Procrastination

[Ekann1]

I, like at least a small group of others here, am a high school student. So, of course, I have homework. My problem is that I have a hard time making myself do the work. I always find something else to do: check my school email, play a "quick" online game, check Facebook, check my phone, talk to a friend, etc. I usually get most of my work that's not too difficult done in between these. I especially get done things that I like (unsurprisingly), such as science and math work. However, I'm not into essays or writing in general, and that's where absolutely nothing gets done.

I'll try to finish up an overly long post with some quick examples: I had approximately 1.5-2 hours free at the end of the day today. I spent all but maybe the last 30-45 min of them doing the side things I mentioned above, or talking to a friend instead of finishing the essay due by email at the end of the day. Same thing tonight. 3 ish hours of "homework," maybe an hour of work.

Tldr (probably)
I like to think I'm a good student. I know what I need to do for work, I do pretty well in classes, I just have a hard time motivating myself to do work in subjects I don't like.

My question for you guys is this: how do you get yourselves motivated to do whatever you have to do? Work, school etc. I know this must be a stupid question for the adults because you don't really have this luxury I do not having to be self sufficient, but all I need are some things in general. Hope I don't come off as ungrateful, annoying or anything else because of that fact, thanks for your time in advance...

Sorry for the long rant and to bother all you with my problems. Just kinda pissed off at myself.

[Mr_Fahrenheit]

Ill give you an example. I am 29 years old. I have a 4 year old son and I work full time. Im also studying. Im about a year away from getting my MBA. The work isnt hard, my problem is finding time and motivation to do it.

I recently lost my license for drink driving (thats another story for another time). It has become increasingly difficult to get around because of this, and I found a good way to study by accident. I have Tuesdays off work and usually use them to get all my .poo. done in town. For the last 2 Tuesdays I have had to rely on other people to get into town, therefore I have ended up in town 2 hours before business hours. I took my text books with me, grabbed a coffee, turned the mobile phone off and sat on a park bench for 2 hours with nothing to do but study before the shops opened. I havent accomplished as much as I did in the last 2 Tuesdays ever. Once i get my license back i will still continue to go into town early to sit on that park bench to study as there are no distractions there.

[Agrus Kos, Enforcer of Truth]

I'm in the same boat Ekann1. I am a senior, currently first in my class, but I don't do my homework, or if I do it gets done the night or class before. One thing that I have found to work in dire situations is listening to the "Phantom of the Opera" soundtrack, so maybe look around, find some music that you love and makes you more productive. Another thing that has worked for me is thinking of the consequences of not getting something done. For example, if I have a big paper due for English 1540, I just think, "if you don't do this, you could fail the class, lose the credits, screw yourself out of your scholarships, and make it difficult to have good grades in college because the grade will transfer." Also, try to block out your time before hand, a lot of times that can really help. For example, if you know you have a big paper you have to write, think about when you are going to be able to write it. Once you remember the 3 other projects, games, practices, work, etc., and realize that you HAVE to do it tonight even though it is due Friday, its usually a little easier. I've heard (but do not use this) that the ideal way to study is 25 working-5 break-25 working-5 break-25 working-20 break, so that could be worth a shot (but I know it could be too difficult to pull myself away from the breaks).

If you find something that works, please let me know, I'll need it!

[Ekann1]

Thanks to both of you. Argus, I'm not quite far enough along in school for the fail and fail college thing to work, but it's something to keep in mind and use in the future . The 25/5 seems good but "dangerous" like you said because it will be hard to get back to work.

I think I will start my turning my phone off, it will be one less thing to worry about. Problem is, most of my homework uses my computer which has as many distractions as I want to google :-/

[cltrn81]

I have my MBA and what I did was little rewards.  So when I was studying or doing homework or writing papers or whatever.......I would set goals and reward myself after those goals.  For example maybe I was super motivated that day and knew I could go 2 hrs non stop before I rewarded myself with video games for an hour.  Maybe another day I was not too into it so I promised myself I would study 30 mins and then fishbowl a game of magic.

Little goals with little rewards

[Kaylesh]

Thanks to both of you. Argus, I'm not quite far enough along in school for the fail and fail college thing to work, but it's something to keep in mind and use in the future . The 25/5 seems good but "dangerous" like you said because it will be hard to get back to work.

I think I will start my turning my phone off, it will be one less thing to worry about. Problem is, most of my homework uses my computer which has as many distractions as I want to google :-/

There is software that can whitelist certain sites and block all others. Activate it when you scheduled study, so you can use the sites you need, but not the distractions. Could help.

[rarehuntertay]

When I was growing up, my motivation was this: my grandmother. She would check my report cards after every quarter. If a single grade was below 'A', I would be grounded until the end of the next quarter. No TV, no Magic, no going to friends houses (I couldn't have friends over anyways), no extra curricular activities except work. My days after school would consist of sitting in an empty room, even if I didn't have homework. As a result of this "pushing", I finished 46th in my graduating class of 146 (my class originally had 346) and 4.34 GPA on a 4.0 scale. (AP courses counted as 5.0)
However, I did suffer in college as I was free. 2.4 GPA and only got my Associates.

[MuggyWuggy]

Ill answer a reply later

[Avodroc13]

I never really had procrastination issues in school. I graduated at 15 with a 3.8 GPA. My troubling issue is outside of school. I procrastinate going to sleep at a proper time, ignoring my alarm clock, and then showing up late to work because I don't want to walk. (No vehicle/license)

Over time, ive come to realize I enjoy money more than I enjoy other things. I would much rather bring home a paycheck than play video games and magic. Yes, I'm on here all the time, and I have countless games on my computer, but to obtain such things, I need money. So, I guess what I'm saying is find something that interests you as a goal. Not necessarily "focus on school work because you have to" but "focus on school work because you want to have something to show afterwards."

I work my butt off to have a paycheck. Maybe if you look at the school work from a different perspective, it'll motivate you to do it. Reward yourself afterwards once you've completed it.

[Ekann1]

Hmm. I like that. Thanks.