While not usually one to toot my own horn, my near-expert knowledge and high skill level in the area of procrastination have "inspired" a midday musing. I'm definitely not avoiding work.
As I write this, the degree classification I will receive in two months time is heavily dependent on the work I am able to produce in the next 4-5 weeks. Why then, am I updating my blog?!
Because, like many other students, I find that the size of my to-do list is inversely proportional to the amount of time left until my deadlines/exams.
As this list is quite nicely detailed, it seemed almost cruelty not to share it for others to use as a guideline for their to-do lists.
Because, like many other students, I find that the size of my to-do list is inversely proportional to the amount of time left until my deadlines/exams.
As this list is quite nicely detailed, it seemed almost cruelty not to share it for others to use as a guideline for their to-do lists.
- update the 'That's going in the quotes!' Tumblr that hasn't been touched in two years
- scan six hundred lines of code twice to change the font colour of the website menu
- clear my inbox
- clean my room
- start that post on Singleness
- finish that post on longing for home
- redo the business plan
- floss
- practise the harmonies, guitar, and flute parts for every song on every Hillsong album since 2005
- crochet some Granny squares just to "try that thing I saw on Pinterest"
- attempt to read in one sitting, both 1st and 2nd Corinthians in their entirety
- revise: the alphabet in Morse Code, Russian, and Old Greek, the French passé simple, and Portuguese personal infinitive
- go over the Nage-no Kata as "it's been a while"
- have a snack
- create a workout plan for my friends planning to do The Great South Run this October
- consider a career in public speaking
- bacon
#nailedit
Naturally this is just a starter list for beginners. They get longer and more detailed the more proficient you become at making these sorts of lists.
...I beg of you don't use that as a to-do list template! #failedit would likely be a much more fitting hashtag if that's how I tried to fill my days in the weeks leading up to graduation. With the exception of one or two of the points above*, any attempt at completing that list would simply leave me busy, but not productive.
What my personal list should look like most days (excluding Sundays) is this:
Short and sweet; nothing to hide behind. We so often try to overcomplicate things that should be simple.
Of course this is much easier said (or written) than done. Often the pull of Reddit, Buzzfeed, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to name but a small few (yet major offenders - for me at least) are strong. It's just easier to not look at the calendar and pretend that any deadlines are forever away. It can be difficult, but sometimes you just need to turn off the computer, leave the room, and sit down with a quill, inkpot, candle, and scroll (or pen/pencil and paper if you're not feeling fancy) and do work BY HAND. *cue scary music/screams* If you just can't do without your computer, you can use something like the StayFocusd extension in Chrome to at least limit the amount of time you can spend on the aforementioned sites. It even guilt-trips you when you try to up the amount of time you have each day on blocked sites.
So as not to encourage the continued putting-off of work (yours and mine), I'm going to wrap up here for today, leaving you with a piece of advice and three quotes - at least one of which you've probably heard many a time over the course of your life - to help get you on the road to recovery.
So go purge your own to-do list, and get cracking!
NB: I'm on to you; don't take an inordinately long amount of time writing the list in an effort to procrastinate further! Maybe don't even write one at all, just start (now, not the tomorrow defined above).
Until your next break (or mine),
M-J
* What can I say, snacks are important!
What my personal list should look like most days (excluding Sundays) is this:
- Wake up
- Run/Exercise
- Devotion
- Breakfast
- Uni work
Short and sweet; nothing to hide behind. We so often try to overcomplicate things that should be simple.
Of course this is much easier said (or written) than done. Often the pull of Reddit, Buzzfeed, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to name but a small few (yet major offenders - for me at least) are strong. It's just easier to not look at the calendar and pretend that any deadlines are forever away. It can be difficult, but sometimes you just need to turn off the computer, leave the room, and sit down with a quill, inkpot, candle, and scroll (or pen/pencil and paper if you're not feeling fancy) and do work BY HAND. *cue scary music/screams* If you just can't do without your computer, you can use something like the StayFocusd extension in Chrome to at least limit the amount of time you can spend on the aforementioned sites. It even guilt-trips you when you try to up the amount of time you have each day on blocked sites.
So as not to encourage the continued putting-off of work (yours and mine), I'm going to wrap up here for today, leaving you with a piece of advice and three quotes - at least one of which you've probably heard many a time over the course of your life - to help get you on the road to recovery.
- If it will take you less than five minutes, do it right away. - Such a good habit to implement. Start small with things like making your bed every morning, washing, drying, and putting the dishes you just used, and see how you begin to incorporate it into different aspects of your life, and the impact it has on your productivity.
- "The best way to get something done is to begin." - Unknown
- "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao-tzu
- "Git 'er done!" - Larry The Cable Guy
So go purge your own to-do list, and get cracking!
NB: I'm on to you; don't take an inordinately long amount of time writing the list in an effort to procrastinate further! Maybe don't even write one at all, just start (now, not the tomorrow defined above).
Until your next break (or mine),
M-J
* What can I say, snacks are important!
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