I have a day’s worth of work left for a project I’m working on. I could, technically, do it at work on Monday, but if I get it finished this weekend instead, I can take Mon-Wed off for the holiday. Great! I planned to do much of it last night, and finish it up today in order to start my holiday. Only thing is, it’s really boring work (not that my work is usually boring, just this project is). So this is what I’ve done so far (last night and today):
Laundry
Cooked a nice (and unplanned) dinner instead of eating frozen
Balanced my checkbook
Straightened up the clutter in my office
Played with my dog (well, ya gotta do that anyway!)
Purchased some stuff online that I was going to do next week
Browsed the Internet and read some message boards
Started a thread about how I’m wasting time instead of doing my work
Why do I keep procrastinating? If I get the stupid work done, it’s the holiday for me, baybee! Instead, I’ll be up late Sunday night cursing my stupidity.
So, what do YOU do when you need to be working (or studying, or whatnot?
Well, c’mon, the SDMB at the office is a given, of course!
But this is a situation where getting the work done really IS in my best interests. Sometimes having a deadline is the worst, since I know exactly how close to the deadline I can get and still get the work done!
I’m going to get to work, now. No, really, I am.
I’ll just lurk and nobody will know I’m still here instead of working.
When I was in college, I’d find myself doing the most inane things to delay any homework/assignments that were due.
1.) Experimenting with new make-up techniques from the latest Glamour and Cosmo.
2.) Cleaning out my closet.
3.) Going to the convenience store for an energy drink to “help me concentrate.”
4.) Figuring that, since I’m already in the car, I might as well go to the bookstore and…er…at least look like I’m studying something. And maybe buy a new CD “while I’m there.”
5.) Decide that I can’t study at home after all, and that I should go to the coffee shop to “really concentrate.”
6.) Invite my friends with me to said coffee shop, thus totally preventing any actual work.
This could go on for days, until finally I was up all night frantically trying to finish whatever stupid assignment I’d been putting off all week.
I’ll either clean or go to the gym, so it’s not all bad. I’ll also do the mundane stuff, like clean up a data set, or enter references into EndNote, to avoid doing the “real work.”
Heh. A few months ago, I was helping an unemployed friend with her resume. I got a draft typed up but I needed her to review it and provide some input. I think we must have scheduled at least five dinners and/or coffee stops to “work on it.” The folder just sat on the table the entire time, of course. It took her getting her first real job lead for us to get serious about it.
Well, at least I got about a third done this afternoon. Gosh, but it’s boring work! I’m heading to Starbucks now to get a triple-shot - hopefully that will keep me alert enough to plow through some more tonight. Bluh.
I’ve always convinced myself that I perform better under pressure, and that’s why have to goof off when there’s still plenty of time.
Two weeks ago for school, I finished the final project which we were given 8 weeks to complete. I worked on it for a total of seven hours, most of them the day before it was due.
Instead of doing college schoolwork, I sit in front of the computer doing miscellaneous stuff, like listening to music, browsing the SDMB, organizing my hard drive, etc. I study maybe an hour or two a week, total.
Amazingly, given my work ethic, I do decently in school.
