Week 8-The End

1. As much as i wanted my behavior to change drastically, sadly i did not receive the results i was hoping for. Although i have become more organized with my work and scheduling when to do my work, i still haven't found a good enough motivation to completely stop procrastinating. Compared to my baseline behavior, i have improved in a couple of areas. Instead of doing my blogs in the honors room before class, i'm doing them before class (or at least the morning of). I start to read the book the night before class and complete the quizzes either the night before or well before class starts. I've noticed that my reasons for procrastinating have changed. Before, i would look at my load of work and think that it's too hard/complex to do, but i've noticed recently that i'm not "scared" to do my work. Instead i think that my work is easy, therefore i procrastinate. Recently for my geography class i had to do an article review and i completed it on schedule (kinda). I was able to jump right into it since i wasn't thinking of how hard it would be. Also, thinking of how i would feel once i completed it, as well as the sleep i would get served as motivation for me to finish.

2. The first time i tested my program, my positive punishment of going to buy something for myself didn't really work since i didn't have money to spend and i didn't have the urge to go shopping at the time. My negative punishment really did work. This past weekend i was miserable since i was not able to watch new moon with my friends, go to disneyland, or hang out with my boyfriend as much. If i continued with this program, i really believe that i would finally quit procrastinating since going out is a huge reward for me.

3. Although it wasn't the sole reason why i tried to stop procrastinating, it brought to my attention how badly i procrastinate. Everyday i would think, i shouldn't procrastinate, i should do my work, and on some days i would actually go to work. Knowing that i would have to publish my progress motivated me to keep going and actually try to improve my behavior. However, even though i would think "i need to start my work" without the punishment, i wouldn't have tried as hard to not procrastinate.

4. In order to make long-term changes i would probably have to ask another person to act as my authority to keep me in line. If i were to tell my mom to ground me whenever i don't follow my homework plan, i KNOW i would do everything in order to keep her impressed and stick to my plan. My mom is cool, but she knows that i procrastinate (i get it from her haha) and she would make sure that i do my work according to my schedule.

5. The most challenging aspect of this assignment was the start of changing my behavior. The first time you try and change anything with yourself it's always a challenge. The first week i acted on my program, i struggled, and the past week when i had a lot of work i struggled even more. The challenge was not to fall back on my laziness and get to work. It's so easy to fall back into bad habits.

6. The most important aspect of this assignment for me was the realization that if i really put my mind to changing my behavior, it's possible. There are so many websites that offer great advice, and they've really helped me. I would never try to stop procrastinating if it weren't for this assignment, and i'm glad i didn't go with the easy route (to stop cussing). When i would record my progress, i was able to see how well or how badly i was doing, and it opened my eyes to how bad of a problem procrastinating is for me.

Also, i liked this assignment because we were going through changes together as a class. Reading other people's plans and looking at their progress was very interesting, and it was nice that we were able to offer our own advice as well.

7. This assignment has enlightened me on how operant conditioning works on everyone. Some people work best when they receive a reward for their progress instead of a punishment for their lack of progress. Short term and long term punishment/benefits also play a key part in a person's motivation to change their behavior.

Even though my results didn't turn out like i wanted them to, this behavioral change blog has benefited me in so many ways. I will continue with my program and hopefully by the end of the winter intersession i will be free of my procrastination!

Happy holidays to everyone! Thanksgiving, christmas, new years! oh my goodness i'm so excited!!!!!

Week 7: Progress Week? not really :(

Going from last week with barely any work to do to this week being bombarded with homework did not fare well with me. I did not stay to the plan i made in regards to working on my human trafficking paper and my field experiment. This was my lack of progress...

1.

Wednesday

Started working on my field experiment by reading the article required. Then i went out for most of the evening, followed by spending time on the computer

Thursday

Went to school, had to take an extra dance class to make up for the one i missed the previous week. After school (after 7:00pm) i went out again, which i shouldn't have done because we ended up not doing anything and went home. I was too tired to work on anything so i passed out

Friday

This was my day of work because i had no choice. I worked on my field experiment and finished practicing/preparing for the human trafficking conference

Saturday

HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE! it was a really good experience, all the stories were so sad and the presentations were impressive. After a long night of preparing and being completely stress free, i stayed out all day and all night. I had no motivation to work on homework

Sunday

I don't remember much of what i did on sunday. I'm pretty sure i slept in, went to my friend's house. I was supposed to start studying for my geography quiz and read the article for the article review. I did neither of those

Monday

My attention was distracted because i was cleaning the house and for other reasons. I studied for my geography quiz, but i did not start my psychology study guide or read the article for my geography class. :( boo

Tuesday

After getting home at 9, i finally started my psychology study guide and completed it this morning.

