(Untitled)

Aug 11, 2009 15:41

I urgently - URGENTLY - need something that 1) needs to be done and 2) is so unpleasant that I'd rather work on my dissertation ( Read more... )

group hug, stress, dissertations-and-theses

Leave a comment

Comments 52

(The comment has been removed)

latvianchick August 11 2009, 23:17:29 UTC
I do the first one (out of desperation, really). It's beginning to wear on me.

Thanks for the advice and the good wishes.

Reply


leia1912 August 11 2009, 20:16:18 UTC
I'm a historian, too. Poor fellow soul!

My tip: I saw a website (I can't find it now) by which you state you will do X before date Y or you commit (via the website) to donating $$$ to a cause you loathe. Like, say, donating $100 to the Republican Party, or Creation Museum, etc. The trick is to scare yourself into the possibility that your money might go to fund something you find noxious. The website makes you put in people to vouch for you, so you can't just blow it off, and it holds your donation hostage until you meet your goal. (I'm trying to find the link--I know I put it on a message in our archives before.)

Reply

iluvpokeystix August 11 2009, 21:31:47 UTC
You may have just described the two causes that I'd probably choose. Blegh. I think a good mix of positive reinforcement and punishment (fear conditioning, more like) would work well. Finish this grant and you get a new pair of shoes! Fail and you've just signed up to support the Creation museum and receive all of their mailings!

...Now I'm designing an operant behavior protocol in my head for this. Lets see, number of lever presses (work) required for reward (shoes) at X (alot), failure to achieve desired number of lever presses within time interval Y (deadline) results in punishment (supporting the scary people).

Reply

leia1912 August 12 2009, 01:54:33 UTC
The minute I read about the particular program, I thought it was genius. After all, wouldn't that light a fire under you, the fear that your hard-earned pennies might go to a cause of idiocy?

I just wish I could find the link, grr! I know I put in the comments section of one of the "save me from procrastination" type posts.

As for icon love: thanks! Eric Northman is always an excellent reason to procrastinate, I feed.

Reply

iluvpokeystix August 12 2009, 19:20:47 UTC
Although probably a typo... I'd feed too :) Sunday night at 8pm (CST) is my favorite time of week.

Reply


makd August 11 2009, 20:29:59 UTC
1. I tell myself it must be done and mentally review the entire article/paper/chapter/whatever. Then, I take a nap. When I wake up, I sit down and get to work. Somehow, my brain takes over when I'm sleeping, finishes everything, and I just keyboard it out.

2. I listen to particular kinds of music that help me write: yo yo ma's silk road ensemble, BSG's soundtrack, the soundtrack from the illusionist, cuban music. They help me focus, they push me on.

3. I disconnect the laptop from the 'Net.

Best of luck!

Reply

intrepida August 11 2009, 22:35:50 UTC
I'm in awe of ability #1.

Reply


skirmishgirl August 11 2009, 20:34:13 UTC
I got a divorce instead of working on mine, so I'm no help...

And I was in history, too.

Reply

fellmama August 11 2009, 22:10:13 UTC
I think I love you for that sentence.

Reply

skirmishgirl August 11 2009, 22:14:33 UTC
I do what I can with what I've got to work with. :)

Reply

jaralith August 12 2009, 20:59:09 UTC
Lucky! I still had to finish. That was a hell of a semester.
It is sad, though, that divorcing gave me something less stressful to think about... lol

Reply


chasbrown August 11 2009, 20:41:10 UTC
Set a timer for 45 mins. Work on one paragraph. Don't check email or talk to anyone until the timer is up.

Take a 15 min break (set timer), check email, and go to the bathroom.

Repeat these two steps four more times (four hours is a really awesome day of work). Once through cycle 4, walk away.

Wake up next morning, and repeat the whole process.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up