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

Hello Psych class :)

My name is Christin, I graduated from Diamond Bar High School 09 so this is my first semester as a full time student. I'm planning on majoring in either physiology or neurobiology to become a surgeon, UCLA is preferably where I would like to transfer. I enjoy dance and theater, and to fulfill my asian side I play the piano. On my spare time, I enjoy the usual, hanging out, sleeping, watching family guy and friends reruns, and Disneyland!

I've decided that my blog will be about changing my bad habit of PROCRASTINATING. This terrible trait is apart of everything in my life, and it would be nice to face it and try to change.

Alright, I feel like this is enough for one blog

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