-By Jo
Procrastination creeps up on me and watches over my shoulder.
I feel its breath on my neck and my concentration is swayed.
The pages of my textbook flutter and the words blur ever so slightly.
I shake my head and try to throw it off, but the damage is done.
I may be five minutes into a study session or an hour or...maybe I never got that far...
The kettle is boiling, another cup of coffee is what I need, but the caffeine takes time to work on me so I should feed some dragons in Dragonvale or see if the Angry Birds are up for a game...and...
I haven’t read today’s news, must catch up with that...A text? Might be important, best check it to be sure.
Ah, Mother’s roses are in bloom...meh...that essay won’t write itself you know?
The voice of reason kicks in, but procrastination tells me there’s always tomorrow, the sun is shining and well, not to be rude, but all that sitting on your butt is leaving you kind of out of shape...Oh! When did I last go to the gym? Or for a walk even? Hey...I could walk around the shops, then, it wouldn’t seem like exercise...
See what procrastination did there? Yeah, now I’m procrastinating about the vehicle I was going to use to procrastinate my way out of study, it’s clever stuff, no doubt about it, but it doesn’t help me pass my degree. It just adds stress.
But the essay is due and the exams are getting closer and I’m way behind in my readings, my notes, how many lectures did I miss?
Procrastination creeps up on me and watches over my shoulder.
I feel its breath on my neck and my concentration is swayed.
The pages of my textbook flutter and the words blur ever so slightly.
I shake my head and try to throw it off, but the damage is done.
I may be five minutes into a study session or an hour or...maybe I never got that far...
The kettle is boiling, another cup of coffee is what I need, but the caffeine takes time to work on me so I should feed some dragons in Dragonvale or see if the Angry Birds are up for a game...and...
I haven’t read today’s news, must catch up with that...A text? Might be important, best check it to be sure.
Ah, Mother’s roses are in bloom...meh...that essay won’t write itself you know?
The voice of reason kicks in, but procrastination tells me there’s always tomorrow, the sun is shining and well, not to be rude, but all that sitting on your butt is leaving you kind of out of shape...Oh! When did I last go to the gym? Or for a walk even? Hey...I could walk around the shops, then, it wouldn’t seem like exercise...
See what procrastination did there? Yeah, now I’m procrastinating about the vehicle I was going to use to procrastinate my way out of study, it’s clever stuff, no doubt about it, but it doesn’t help me pass my degree. It just adds stress.
But the essay is due and the exams are getting closer and I’m way behind in my readings, my notes, how many lectures did I miss?
Deep breath, deep breath, knots in the stomach, headache that’s dull and persistent, racing heart from panic or too much caffeine, bad moods, can’t sleep, can’t function, deadline looming, indigestion.
It’s time to implement the emergency plan (which should be my initial plan all the time).
Switching off social media devices (if I can’t be trusted and that means deactivating Facebook and Twitter, just for now).
Setting a time to check my emails.
Turning off my mobile phone – the world survived just fine without them for eons, I can survive a study block.
Getting out of the house, away from distractions – go to the library, a computer lab, a public park or a cafe.
Learn to say ‘NO’ and mean it. Others have to respect my choice to get this degree, and not interrupting is all the help I need them to give me.
Remembering that my body can’t survive on coffee, chocolate and toast for a whole trimester.
Most importantly I must always sleep – I find it very tempting to feel guilty over the number of study hours lost during a night’s sleep. Unfortunately they are necessary and come to terms with that for my sanity.
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