Basically i did not follow to any of my plans and now i must suffer the consequences of my behavior...grounding myself

2. Although last week my negative punishment really influenced my behavior, this week it didn't seem to affect me because i was going out so often and i had so much work to do, it was easier to fall back into my bad habit. It sucks because i already made plans for the weekend, especially with New Moon coming out! Now i will mope around my house texting everyone how the movie was and complaining about my own misery. So far i don't have much work to do for the weekend, so i can't even do homework! i guess i'll finally get to those job applications....just thinking about this weekend is making me sad :(

3. I don't think i need to make any changes, since the punishment seems to be fair. Because i go out so ofter, maybe that's why i procrastinate? But i do spend a lot of unnecessary time on the computer, when i could be doing my work. So i blame my computer, not really. I guess i didn't make any progress because i knew that since i didn't already stick to the program i wouldn't have a weekend so i went out during the week to makeup for it. I just need to stay focused and prove to myself that i can stop procrastinating, regardless of the amount of work. Instead of sticking completely to my plan, i can base my punishment on the effort i put into sticking to the plan. This week i didn't put any effort it, and i must deal with the consequences.

a. This website gives the same advice as the others i have found, but it also gave ways to avoid being distracted. Even though it's more for people that work in offices, i did find that cleaning the clutter on my desk helped me concentrate, and closing the door helped me by not being distracted by my dogs (even though they wanted to come in and i wanted to see them!)

ENVIRONMENT STRATEGIES

• Tailor your environment for work. Close your door, clean up the clutter on your desk.
• Remove distractions such as water coolers, snacks, in-boxes, coffee machines and magazine racks.
• If you work at home, treat your office as an office. Don't go out to lunch before lunchtime or watch television before the end of the day.
• Tell your family that you are not to be disturbed in your home office.
  
  
  http://www.getmoredone.com/tips2.html
  
  
  
  
  Hope you guys had more progress than me!
  
  

Week 6-Progress Week II

1. On thursday night i wrote down all the homework i had for the following week in my planner, and i focused on completing each assignment one night before. I didn't have much work to do this week so it was a good time to stop procrastinating without being tempted to put it all off since it was simple work. I'm pretty surprised at how it easy it was for me to do my work one day in advance and it did help me with my sleeping patterns/time management. I feel like my behavior is changing and i prefer this schedule and planning over my procrastination. All of my homework was due today, so i completed it yesterday, sticking to my original plan. The only work that i have left for this week is the field experiment and my human trafficking paper. I decided that i will work on my experiment all day tomorrow (completing at least half) and whatever i don't get done i will finish by friday night (because i'm at school all day on thursdays). Regarding my human trafficking paper, i will complete it tomorrow and practice presenting until saturday. Because i did complete my work, i kind of rewarded myself by going out tonight, plus it's a holiday tomorrow so NO SCHOOL :)

2. By changing my positive reinforcement to a positive punishment, it gave me a lot of motivation to change my behavior. I would hate not being able to go out on the weekends, especially since this weekend is the conference and it would be nice to celebrate afterwards. When i feel like putting my work off, i remind myself that working hard now will lead to having more fun on the weekend. I would have no excuses to procrastinate since i wasn't overloaded with homework this week and i would be so mad at myself if i didn't get my work done because i was too lazy.

3. I feel like the changes i made to the program have worked, especially my negative punishment. Instead of aiming too high, i focused on just getting my work done one day in advance, because a gradual change will lead to a lifelong behavioral change. I've already planned out most of the following week, and since i did so well this week it shouldn't be a problem.

a. The last website that i posted offered great advice, which i used while writing my human trafficking paper, think of the freedom you will have when you're done. Keeping that mentality helps you get through hard projects, instead of being miserable and making things worse.

