I only perfom under pressure, any advice ?

[ko_sct]

So, it has come to my attention that I work can work quite well while under pressure (like, having to finish a homework for the next day).

This, in itself, is a good thing. Not crumbling under pression and being able to perform well in stressful situation is a really good thing.

The problem is that i seem to be only able to work when I am under stress. When my exam ain't the next day, I can barely study anything, my mind endlessly wandering away from the book I should be reading. Even if I totally should start to study seriously a week (at least) before the exam, it seem I cant bring myself to concentrate on anything thats not urgent.

Case in point, I got an exam in 2 day and I've spend many hour trying to study and ending up losing time on the Internet or, if I have the willpower to not look on the Internet, getting lost in my thoughts.

It's getting quite bad, and since I'm finishing college and will soon go to the university, it's a problem that really need addressing.

I come to the playground saying all that because I was wondering if there was peoples in the same situation that could share their experiences, the way they overcame this problem and any trick they may have, or just wanted to say; cool story bro



So, yeah, Tl; DR : Got any tricks or tips for an heavy procrastinator trying to get better ? (at not procrastinating)

[Savannah]

Here's what I've done. Make a list of everything you need to do, in tiny steps. (So, study chapter 1 section 1, study chapter 1 section 2, etc.) You want them small enough that you can do them in about 20-30 minutes. Then grab a timer. Study/work/whatever you need to do for 30 minutes, goof off for 30 minutes, study for 30 minutes, etc. 30 minutes works well for me, but you may need to start with just 10 and work your way up (in which case, you'd want smaller steps on your list). What I like about it is that, since I know I have a scheduled goofing off time, I don't feel the need to constantly do other things while I'm trying to work. Also, by making the steps really small and easily doable, I can always cross off at least one item after each study time, and so I get a definite sense of progress.

[ko_sct]

I'm gonna try this tomorrow.

I already tried to make list of everything I had to do in small steps, but never THIS small.

I'll see if it help me a little, thanks for the tip.

[Lady Moreta]

Savannah, that's awesome. Where were you when I was at uni? :smalltongue:

[Savannah]

Probably in highschool :smalltongue: And if you think that simple explanation is awesome, you should know that when I'm serious, I do it two weeks out, with different colored pens for each category of task (class 1, class 2, housework, etc) and different colored highlighters for due dates!

[CoffeeIncluded]

Has an inability to concentrate on anything always been a serious problem for you?

If not, then try to schedule things so that you're forced to study a few days before. That's part of the reason why I'm trying to have most of my classes on Thursday and Friday; my problem sets are due on Friday, but if Monday and Tuesday are when I have the most time to do them, then I'll get 80% of my work done by the start of the week.

[Lady Moreta]

Probably in highschool :smalltongue: And if you think that simple explanation is awesome, you should know that when I'm serious, I do it two weeks out, with different colored pens for each category of task (class 1, class 2, housework, etc) and different colored highlighters for due dates!

Heh, you probably were :smalltongue:

I used to do the break-things-into-time-brackets thing, but not to quite the degree you suggested. I rather think that doing it your way would have worked better.

Generally, I found that it helped having a specific 'study space'. In one flat, my bedroom was my study space (due to space restrictions, I don't advise it if you can avoid it, having the bed in the same room as the workspace is a bad idea) and when I relaxed, I went downstairs to the lounge. My other flat, my bedroom was on the ground floor and my desk was actually upstairs in an alcove (it was the only room for it). That helped considerably. Also I spent a lot of time at the library, working there. Having a specific 'here's my study space' really helped get me in the right frame of mind for working. When I had a break, I actually went somewhere else.

Spending time at the library also helped. Largely enforced due to the fact that most of the readings I needed were either from journals (which weren't allowed to be checked out at all) or from books in the short-term section (which could be checked out for up to three hours at a time, but couldn't be taken from the library). So I had to spend a lot of time at the library and it was incredibly helpful. There was nothing else to do, so I had to study. Helped by the fact that at the time I lived a 15-20min walk away up a massive hill. No way I was going up and down that multiple times a day, if I had to go to the library for any reason I took enough work to last me the entire day.

Actually, odd as it sounds, some form of exercise might also help. Even now, if there's something I'm meant to be doing and I just can't get myself to do it, I will often go for a walk and get the fidgets out of my system. Something about it helps me settle down. Might not work for you, but could be worth a try :smallsmile:

[sparkyinbozo]

I've had this problem and came up with a solution, but it might be a little extreme...

You need to make a new type of pressure on yourself to get it done, usually with the help of a cohort. Say, for example, you give them an embarrassing picture of you and ask them to post it on Facebook (or give them your password to Facebook for a while, hold keys to your car hostage, be creative!) unless you are done with a paper or whatnot by an earlier time frame. Or, if you have a test coming up, offer to try to "teach" material to someone (works great in study groups), which will make you learn it.

It takes a little planning and trust with others, but worked pretty well for me.

[thubby]

i find it helps to have something easy to resolve on hand. for example: im studying right now, but im getting frustrated so i decided to make a post on something.
this has taken me all of a minute, but now I've completed something and given myself a chance to relax a bit.

back to work i go!

