Current Events > My procrastination cycle for writing academic papers is always the same

(+) Yeah! (+)

1. Procrastinate as long as possible while the weight of the work to be done bears down on me
2. Finally and begrudgingly get to work
3. Realize I actually do enjoy research and writing
4. Ask why I took so long to start when I'm enjoying my work
5. Repeat from step 1 for the next project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-_hJthMgtM

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Sorry TC- how many more do you have?

Ruvan22 posted...

Sorry TC- how many more do you have?

Currently working on 3 for this semester at varying levels of completion lol.

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I flipped from procrastinating after one close call and it eventually led to a career freelancing.

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vigorm0rtis posted...

I flipped from procrastinating after one close call and it eventually led to a career freelancing.

Maybe I just need that close call to break the habit. As it is i've always been very successful with my bad habits.

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Phynaster posted...

Maybe I just need that close call to break the habit. As it is i've always been very successful with my bad habits.

Thta's one of the the most infuriating things for me - seeing me repeat my bad habits and NOT get outside consequences, feeling "guilty" that it worked again

Yeah I fought that all the time in school. At some point I just got sick of it and started working on my papers in pieces. I found a three-part division of labor that worked well for me through the creation of three documents:

1. Source Descriptions Document: Basically an annotated bibliography. I went through and found sources that might fit my topic and created a document with all the sources and a quick, bullet-point list of statements or phrases that likely would fit what I would write about
2. Paper Outline Document: On a different day, I would simply create the outline of my paper, complete with APA style-headings. The resulting paper would be about 2 pages of headings, but it would take a while to do as it required me to look at the source descriptions document and create a general flow for how I would present the information.
3. Actual Paper: With the sources in hand, and a paper outline ready with headings, all I had to do was fill the headings in with text. I would basically start writing my paper, inserting the statements/phrases I wrote in the other document as they applied to the section I was writing, then crossing them out with track changes once I applied them. Once I crossed out every statement in the first document, I was done with my paper

The method worked pretty well, as each step can be done on a different day, so I didn't feel like I had to do it all at once. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, step 1 and step 3 may be further divided into two days of work, but that wasn't very common.

Procrastination sucks, but once you find a methodical way to avoid it once, it gets easier going forward. I also give myself a hard deadline that is days earlier than the school deadline. Usually lets me breathe when I'm done.

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When I was in grad school I'd write for like 10-15 minutes, take a 30 minute break, work again for another 15 minutes, take another break, etc.

Like I could have finished these papers in a few hours but I dragged it out all fucking day lol.

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One of my dissertation committee members quit because I turned in my dissertation draft late. Fun times (I found a replacement though)

I still can't motivate myself to not procrastinate on writing unless I'm a co-author or have a real chance of getting fired

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Politics posted...

When I was in grad school I'd write for like 10-15 minutes, take a 30 minute break, work again for another 15 minutes, take another break, etc.

Like I could have finished these papers in a few hours but I dragged it out all fucking day lol.

I do this sometimes too. Write a page, play some Magic, write a page, repeat lol

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