This website offers the same advice, but i found it funny that step six says to involve others. I don't like to involve others with my troubles, but i guess if i really wanted to i could involve someone i trusted, to make sure i stick to my plans.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2248_stop-procrastinating-habit.html

Week 5-Progress Week

oh the week i had....

1. So my target behavior was to write a list of homework i had and create a plan/schedule to prevent myself from procrastinating. On thursday, i had a midterm for my morning class, so being tired from the night before's all night study session i was too tired to do anything. Although i did list what i had for homework in my planner, and i came up with a small schedule.

Here's my list and schedule:

English: Write 2 poetry explications (due tuesday Nov. 3)

Psychology: Read and complete the quiz for chapter 8 and complete blogs(due Nov. 4)

Extra Credit: Write the paper for the Human Trafficking Conference (due monday Nov. 2)

My plan was to work on my essay sunday and parts of monday, finish my poetry explications on sunday night, start my reading and take my quiz on monday, and complete the blog on tuesday night.

The only part of my schedule that i actually did was completing my poetry explications on sunday night. Otherwise, Dr. Louie was REALLY NICE about letting me turn in my paper wednesday, and i have yet to take my quiz.

There are several reasons why i did not follow my plan. First, my terrible boss informed me and my coworkers that he is closing the store (i work at coldstone) in a week, which now means i am unemployed and NEED to find a job. My positive reinforcement was going shopping as a reward, but now that i'm on a budget i have no desire to spend money frivolously. Second, it was Halloween this weekend, and as much as i really wanted to try and do my homework early, i was too busy spending time with friends, having fun, and hanging out with my coworkers before we would be split up. Lastly, on sunday i was not scheduled to work, and i had a free day to do my homework, but i had an opportunity to cover a coworker's shift, which for me equals more money.

Bottom line, so many things happened this week, and now i'm more stressed because i need to find a job or else i wont be able to pay for school (i'm sure i'll be fine tho). Because of the stressful/busy week i had, i again chose to put off my homework because i could, and now i'm left with a load of work to do before class. At least i'm doing my blog the night before-ish! Since i did not follow through with my plan, i did not receive any reward

2.Because i don't have a job anymore, i'm not motivated enough to go out and spend money, meaning that i don't have any goal to work towards, meaning that i can continue procrastinating. Having the opportunity to reward myself wasn't a good enough reason to change a life long habit.

3. I explained my thoughts and reactions in number 1. but to continue on my thoughts, i really think that if i actually try to stop procrastinating, i could. Because of the situation last week, i didn't have any real motivation to do my homework, instead i wanted to have fun and enjoy my time. I think in order for the program to work, i need to change my positive reinforcement to a negative punishment. I will continue to make a schedule on thursday night, and if i don't follow through, i will "ground" myself and not be able to go out at all on the following saturday night. Being grounded for just one day doesn't sound like much, but saturdays are my fun days, and this, i think, will motivate me to actually do my work this week!

a. On this website, at the end of the article, it says to visualize yourself when you've completed the task, and the freedom and happiness you feel afterwards. I will use this strategy on homework assignments that seem to hard to do.

http://www.stopprocrastinating.us/break-the-fear-barrier-and-stop-procrastinating/

Week Four: The Plan..that will hopefully work!

1. So even though i have tried to stop procrastinating just on will power, it hasn't really helped me, since i have no punishment or reward to motivate myself to actually stop. Therefore, i have decided to use positive reinforcement to form my plan. I feel that i would be more willing to work towards something where i get a reward from it, rather than doing something i don't want to AND getting punished for not doing it. My plan is to start my homework at least a day in advance, start study guides for tests at least two days in advance, complete psychology quizzes by tuesday night (not wednesday morning), and complete my blog entries by monday.

2.For my positive reinforcement (immediate), i've recently been very good at not spending money on material things like makeup, clothes, etc...and i do need to restock on my makeup, so my reward for not procrastinating would be going to the mall and buying 1 small item. i probably wouldn't do this every week, since i would quickly run out of money, but the reward can be anything from a godiva chocolate, to a sephora splurge.

Long term reinforcement would be that i will get what i want (material wise), i'll be less stressed from overloads of work, and i'll be able to catch up on my sleep since i wont have to worry about all-nighters anymore!

