Lesson learned. Again.

anonemouse · 05-02-2007, 09:16 PM

I am absolutely pooped. I wrote a 23 page research paper in about 8 hours today. I have yet again learned my lesson about procrastination. I've had since late March to do it, but I waited until today. The very day it was due. :faint: Well, actually, I waited until yesterday to work on it, but I spent yesterday doing the statistics for it and didn't get much writing done. I started writing the actual paper about 12:30 last night and got about a page done. Then I went to campus this morning and found out that I was doing it in the wrong format, so I had to start all over again.

It definitely isn't my best work, but I have a 100 average in the class, so I don't need to do wonderfully on it to get an A in the class.

NEVER AGAIN will I do this. Of course, I say that every time I procrastinate. And then I do it again. :faint:

Jachut · 05-02-2007, 10:17 PM

I keep thinking I've learned this lesson but the simple truth is I work better under pressure. Every semester I vow to start my essays and assignments right away so that I can borrow the resources I want from the library, etc. And every semester I end up doing them in the 2-3 days before they're due.

anonemouse · 05-02-2007, 10:21 PM

Quote:

I keep thinking I've learned this lesson but the simple truth is I work better under pressure. Every semester I vow to start my essays and assignments right away so that I can borrow the resources I want from the library, etc. And every semester I end up doing them in the 2-3 days before they're due.

That's usually why I end up procrastinating. I do work better under pressure. If I try to start a project early, I can't think of anything to write. I wind up getting stressed out for a few days, but it works for me, usually.

**Wheetsin** · 05-02-2007, 11:22 PM

My final project for this semester is due Sunday. It's supposed to be a toolkit for other practitioners... a "guide" to help someone through the subject matter (which happens to be the technology of human performance... technology as in the science of, not as in computers). Our profressor told us we could expect our final products to be anywhere between 300 - 700 pages. Of course, I don't have to write all that. I can use 2 papers I've already written, 2 that someone else in the class already wrote, and external resources. But I do have to write three sections on my own. Guess how many of those three I have written? Yup, big fat zero. I'll probably start on it during lunch tomorrow. Probably. :)

**Wheetsin** · 05-02-2007, 11:24 PM

I need to let the presure build until I have no real choice other than to sit down and crank it out. (Back to the MBTI thread, that's a characterisitc of INTJ. We don't have to work hard to produce good results. Sounds bad, but it's true. I could get home, sit down, and whip out a 10 page paper, as long as the topic interested me, in no time whereas others have to sit and think and get inspired and research and get past writer's block, etc. This is a gift, enjoy it.)

anonemouse · 05-02-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

My final project for this semester is due Sunday. It's supposed to be a toolkit for other practitioners... a "guide" to help someone through the subject matter (which happens to be the technology of human performance... technology as in the science of, not as in computers). Our profressor told us we could expect our final products to be anywhere between 300 - 700 pages. Of course, I don't have to write all that. I can use 2 papers I've already written, 2 that someone else in the class already wrote, and external resources. But I do have to write three sections on my own. Guess how many of those three I have written? Yup, big fat zero. I'll probably start on it during lunch tomorrow. Probably.

Ouch.

Quote:

I need to let the presure build until I have no real choice other than to sit down and crank it out. (Back to the MBTI thread, that's a characterisitc of INTJ. We don't have to work hard to produce good results. Sounds bad, but it's true. I could get home, sit down, and whip out a 10 page paper, as long as the topic interested me, in no time whereas others have to sit and think and get inspired and research and get past writer's block, etc. This is a gift, enjoy it.)

You know, I hadn't thought of it like that, but that's exactly what it is, letting the pressure build. I'm really not trying to brag, but I can definitely tell you that even though I only really worked on my paper today (other than the statistics), it will still be better than some that my classmates have worked on for a month. I hate saying that, because I'm really not an egotistical person, but that's how it's always been. Even in high school, I never studied. If I could get an A or a B in a course with doing only a few minutes of studying before the exams, what's the incentive to actually put effort into it? Of course, that's also gotten me in trouble sometimes, because in some courses (like math), you can't do that. I'm pretty horrible at math, just because I don't put the effort into practicing. But seriously, I know that I could do better than I do if I didn't put things off to the last minute. I always ask myself, though, why put a lot of effort into raising my grade only a little bit?

