. </p>
<p>Turn off the T.V., games and computer and get to work. You can do this. One thing that really helped me was going to the gym. Setting a lifting schedule and seeing my lifts go up gave me confidence I could do the same with school work.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, procrastination is an addictive behavior. Several other modern behaviors can be addictive too, texting and Facebook to name a couple. They can, and have likely done in your case, caused hypofrontality. It’s a condition where thinking about the activity self perpetuates poor blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, letting the brain CEO take some time off. Procrastination has been demonstrated to do this to the brain (with special Brain imaging techniques) just like showing a milkshake to a frustrated dieter or a bag of smack to a heroin addict does.</p>
<p>My point is this, it may seem that this is “who you are,” but it isn’t. It’s what you’ve become. Understanding that will remove your fatalism, get you going towards undoing it, and allow you to succeed if you make the choice to do so. If it were me, I would. This will follow you and haunt you through any major, but worse yet, through any job and through your life.</p>
<p>Now, the secret? Time management and recognizing something Cal Newport calls pseudo-studying, grinding out the hours in an unfocused, distracted way.</p>
<p>There’s a bunch of techniques, but Cal Newport handily summarized them in his survey of the Phi Beta Kappa inductees of the Ivy League published in the book “How to Become a Straight-A Student.” It isn’t about how to make yourself into a grinding, academic Borg. It’s about how to be organized and efficient so that you can also drink beer, or play sports, or act in a theater group, while still getting great grades. It’s no magic pill. It’s a summary of what the smart and successful students already know. </p>
<p>Good luck! You can do it and it will be easier than you think.</p>
<p>Don’t know what will work for you but this is what worked for me. </p>
<p>I got involved in varsity sports. I was tired enough after practice that sitting at my desk, doing my homework and not having to move much was a welcome relief. It also made me plan out my schedule and I knew I couldn’t procrastinate as I didn’t have a whole lot of free time.</p>
<p>I became part of a study group for my classes. The peer pressure of having to be prepared for our group sessions also helped with the procrastination problem.</p>
<p>Engineering does get more interesting as you progress in college. The first year is just basic stuff; calculus, physics, chemistry, etc. Kind of boring for many of us. When you really start to do engineering, it becomes a lot more interesting and that helps a lot with getting the work done.</p>
<p>This is generally the case for many undergrads. Out of all the lower divisional classes, physics was usually the bane of their existences, mine included. </p>
<p>I think part of your issue is obsolete methods. In highschool, many engineering majors were slackers. They attend class quickly understood what the teacher was saying, did the homework, aced the class. In college that happens less and less as you keep going higher into your courses, and eventually you will reach a point where solely attending class won’t be enough. You’ll have to study and sometimes get help. Being unaccustomed to the change in the game, your mind stress and often procrastinates as a coping mechanism. Essentially, running away from the problem instead of confronting it. </p>
<p>However, you do understand your problem, so you are able to fix it. Just remember, one day at a time. You won’t go from procrastinate overlord, to diligent champ in a few days. It will take time. You are training yourself to do different behavior. </p>