We have all faced a complication when doing any activity - of any kind -. We are looking for a way to postpone it, do something that is more pleasant for us, such as watching TV, checking the What's App, Twitter, Facebook, talking to the person next to us, etc. We know this common practice as procrastination. Anyone who is aware enough of what he spends his time on, will know that he incurs this vice more often than he should - right now, as I am writing this instead of my work activities - and the worst thing is that we wonder why why can't I finish my homework?
Here I come to offer a theory, since, as an excellent procrastinator, tired of not finishing my work, I decided to analyze the situation.
The process is a vicious circle that repeats day by day: I turn on my computer, I think about opening the folder of, but before I check my Facebook (for which there has been some urgency).
20 minutes after having made sure that there were none, in addition to reading the comments of the comments of a publication that I did not even open, I helped myself to click on the folder that I would like to never see, titled “THESIS”. I open the Word that says “Chapter 1” (I have been in that chapter longer than my tutor would like); As the document loads, the LED on my Smartphone blinks. Yes, as expected, a meme from some group of friends with a dog that does not want to serve a young man. After 10 minutes of searching for the ideal meme to start an image war, I realized that Word had 9:40 minutes of being open.
After giving a scan of the document, I remember that at the same time I was reading a paper that I considered “indispensable” to move forward with my famous Chapter 1 (three weeks after finishing that 10-page paper, I conclude that it was not really as essential as I thought).
In what loads the PDF, I get to sheet 7 and I realize that I highlighted with yellow a line that says "check"… <> They already answered me with another meme. 10 minutes after a fierce war of images, you remember that pending conversation that I left on FB Messenger, but before, I go to Spotify to put a playlist "ideal for the moment", and why not? a friend a song that I find fabulous.
In the end I answer everything I had to answer, I go through all the notifications (which are nothing more than requests for lives in Candy Crush) and I go back to that seventh sheet, that is, to that yellow line that reminds me that I have to look for that document that complements the "indispensable" paper. While I search for it in Google, the news of the day comes out (in other conditions I would never have read it) and I find that Banxico's projection on GDP more interesting than ever. When I finish the news I look for the document, but before I repeat the whole ritual of checking my cell phone, the FB, news, Instagram, Twitter…. ad infinitum, like this until at the end of the day I realize how late it is and I fall asleep confident that tomorrow will surely be a more productive day.
At least this process I live daily and I am sure that I am not the only one. The theory that I want to give to explain why we act like this is because we don't have a method to do things, we are disorderly to work; or worse yet, we have a very ordered disorder (Word> What´s app> FB>….> Word> Google>….> repeat) and in my opinion we are not dedicated to what should really interest us because we do not know how to do it. You start working and the moment you get stuck - you get to a date you don't understand, a word you don't know or a paragraph you don't know what it refers to - you automatically escape from it with just a click. This can become so catastrophic that you already associate all the books and files that have to do with the subject in question with something dark and evil and the last thing you want is to open it,because you know that you will not get any progress, on the contrary, you will get great frustration and who in this world prefers to be frustrated instead of enjoying his favorite series? And it should be noted that this is the lowest point that one can touch, that is, not even enter the cycle that I have commented, but go directly to Netflix, Series Yonkies, Watch Your Series, or a simile and see the leaked chapters of Game Of Thrones. The worst failure at the end of the day is turning off your computer and not even having opened Word.Yonkies Series, Watch Your Series, or a simile and see the leaked chapters of Game Of Thrones. The worst failure at the end of the day is turning off your computer and not even having opened Word.Yonkies Series, Watch Your Series, or a simile and see the leaked chapters of Game Of Thrones. The worst failure at the end of the day is turning off your computer and not even having opened Word.
What if there is a solution? Of course there is, but boy, it would be complicated, although on the other hand, it is quite obvious: pre-download everything you need and turn off the WI-FI. Well, a less extreme solution would be to have all your work times perfectly well organized; I have read articles (nothing serious, but very useful) that say that one is much more efficient if he intends to work 25 minutes and leave 5 or even 10 minutes to respond to social networks and then another 25 x 5. For those of us who are from one Weak will power, there are several applications for the cell phone that facilitate this process, for example, "Self Control" that blocks your equipment for as long as you ask; practical and easy to use.
It is also very useful to have a practical work plan structured that is also easy to carry out (having a detailed chapter structure helps more than you imagine), so when opening your files it is no longer navigating in an ocean of information, but row through a river with the current in favor.
Another tip, is to avoid naming your work folders as "Thesis" or "Final work" or "Professional exam" or "Thesis seminar" or something like that, since your brain associates these words with pressure, heavy work, obligation, etc.; in short, in hell. And the last thing you want to do is open those doors, which at the top say "Oh! You who enter, abandon all hope ”. It would be better to title your folders with the name of the topic you chose, since it is supposed to be a topic you like and it should convey positive things to you (otherwise, you better change the subject before you go crazy).
Being in the same situation that you surely are, these are the tips with which I can help you to progress, but what can I tell you, if I am writing this instead of going to my folder titled "Thesis".