3. In order to not just give in and go to the mall and spend money, i will keep a log and record my progress. I will write all of my hw due for the next week on thursdays and make a schedule of what days i need to do certain work and by when. On the following thursdays, based on my completion of the plan, i can decide what reward i get (either small or large reward)

4. After doing this plan for a week, i can then tell if i need to make adjustments or if spending money is too much of a reward and change the "prize"

Week Three- Baseline Behavior

1. I have tried to stop procrastinating and did my best to follow my plan. This week was not really a good opportunity to test my plan since i didn't have that much hw! For this psychology test, i did get started on my study on monday (counts as one day before) and it did help me a lot in regards to finishing my study guide (counts as not doing it the morning of). Yesterday was a pretty rough day for me, class in the morning, work, class in the evening, then dance rehearsal till 10pm. I gave myself an hour break before i started my work because i was too exhausted from my day to just jump into studying. I did look over my essay for my english class (counts as starting my hw right after class) and then i proceeded to finishing my study guide. The only thing i allowed myself to procrastinate on was completing this blog....which i don't really count as homework, it's more like a fun thing.

2. Operant Conditioning could help change my behavior since i won't be as stressed and i'll have more leisure time for myself. Instead of having a huge load of homework one day, doing it little by little will lead to a more manageable schedule, especially when things come up that i can't plan. By thinking about the reward, it will persuade me to keep up with my good behavior.

3. I found this really cool website called the positivity blog and this guy included a lot of interesting quotes... i won't paste the whole thing here since it is quite lengthy, but everyone should take a look at this! His advice is pretty straight forward, and he gives reasons on why we procrastinate in the first.

How to Stop Procrastinating: 7 Timeless Tips

1. Stop thinking. Start doing.

“To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.”
Eva Young

A bit of planning can certainly help you to achieve what you want to achieve. A lot of planning and thinking tends to have the opposite effect.

2. Don’t blow a task out of proportion.

“If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.”
Olin Miller

By over thinking and putting things off you are not only trying to protect yourself from pain. You also make mountains out of molehills. The quotes above are so true it isn’t even funny. The more hours and days you put something off the worse it grows in your mind.

3. Just take the first step.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

When you start to look too far into the future any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment.

4. Start with the hardest task of your day.

“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”
Dale Carnegie

Maybe you have an important call to make that you also fear might be uncomfortable. Maybe you know you have gotten behind on answering your emails and have big pile to dig into. Maybe you have the last five pages of your paper to finish.

5. Just make a decision. Any decision.

“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Theodore Roosevelt

We feel bad when we sit on our hands and don’t take action because it’s unnatural. The natural thing is to be a decisive human and take action.

When you procrastinate you want to do something but you don’t take the action that is in alignment with that thought. You become conflicted within.

6. Face your fear.

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy.”
Denis Waitley

The easier choice can come with a sense of comfort, with a certain level of success, pangs of regret for all the things you never dared to do and a vague sense of being unfulfilled. You wonder about what would have happened if you had taken more action and more chances.

7. Finish it.

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task”
William James

“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.”
David Allen

Not taking the first step to start accomplishing something can make you feel bad. But not finishing what you have started can also leave you in a sort of negative funk. You feel fatigued or stressed and sometimes you don’t even know why. It’s like someone zapped your inner power.

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2009/04/23/how-to-stop-procrastinating-7-timeless-tips/

Week Two-actually doing something about it

Before writing this post i was debating if i should stop cussing (Steve made a good point) or stop my procrastination. Since i procrastinate with EVERYTHING i decided to focus on not procrastinating with school work, since i would benefit from it more (I'll just have to watch my mouth more often). Part of not procrastinating is not being easily distracted, so the changes i make might include avoiding distracting situations.

I really want to stop procrastinating because it causes stress, which leads to sleepless nights, which leads to exhaustion in the morning, leading to lower test scores, not all the time tho ;) etc....we all know the price we pay with procrastination. I feel like if i stop procrastinating, i would have more time to do things, instead of doing everything last minute.

Here's my somewhat thought out plan to change:

First, i'll start by doing my homework after i come home from class, instead of putting it off till midnight

Second-i'll try to finish all of my homework the night before, instead of doing it the morning of class

Third-i'll try to do my homework one day in advance, completing at least half of my work

In regards to not distracting myself, i'll do my homework without my computer on (unless i need it) since i'm easily distracted by aim, youtube, etc.

Suggestions and ideas on more of a structure would be great!

<3