<p>My teachers and guidance councillor say that I'm one of the most intelligent students in the school, and I have some pretty good SAT scores (I'm a Junior and I got 1900 the first time, think I can boost it up w/ prep?)</p>
<p>Anyway, my grades are absolutely terrible. I'm not saying this from the perspective of a perfectionist, but a lazy, procrastinating "meh, good enough..." type of guy.</p>
<p>I am failing one class and I think I may fail another. I think I may have gotten a perfect on the critical reading section of the PSAT, (not the SAT, because in all honesty I was very tired and slightly intoxicated when taking the test). </p>
<p>The thing with me is the procrastination. What do you think I can do about it?
It's a serious problem, I have an entire research paper to do and it's midnight, for example.</p>
<p>By the way, I apologize if this is the wrong section, this is my first post and I'm not 100% certain in the mechanics of the way this forum-website works.</p>
<p>Thanks for any replies!</p>
<p>I’d tell you to get off CC, but that’d be moot at this point.</p>
<p>I find that keeping distractions physically hidden is helpful. I let myself listen to music while doing homework (only instrumental if the work is from English or history, though strangely vocals are fine for Japanese) but put my DS in its case, and my guitar under the bed, as well as turning my computer off and setting my phone to airplane mode.</p>
<p>You can take breaks, but try to time them and make sure your work is always clearly visible.</p>
<p>Do as much stuff that isn’t really hard as you can as early as possible. For a research paper, find sources that somehow relate to your topic and skim for important details. That isn’t really hard or even time-consuming if you have a rough idea of what your thesis will be.</p>
<p>If you can stomach the negativity, remind yourself how upset you’ll be if you fail, and work away from that. You’d be surprised how little time and effort can land you a halfway decent paper if you work at it.</p>
<p>It isn’t just the procrastination. It’s also the drinking.</p>
<p>Have you talked to a guidance counselor or your doctor or clergyperson? Your procrastination will get better when the underlying issues get better.</p>
<p>And you might think about alternatives to school. Right now your future as a student looks dim, no matter how smart you are.</p>
<p>When you are chatting with your counselor about the drinking, ask to be screened for ADHD and for Executive Function Disorder. Either of those can lead to procrastination issues, and could also be contributing causes to drinking as a form of self-medication.</p>
<p>Lots of stuff there to think about and to get good advice for.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>