[Savannah]

(due to space restrictions, I don't advise it if you can avoid it, having the bed in the same room as the workspace is a bad idea)

On average, it's probably not a good idea, but I study better sitting on my bed than anywhere else. Upshot being, take all advice you're given with a grain of salt and try it out to see if it actually works for you.

[Lady Moreta]

On average, it's probably not a good idea, but I study better sitting on my bed than anywhere else. Upshot being, take all advice you're given with a grain of salt and try it out to see if it actually works for you.

This of course being the best advise of all :smallsmile:

I could do readings on my bed, but if I was writing or doing some serious research I had to be either at my desk or in the library or I just didn't concentrate.

[Aedilred]

Has an inability to concentrate on anything always been a serious problem for you?

If not, then try to schedule things so that you're forced to study a few days before. That's part of the reason why I'm trying to have most of my classes on Thursday and Friday; my problem sets are due on Friday, but if Monday and Tuesday are when I have the most time to do them, then I'll get 80% of my work done by the start of the week.
I have attempted this in the past. It did not work. I just ended up leaving it until the last minute.

I forget exactly when it was that I realised that there are loads of hours during the night-time when everyone expects you to sleep, so if you get home at midnight and the work is due in at 8, you still have eight hours to get it all done, and that's ages! That was a dark day.

[Traab]

You sound a lot like me. I have adhd, and it has driven me insane all my life. I literally cannot make myself concentrate on something unless I really want to do it. Like play a new computer game, or read a good book. I found its best to have someone tell you to do them. Its easier to get started when someone is there to give you the push. "Traab, start your homework." "Traab, take out the trash." etc etc etc. If im left to my own devices its a total crapshoot when things will get done, if ever. But as soon as someone is there telling me to do it, I can get up and DO IT.

[Ajadea]

Sounds familiar. Personally, besides doing what I love, what I try to do is actually juggle two or three projects at the same time. Trying to work on the same thing for 4 hours is not fun (unless it's a computer program. Then you'll have trouble getting me to stop). So when you start getting bored and drifting off, go work on one of your other pressing projects. When you get bored of that one, come back.

[Karoht]

Break your tasks down to much smaller goals, and give weight to your deadlines.

Most people don't take the deadlines they set for themselves all too seriously. For instance, if you said you had to get x done by y time, but the real turn in date for x is z time, odds are most people would ignore y time.

Also, when you come up with your goals/deadlines, have a margin for error. So if x task needs to be done by z time, you set your initial deadline for y.1, your margin for error is y.2, and the actual turn in time is z. I find that I'm more likely to to hit y.2 if I miss y.1, rather than z.

[dehro]

I just read that as "I only perfume under pressure"..

I have got to get my eyes checked..

[The Succubus]

You mean like "It rubs the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again?" :smallconfused:

[Drascin]

You mean like "It rubs the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again?" :smallconfused:

Well, my mom did have to basically tie me down to put some kids' cologne on me, back in the day. Even now, attempts at asking me to perfume are usually met with me wielding the nearest chair in front of me defensively :smalltongue:

[Hazyshade]

Breaking things into timed chunks is definitely the way forward. I've found it important to train myself to stop dead when the timer goes off, rather than carrying on until I get stuck. Firstly because respecting my artificial deadlines creates that pressure to work like a dervish in the few minutes before the timer. Secondly because resuming some activity, that I previously gave up on because I was stuck, is something I seem to do very reluctantly, whereas if I've left off in mid-flow I'll be chomping at the bit to get started again.

I do it slightly differently from Savannah. I have a list that Hyperactive Flatmate calls my elephant list, because I use an elephant sound as the timer. Everything large and small that I need to do will go on the elephant list:

Wash dishes 7 14 21
Update chess website 7 14 21
Laundry 7 14 21
Fix Bryan's spreadsheet 7 14 21
Reply to Sophie 7 14 21
Sort pile of mail 7 14 21
Cut up bits of cardboard for Gilbert and Sullivan 7 14 21
Ironing 7 14 21

And I rotate through them. Once I've spent 7 minutes washing dishes, I put a line through the 7 and go onto updating the site. When I get to the bottom of the list, I go back and spend 14 minutes washing dishes... etc etc. (Whether I prefer 7-14-21 to 7-7-7-7-7 is something I haven't quite decided on.)

I can waste time like a world champion, but somehow when I use my elephant list, I seem to get things done. It's based on three principles...

1) Anyone can do anything for seven minutes. I'm not even going to add a qualifier about neurotypical people - anyone can do anything for seven minutes.
2) A change is as good as a rest. There are no breaks built into the list, though there are changes of pace and there can be "relaxation" activities, like replying to a message from a friend, or perhaps "make a cup of tea".
3) The best way to get something done is to start. So the best way to get a lot of things done, is to start a lot of things.

On that list above, "Fix Bryan's spreadsheet" is the equivalent of ko_sct's exam studying. It will probably take me several hours. At some point I'll have to switch from rotating through the list to spreadsheet-bingeing. But I'll have a few advantages over sitting down to it completely cold: I'll have already started it, which is the hardest part; my subconscious mind will have been turning the problem over and over in the gaps between actually working on it, so chances are I'll suddenly know exactly what I need to do; and I won't be stressing over several other things that I have to do today, because I'll have done them, or at least put a big dent in them.

And I read sexual connotations into the thread title. Huh.