Procrastination Forum

[hcss11]

Recently, I've been finding it somewhat hard to get started with studying each day, on the order of an hour or more. My stamina's not very high either. Any constructive suggestions on how to improve on these two fronts?

[Alexandros]

I'd say just force yourself, motivation or not, but that's easier said than done.
I found it easier to talk myself into studying on off-days if I did shorter stuff - Like individual RC passages/LGs one at a time instead of an entire RC or LG section. Might not help with stamina though.

For stamina, try doing 6+ section PTs.

[zkyggi]

At some point, you either do it or you don't. If you sit down for an hour and study, you'll be better off whether you enjoy it or not. Endurance is built by discomfort, be it mental or physical.

[DorkothyParker]

Give yourself a worst alternative. Clean your house. Pull weeds. Help a friend move. Or study.

[Platopus]

Couple pointers:
1. Develop a habit of studying. I know you're thinking, well duh. But what I mean, is to consistently study at the same place and time. The first 2 weeks are usually the hardest, but if you consistently sit down at the same time and study, no matter how much you'd rather not, it eventually becomes habit, and NOT studying begins to feel weird and uncomfortable. It makes getting work done much easier, as you don't feel like you're "missing out". For the first week or so, you just need to force yourself to do it.

2. Get out of the house and drive at least 15+ minutes to study somewhere. After you've driven 15+ minutes to the coffee shop, library, where ever, you're going to want to stay for at least an hour. You'll feel like it's actually a commitment if you leave the house and you'll want to justify the drive.

To synthesize, you might try driving to a Starbucks or the local library everyday about 30 minutes to an hour after work/class. The key is to not give yourself enough time to "decompress" fully. It sounds insane, but honestly it works. Takes about 45 minutes to grab something to eat, read through the mail, maybe change into more comfortable shoes/clothes and brew a pot of coffee. After that, gather you're things and go study. Once you make it a habit, you won't need "motivation" in the traditional sense.

[maybeman]

I used to plan out rewards for myself. Do an RC section, have a snack. Do 3 sections in a row, watch an episode of something, etc.

Also +1 to sticking it out and forming a habit. You'll adjust and it'll get easier.

[MediocreAtBest]

Couple pointers:
1. Develop a habit of studying. I know you're thinking, well duh. But what I mean, is to consistently study at the same place and time. The first 2 weeks are usually the hardest, but if you consistently sit down at the same time and study, no matter how much you'd rather not, it eventually becomes habit, and NOT studying begins to feel weird and uncomfortable. It makes getting work done much easier, as you don't feel like you're "missing out". For the first week or so, you just need to force yourself to do it.

2. Get out of the house and drive at least 15+ minutes to study somewhere. After you've driven 15+ minutes to the coffee shop, library, where ever, you're going to want to stay for at least an hour. You'll feel like it's actually a commitment if you leave the house and you'll want to justify the drive.

To synthesize, you might try driving to a Starbucks or the local library everyday about 30 minutes to an hour after work/class. The key is to not give yourself enough time to "decompress" fully. It sounds insane, but honestly it works. Takes about 45 minutes to grab something to eat, read through the mail, maybe change into more comfortable shoes/clothes and brew a pot of coffee. After that, gather you're things and go study. Once you make it a habit, you won't need "motivation" in the traditional sense.

Point 2 is really good, and something I do pretty often. It's definitely more of a commitment, when you're at home the couch or bed can call your name and it's easy to give in to that temptation. When you drive to starbucks and sit down, you kinda have to do something.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Couple pointers:
1. Develop a habit of studying. I know you're thinking, well duh. But what I mean, is to consistently study at the same place and time. The first 2 weeks are usually the hardest, but if you consistently sit down at the same time and study, no matter how much you'd rather not, it eventually becomes habit, and NOT studying begins to feel weird and uncomfortable. It makes getting work done much easier, as you don't feel like you're "missing out". For the first week or so, you just need to force yourself to do it.

2. Get out of the house and drive at least 15+ minutes to study somewhere. After you've driven 15+ minutes to the coffee shop, library, where ever, you're going to want to stay for at least an hour. You'll feel like it's actually a commitment if you leave the house and you'll want to justify the drive.

To synthesize, you might try driving to a Starbucks or the local library everyday about 30 minutes to an hour after work/class. The key is to not give yourself enough time to "decompress" fully. It sounds insane, but honestly it works. Takes about 45 minutes to grab something to eat, read through the mail, maybe change into more comfortable shoes/clothes and brew a pot of coffee. After that, gather you're things and go study. Once you make it a habit, you won't need "motivation" in the traditional sense.

