But you already knew that.
If there's anything that I learned about high school-Sam from doing IB, it's that time management wasn't exactly his forte. I won't go too into detail, but let's just say that turning in your EE – a 5,000-word essay in the style of a baby master's thesis – on the day of the hard deadline (several months after the deadline your IB coordinator told you to turn it in) is inconsiderate, irresponsible, and in general just an awful, awful idea.
(Ironically enough, I applied to the IB program because my dad said it would help with my "time management skills." I guess I thought there'd be a class on time management or something, because I didn't realize that that really meant "We're gonna give you a ton of work, and you're gonna have to figure out how to do all of it on time." Lesson #1: Don't assume things.)
Don't worry, I've since updated to high school-Sam++. Not quite yet college-Sam, since I literally just started college a few months ago. But high school-Sam++ comes with a host of new features, including 23% more of the cheesy jokes you (don't) love, a 89% increase in salad tolerance, and an unspecified percentage increase in anti-procrastination techniques.
Of course, it's far from perfect. I mean, I've put off writing this blog post for overtwo weeks a month two months now. But hey, it's a work in progress.
Now, if you've ever read articles on tips for interview prep – particularly the ones that have a title along the lines of "How to Answer the 'What is Your Greatest Weakness?' Question on an Interview" – you've probably read that while you're not supposed to lie, you're also not supposed to be over-confessional to your interviewer. In light of this, it might seem like a bad idea to blog about how you've procrastinated in the past on super important assignments. On LinkedIn, of all things. You might as well send a software engineering portfolio with no comments and all the variables/classes/etc. named along the lines of "myVar1" using coding blocks.
Well, this isn't an interview. Plus, the reasons you're not supposed to be over-confessional in an interview are that 1.) the interview is short, so first impressions matter and 2.) the interview is short, so you don't have too much time to explain what you learned from that one time you did that one questionable thing that you definitely won't do again.
In my case, you haven't clicked away after reading the first few paragraphs and are thus more likely to take the time to read the rest of this, so it's also more likely that I can give you the full picture. And in terms of first impressions, I'd be lucky if you haven't already branded me in your mind as a wisecracking procrastinator that thinks people actually read his blog, so that's pretty much a lost cause.
I could've given this post a clickbait-y title like "5 Easy Tips To Avoid Procrastination That Are Guaranteed To Make You Successful!" and made you that much less likely to read my blog ever again, but for what it's worth, here are a few things I've done that have curbed my incessant compulsion to procrastinate:
Besides, even if nobody did, this is my hobby. I enjoy writing with authenticity, with my voice present in every paragraph, every sentence, in a style that's distinctly mine. That's another thing I've learned from starting up this blog: it helps remind me of who I am, and it keeps me from losing my personality to the stress of collegiate life and becoming some stuck-in-the-library zombie that nobody would want to hire anyways. Plus, dinosaurs!
Without midterms and finals in the way, I can finally get back to blogging, and I thought it'd be a great way to get the gears turning after a relaxing winter break. Now that I'm fired up for the beginning of winter quarter, it's time to get down to business and get ahead on some schoolwork. Gotta work towards college-Sam, right? I might even have some time to start writing the next few weeks' blogs.
But I think I'll get to that part later. I promise. ∎
- - -
Too Many Thoughts: Procrastination is Bad
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2Vtnlw5
(Ironically enough, I applied to the IB program because my dad said it would help with my "time management skills." I guess I thought there'd be a class on time management or something, because I didn't realize that that really meant "We're gonna give you a ton of work, and you're gonna have to figure out how to do all of it on time." Lesson #1: Don't assume things.)
Don't worry, I've since updated to high school-Sam++. Not quite yet college-Sam, since I literally just started college a few months ago. But high school-Sam++ comes with a host of new features, including 23% more of the cheesy jokes you (don't) love, a 89% increase in salad tolerance, and an unspecified percentage increase in anti-procrastination techniques.
Of course, it's far from perfect. I mean, I've put off writing this blog post for over
Now, if you've ever read articles on tips for interview prep – particularly the ones that have a title along the lines of "How to Answer the 'What is Your Greatest Weakness?' Question on an Interview" – you've probably read that while you're not supposed to lie, you're also not supposed to be over-confessional to your interviewer. In light of this, it might seem like a bad idea to blog about how you've procrastinated in the past on super important assignments. On LinkedIn, of all things. You might as well send a software engineering portfolio with no comments and all the variables/classes/etc. named along the lines of "myVar1" using coding blocks.
Well, this isn't an interview. Plus, the reasons you're not supposed to be over-confessional in an interview are that 1.) the interview is short, so first impressions matter and 2.) the interview is short, so you don't have too much time to explain what you learned from that one time you did that one questionable thing that you definitely won't do again.
In my case, you haven't clicked away after reading the first few paragraphs and are thus more likely to take the time to read the rest of this, so it's also more likely that I can give you the full picture. And in terms of first impressions, I'd be lucky if you haven't already branded me in your mind as a wisecracking procrastinator that thinks people actually read his blog, so that's pretty much a lost cause.
