Lazy Bones

[D_Martin van Burden]

Gosh, you guys. Let me be real for a minute. I am utterly wiped out. I thought I would have enough time during Spring Break to relax and unwind and recharge before pushing for the big finish academic-wise this semester, but, dudes and dudettes, I'm not even there. Nowhere near.

Some days, I feel pretty competent and caught up. But this weekend taught me that I gotta stay vigilant and that it's really easy to fall back behind again. My brain is fuzzy. Sometimes I just wanna say "fuck it" and sleep instead of piling on the homework, or I'll get a little A-D-D and run around cleaning something and doing anything in my power not to do homework. Ugh. It's gotta stop.

How do you guys stay task-focused and organized? How do you structure work time and play time and stay on top of things? I could use some advice.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

...or I'll get a little A-D-D and run around cleaning something and doing anything in my power not to do homework. Ugh.

I can empathize. That sounds like me procrastinating on a Monday morning when I'm facing a pile of work on my desk.

...
How do you guys stay task-focused and organized? How do you structure work time and play time and stay on top of things? I could use some advice.

Deadlines. :biggrin1:

 

[Pecker]

http://www.declarepeace.org.uk/captain/murder_inc/site/pics/orange3.jpg

 

[Principessa]

Lists and a Franklin Covey Planner! I'm a list maker and it started when I was in grad school for the reasons you have already mentioned. :smile: The Franklin Covey Planners are great I found that if I scheduled 3 hours for writing and research, followed by an hour at the pool or browsing Eastern Market I did fine. All my work got done and I had a bit of time to play/relax as well.

 

[D_Fiona_Farvel]

Adderall, Yayo, Ritalin? j/k :biggrin:
I'm not sure how I do it, but, like NJ mentioned, planning is involved (I use a Palgrave planner by Cottrell). I, also, try to enjoy some part of my studies - like this semester, I have really enjoyed teaching a module and that helps break up the research & writing monotony.

If you have any sleep issues like I do, make sure to get enough rest! It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized I was averaging 5 hours of sleep per day - yet wondered why I was so flipping tired. :no:

 

[TomSchmo]

Since homework and studying is the most stressful and demanding thing in my case, I randomly plan in my head when and how i can get my homework done. And for me at least, I feel much more calm and collected when the academics are out of the way.

 

[DGirl]

:frown1:
Just get a good night rest when you can..
Sorry I wish I can help you!!

 

[Lex]

Gosh, you guys. Let me be real for a minute. I am utterly wiped out. I thought I would have enough time during Spring Break to relax and unwind and recharge before pushing for the big finish academic-wise this semester, but, dudes and dudettes, I'm not even there. Nowhere near.

Some days, I feel pretty competent and caught up. But this weekend taught me that I gotta stay vigilant and that it's really easy to fall back behind again. My brain is fuzzy. Sometimes I just wanna say "fuck it" and sleep instead of piling on the homework, or I'll get a little A-D-D and run around cleaning something and doing anything in my power not to do homework. Ugh. It's gotta stop.

How do you guys stay task-focused and organized? How do you structure work time and play time and stay on top of things? I could use some advice.

(soon to be Dr.) Dee--I have always been an earlier riser and have never been able to stay up late to do school work. I found it much easier to get school work done when I did not feel as though I was missing anything else that was going on. So, I would get up between 5-6 on the weekends, and write my dissertation for about two hours or so. Then I would have breakfast, clean, relax and watch TV, etc.

My work efforts also varied by season. I am a huge pro football addict, so Sundays during football seasons were more about reading (with the TV on) than writing. In spring and summer, getting up early before it got warm and I wanted to go play golf (I stopped for the past two years) was key. I could sometimes force myself to write when it was warm as baseball holds little interest for me.

I also can get a lot ADD and often had spells where I did not want to do any school work. At other times, I would have hours when all these ideas and sentences would just flood my head. Over time, I found it best to just got with my natural mental rhythms.

I am also a big believer in the Premack's Principle. So I structured my time so that work that I did not want to do was followed by activities that I really enjoyed.

Remember that in the end, the doctorate is a huge test of perseverence. You can do it.

(just recently, Dr.) Lex