Jachut · 05-03-2007, 03:20 AM

You could be describing me, lol.

Its bitten me in the bum before too, like when I was a physiotherapy student, you just have to plain LEARN all the parts of the human body and I was literally useless at performing practical tasks whilst being watched and assessed - I was at 18 years old anyway. I'm currently doing teaching rounds and am in exactly the same position, having to perform whilst being watched, and I'm coping but I hate it!

But give me a paper to write on something interesting and I can do it in a few hours and get a high distinction for it. Actually I tend to just spew it all forth and then I have to go and find the references they expect to support my views, I most definitely do not research to establish my stance and then write my paper round that. I just make it up :rolleyes and find the facts to fit it. I even shock myself with my brilliance, lol. I often finish things and think "Hot DAMN that's good!".

It really IS a gift to be able to write well. We had an interesting thing lately where we produced multimodal artifacts that are housed on line so for the frist time, I actually got to see other students' work. And realised why I've been getting HD's all along when I havent put in that much effort. Eeek, people just have no idea how to write!

Makes me wonder why I made it so hard on myself choosing something so scientific and factual first go round at tertiary education.

Lap_dancer · 05-03-2007, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurend

I am absolutely pooped. I wrote a 23 page research paper in about 8 hours today. I have yet again learned my lesson about procrastination. I've had since late March to do it, but I waited until today. The very day it was due. :faint: Well, actually, I waited until yesterday to work on it, but I spent yesterday doing the statistics for it and didn't get much writing done. I started writing the actual paper about 12:30 last night and got about a page done. Then I went to campus this morning and found out that I was doing it in the wrong format, so I had to start all over again.

It definitely isn't my best work, but I have a 100 average in the class, so I don't need to do wonderfully on it to get an A in the class.

NEVER AGAIN will I do this. Of course, I say that every time I procrastinate. And then I do it again. :faint:

First, YAY on getting approved!!!:clap2:

My daughter procrastinates like this. She always ends up wigging out and power studying at the 11th hour. Live and learn I guess. 100 not bad!

Carlene · 05-03-2007, 09:17 AM

I am what you might call a student by proxy. I have a DIL who works full time as a teacher's aid, has 2 kids, and tries to help out at church, the PTA, and her daughter's Girl Scout group. She is trying to finish her degree plan in Special Ed (not everything would transfer from the Assoc Degree she earned in Ohio). So I, the English major MIL, do her research papers for her. I e mail them to her and she, in turn, submits them electronically. Last month I did a 16 slide PP presentation on censorship. It was due at 6 PM last night. I e mailed it to Wendy two weeks ago. Guess when she sat down to submit it? Yep....last night. Guess who had severe storms and major power outages (for about 8 hours)? Right again....we did. Fortunately for her the instructor took pity on everyone and extended the deadline to Friday, but I would have been really pissed at her, I think, if after all my effort, she screwed up my A paper because she "didn't have time" to log in and push the stupid "submit" button.

Lap_dancer · 05-03-2007, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlene

I am what you might call a student by proxy. I have a DIL who works full time as a teacher's aid, has 2 kids, and tries to help out at church, the PTA, and her daughter's Girl Scout group. She is trying to finish her degree plan in Special Ed (not everything would transfer from the Assoc Degree she earned in Ohio). So I, the English major MIL, do her research papers for her. I e mail them to her and she, in turn, submits them electronically. Last month I did a 16 slide PP presentation on censorship. It was due at 6 PM last night. I e mailed it to Wendy two weeks ago. Guess when she sat down to submit it? Yep....last night. Guess who had severe storms and major power outages (for about 8 hours)? Right again....we did. Fortunately for her the instructor took pity on everyone and extended the deadline to Friday, but I would have been really pissed at her, I think, if after all my effort, she screwed up my A paper because she "didn't have time" to log in and push the stupid "submit" button.

Isn't this awesome?!!!

OMG, I commuted to college. I can remember leaving here at 6 ish and driving through rush hour traffic to make an 8 AM class. TV courses are such a dream come true not to mention online courses.

My son checked his grades yesterday, he was on academic probation...hey, he's allowed one....and this semester he had a 3.0 combined. He logged in to see his grades and there was no paper involved.

I'm definately taking a class either second session of summer term or the fall. Learning is so exciting to me.

**and props to you Laurend for researching and writing not just writing**

Knowledge is power.