<p>Hey, if that's the way you work, there's nothing wrong with it, as far as I know. I'm a big procrastinator myself and have tried to fix it in the past. But the only condition I really work in is last minute desperation. I see little that is wrong with that. perhaps a bit unhealthy, but come on, we are high school students, we can handle some loss of sleep. Seriously, when I actually tried to get to work in advance, my mind went blank, but when I got to work past midnight after hours of idle facebook/movies/IM, my mind came up with amazing stuff left and right. My friends get ****ed at me because they work away at a project to barely get an A, while I pull an all nighter the night before and get a 100%. It's just the way you are, don't try to fix it just because you think it isn't right. Some people are meticulous about getting things done on schedule, some are not, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as you get things done efficiently.</p>
<p>oops my bad I got pwnt by the word filter without even realizing it. It's so commonly used in casual conversation that I didn't even think that it should be filtered. I meant "angry".</p>
<p>Make a schedule and stick to it. Include breaks in your schedule so you don't work yourself to death, but SET AN ALARM for the ending time of your break, and at that point, stop minesweeping/chatting/whatever and get back to work.</p>
<p>i know! put ur computer in ur refrigerator or something, and so if u really need it u needa go into ur refrigerator to use it. oh and poor a cup of water on urself beforehand. so you won't spend too much time lookin up stuff, and wouldn't go to random pages til u forget about the time.</p>
<p>Do NOT put your computer in the fridge. It will never work again. I tried it with my brand new cell phone and after 3 hours ended up with a piece of junk that I eventually had to pay for and replace.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm definitely the last one to give procrastination advice but what I do is disconnect my laptop from the power plug. It's a pretty crap computer and only has an hour and a half battery power so I tell myself I've got to finish my work before the power goes out, which usually keeps me off the internet and other time-wasters.</p>
<p>Also, I try to create a list and cross things off. It really is a gratifying feeling to know that things are actually getting done, rather than looking at a pile of seemingly endless work in front of me.</p>
<p>or u could just not do anything. thats what i do</p>
<p>I think the best piece of advice is to find your own niche. For me, I can only have one cup of coffee to keep me going - anything more is overkill. It's about finding what works and what doesn't. People are offering ideas and you have to find what works best for you.</p>
<p>Although I totally agree: discipline is probably the big thing!!!</p>
<p>I have no idea how I got through 7 semesters of school with my horrible work ethic. I do homework/studying in passing periods/brunch/lunch and very little at home.</p>
<p>I keep a privacy block list on AIM on busy days to reduce the amount of time I waste there, but I have too many distractions. My problem isn't the distractions though: My problem is that I severely lack motivation. Even if someone took away all my distractions I'd still find something pointless to do and waste time.</p>
<p>The only saving grace I guess is the fact that once I start working or studying, I don't stop or get interrupted....so I have good focus, but it's so difficult to get me motivated to focus in the first place.</p>
<p>It's clear in my test scores...in AP Bio Junior Year, my test grades fluctuated between A's and D's because sometimes I couldn't study. I ended up with an A- and 5 on the AP test somehow but I had to pay for my poor habits by pulling all nighters before test days and skipping a fraction of the school day to rest or soak up information. If I didn't put myself through that 4 hour cramming session, I just took the test and ended up getting a D or whatever.</p>
<p>What motivates you guys to work? I've been searching for something for four years and never received an answer. I was once a good kid in middle school but something happened =/</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have no idea how I got through 7 semesters of school with my horrible work ethic. I do homework/studying in passing periods/brunch/lunch and very little at home.