This is great advice! Notice the truth to this in myself. If I have to make an effort to go somewhere to study, I don't want to be there so I convince myself to study fast efficiently and "get it over with" when you are at home you are more relaxed and easily convincible. Also, yeah routine helps a ton. I know when I get into a routine even as painful as it is to say no i cant do this I have to study, you get so used to it that its almost as if studying becomes the thing you WANT to do. Also, incentives help a lot. I know if I plan a trip for the weekend or just oging out to meet up with friends that night, I tell myself If you don't get in x hours of studying and accomplish this goal you can't go (Have to be actually accountable about it). After doing that a couple times, you utilize your time so much better and dont have to entirely isolate yourself from the world.

[galeatus]

*insert Shia Leboeuf vid here*

Jokes aside, some very solid points made by Platopus. I never tried the second point but the first one is so damn true - all you need is to develop a habit. I think about the top scorers when i lack motivation - what would they be doing? Would they be slacking off or drilling their heart out?

In terms of stamina, try doing two PT's back to back, also I found that doing cardio helps a lot

[34iplaw]

The eight section PT is the endurance builder. One four section followed by another with a normal break between the two. After I did that twice, even the actual test felt *really* short.

[Nonconsecutive]

I used to plan out rewards for myself. Do an RC section, have a snack. Do 3 sections in a row, watch an episode of something, etc.

Also +1 to sticking it out and forming a habit. You'll adjust and it'll get easier.

I also treated myself like a gerbil and gave myself sweet noms and various rewards for doing things. It worked well.

[MediocreAtBest]

The eight section PT is the endurance builder. One four section followed by another with a normal break between the two. After I did that twice, even the actual test felt *really* short.

That sounds like torture. Finishing just one four section pt can feel like running a marathon haha. Might have to give it a shot closer to the test date.

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

Pledge to donate $ xx.xx to charity for every hour that you procrastinate.

[34iplaw]

Pledge to donate $ xx.xx to charity for every hour that you procrastinate.

More specific:

Pledge to donate $ xx.xx to the politician or political party you hate for every hour that you procrastinate.

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

Pledge to donate $ xx.xx to charity for every hour that you procrastinate.

More specific:

Pledge to donate $ xx.xx to the politician or political party you hate for every hour that you procrastinate.

HAHA thats genius!

[MediocreAtBest]

In honor of this thread I've spent 2 hours online instead of studying today.

[MercW07]

Im about 3 weeks into studying, and there are definitely a few things I have found that keep me motivated so Ill share.

First I never study with my phone by my side. For some reason if my phone is next to me I just subconsciously check it every once in a while and end up wasting a ton of time. Every hour or so I will give myself about a 5 minute break where Ill check it, but for the most part not being around my phone has really helped with my procrastination.

Also, getting in a rhythm has been huge for me. I get home from work, eat, change clothes, and head to the basement to study for at least 2 hours. Studying is now part of my day just like getting ready for bed, or making dinner always has been. On the weekends I have a little bit less of a set schedule, but I also usually try to fit in at least 4 hours a day on Saturday/Sunday so Ive kind of just been doing that when time allows.

My third and final recommendation is to, at least in the beginning, mix up what you're actually studying. Im currently working through the 3 Powerscore Bibles, but I've also supplemented those with a 7Sage course. After reading a few chapters of the LR Bible Ill head over to 7Sage and work through a couple lessons over there for a new perspective on what Ive just read. I understand this recommendation comes with a pretty heavy price tag, but I really think the idea of having 2 perspectives when it comes to material is great.

[John US Marshall]

Pledge to donate $ xx.xx to charity for every hour that you procrastinate.

What charity you gonna donate to? You should donate to my dad's, he builds race cars for little people.

[Neil_Gorsuch]

Just imagine that, whatever you end up doing on an individual day, you'll end up replaying cyclically forever. If you're comfortable with surfing Youtube on a given day for eternity, go ahead. I would think that you'd feel better about contributing toward some higher goal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return.

[BoyJord]

Just imagine that, whatever you end up doing on an individual day, you'll end up replaying cyclically forever. If you're comfortable with surfing Youtube on a given day for eternity, go ahead. I would think that you'd feel better about contributing toward some higher goal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return.

Do I have to watch the same video or can I browse YouTube?

[lemonlacroix]

I noticed that studying right after I wake up (meaning, I wake up at least an hour earlier than I used to so I can study for an hour before my morning calls) helps with my procrastination. If I'm awake already, why not spend that time studying?

[Platopus]

Just imagine that, whatever you end up doing on an individual day, you'll end up replaying cyclically forever. If you're comfortable with surfing Youtube on a given day for eternity, go ahead. I would think that you'd feel better about contributing toward some higher goal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)

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