I could've given this post a clickbait-y title like "5 Easy Tips To Avoid Procrastination That Are Guaranteed To Make You Successful!" and made you that much less likely to read my blog ever again, but for what it's worth, here are a few things I've done that have curbed my incessant compulsion to procrastinate:
1.) Use a calendar.
During summer session, I started using a calendar to keep track of my classes, meetings, and events. This helped more than I thought it would; it cleared up the ambiguity of due dates in my mind (e.g. "Is the homework due today or tomorrow? At 5:00 PM or 9:00 PM?"), which relieved a significant amount of mental stress I hadn't realized I'd been subconsciously putting on myself. As it turns out, a lot of the reason behind my procrastination has to do with stress, whether it be from an external source or self-induced.
2.) Create a daily schedule.
I've also begun to write down a daily agenda in the form of a checklist right when I wake up. The trick here is that I include both little things – like reading the news, checking my email, or even making my bed – that I can easily check off, as well as the heavier tasks – like studying, doing the first 10 problems of my math homework, or writing an essay for an application – that I might be dreading. Checking off tasks, however small, usually makes me feel more accomplished and motivated to do more. In addition, juxtaposing an easy task with a more difficult one in the same space makes the workload seem less daunting.
2.) Make downtime more productive.
No, I'm not saying I've turned all my downtime into totally efficient nonstop working. Just read any other article with tips on avoiding procrastination and I can definitely for sure 100% guarantee without question that there (might) be something about how taking breaks is important for preventing you from burning out, because it's true.
What I have done is make small changes to the way I take my breaks and spend the few minutes I have between classes, after lunch, etc. For instance, whenever I feel like looking at Instagram or Snapchat, I take a look at my LinkedIn feed first for business news and job opportunities. Instead of playing video games, I work on my coding skills by making games. Instead of watching YouTube, I work on my Photoshop and MATLAB skills. These are small time investments that add up in the long run and are more fun than the work I'm taking a break from, at least for me.
Naturally, I sometimes have trouble moderating my breaks (you would not believe how many episodes of Adventure Time I've watched between writing the paragraphs of this post – talk about taking a break from a break). Like I said: it's a work in progress.
4.) Be aware of future dates.
I'm talking about dates that are a few months or more in the future. For me, simply knowing these dates makes me feel like I'm ahead, which has a motivational effect similar to checking things off a list.
I track these dates on my calendar as well, but the difference with events that are way in the future is that they don't contribute to the stress that trying to memorize more immediate dates does, since there's no remote possibility for it to creep up on me within the week, or even the month. However, it does maintain the benefit of keeping something in the back of my mind for when I might stumble across the time to work on it.
5.) Get a hobby.
I don't mean something that's just for fun. It has to serve some other stimulative purpose. In my case, it's doing this blog. For one, it gets me thinking and reflecting on things I've done, am doing, and will do, which is important for making and successfully executing my plans. It's like making a function for a few lines instead of just putting the lines in main. In investing a little time to think, I lay the groundwork for a net gain in productivity.
I also try to make sure there's an underlying message in each post; I never want to make a blog post just saying "Went to the beach and got some totes delish Korean BBQ over at Newport today!!! #bobatoo #beach #funtimes #relax #hashtag." If I do write about something fun I've done, it will be because I learned something from that experience that I want to share in the hopes that someone else can derive something useful from it.
The most important thing about this is that I don't kid myself when it comes to determining what is and picking a "productive" hobby. Sure, I could say to myself "Playing video games helps me improve my... uh... hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity, which are important to... writing?" or "Watching hours of Korean variety shows increases my... cultural and global awareness?" when I'm really just trying to justify something I want to do for fun. But what do I gain? I'd pretty much be making excuses, which is, needless to say, never a good thing to get in the habit of.
I still spend time doing things purely for fun – after all, work-life balance is important to being, well, a human person – but I try to substitute a portion of that time with a still-fun-but-more-productive hobby.So that's the end of my straight-up unsolicited advice. Some of it might work for you, some of it might not. Most of it you've probably read somewhere in some form or another sometime in the past. But this is my take on it. If even one person can glean anything from this – something useful, or even a little chuckle – then I think it's more than worth spending the time to put my thoughts out there for others to read.
Besides, even if nobody did, this is my hobby. I enjoy writing with authenticity, with my voice present in every paragraph, every sentence, in a style that's distinctly mine. That's another thing I've learned from starting up this blog: it helps remind me of who I am, and it keeps me from losing my personality to the stress of collegiate life and becoming some stuck-in-the-library zombie that nobody would want to hire anyways. Plus, dinosaurs!
Without midterms and finals in the way, I can finally get back to blogging, and I thought it'd be a great way to get the gears turning after a relaxing winter break. Now that I'm fired up for the beginning of winter quarter, it's time to get down to business and get ahead on some schoolwork. Gotta work towards college-Sam, right? I might even have some time to start writing the next few weeks' blogs.
But I think I'll get to that part later. I promise. ∎
- - -
Too Many Thoughts: Procrastination is Bad
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2Vtnlw5