[/quote]
lol sounds like me =(</p>
<p>
[quote]
I had to pay for my poor habits by pulling all nighters before test days and skipping a fraction of the school day to rest or soak up information.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>but i've never had to do that yet. hopefully i won't =(</p>
<p>Don't turn on the computer until you absolutely have to. That used to be a huge problem for me, so I would do all my non-computer stuff first and only then turn on the computer. Study with friends if you think it'll help keep you on track. Take short breaks or snacks, and set manageable goals for yourself.</p>
<p>I didn't actually read through this whole thread, so if someone mentioned this, then ignore me with everything you have. But using a GTD (getting things done) program can work wonders. A chap named David Allen wrote a book on them. Essentially, they're scheduling programs, plus a couple extra knick knacks designed to make you time efficient. They help you get things done quicker because they force you to set goals for every day, and they can help relieve stress because you won't have to worry if you forgot to do something.</p>
<p>You can just type in GTD or getting things done program in Google, and you should be able to find one. I use Linux, so unless you do too, I can't really help you figure out which one to use.</p>
<p>But good luck!</p>
<p>Well I'm not the one to talk since I am the world's best procrastinator... but</p>
<p>during the weekends I find that if you wake up at 10, go to breakfast (noone is in breakfast at 10am) and then head to the library straight afterward you save soooo much time. after that i work until 3 or so have lunch, chill, workout, and then continue doing work until dinner. afterwards i do some work until 10 pm or so and then it's time to party! you really need to threaten yourself and give yourself motivation-i.e., i can't go to this party tonite unless i get all of my paper done. it usually works.</p>
<p>I'm guessing that most ppl on here like me don't procrastinate because they're lazy, but because there's so much short term stuff to do. I get hw in at least 6 of my 7 classes 95% of the time. By the time I finish the stuff that's due the next day, believe me, studying for the test in 3 days or doing the paper that's due in 2 weeks is about as appealing as walking on broken glass with bare feet after developing morton's neuroma. Also, I've always been able to cram for tests and do the majority of the work for projects the night before, so my mindset is "Why the #@^! would I even open my binder tonight if I know I can do this later?" I think teachers can solve the procrastination problem by giving 5-10 question quizzes the next day on the material that the classwork/hw covered and make them like 20% of the grade. Students are forced to study little chunks at a time, develop effective study habits, and retain the material better.</p>
<p>Hey cooledge what software is there for GTD? I looked it up online and all there is are seminars and books.</p>
<p>and I can I save this in, say, a 'favorites' file so that I can refer to it? </p>
<p>there are some excellent comments on here.</p>
<p>Oh, I am new to this website and figured out the solution to my question above. I have e-mailed this thread to several of my children. Excellent advice in here.</p>
<p>Same here, I've been procrastinating my entire life by reading books--well, except for the break of about 15 years when I read nothing because I had 7 young children.</p>
<p>And I let loose upon the Earth my 7 kids who all procrastinate by reading books, too. </p>
<p>So this is not an unusual way to enjoy life and put off 'til tomorrow even with the competition from tv and videogames and the Internet. </p>
<p>And it is a better dodge than tv, that's for sure. at least you get a decent vocabulary, and faster reading speed and comprehension out of it.</p>
<p>jamesford -- it won't be like that once you get to college, in other words, you won't have much short-term hw</p>
<p>I experimented and found that I needed to study 12 hours a day for 4 days straight, doing not much of anything else, in order to get that A on each of the 4 tests given during the semester in my college statistics class (I'm obviously not gifted in math).</p>
<p>so I waited until the last minute. We were supposed to come to class having read the book, because at the end of class we would get in groups and have to figure out the answers to a quiz. Every class we had that quiz. And every class, I was not ready and others had to disgustedly help me.</p>
<p>but 4 days before the real test, I immersed myself. I read the textbook for the first time, and I did every problem 3 times each.</p>
<p>when the teacher returned the tests, everyone around me could see my A. I had to move to another part of the classroom where they didn't know me so that I could get that help on the next few weeks' quizzes. </p>
<p>I moved 3 times--she flashed the grade when she returned the tests, and everyone could see my A every damn time. It was embarrassing. People first looked shocked, and then mad.</p>
<p>Pride has a lot to do with how you work your procrastinating.<br>
Also, God help you if you have some kind of important interruption to the study time you planned to have.</p>