Hello.....for the last time..:'(
Well I kinda summed up everything on last weeks post....and that's probably because my weeks were off. XD but what the hey! another one is good! Hm all I really have to say about this week is that it went pretty much like last week, just different classes for studying.
Week one : went really well, actually better than any of the following weeks. It felt like how I began my life at college. I was on top of everything, ahead of everything and always giving it my best effort. When I came home I remembered my reinforcements and punishments made the choice to try my best with this program. When I caught myself procrastinating I would think of my parents nagging me for something, or would think about chatting on gmail and it was enough to keep me motivated. The napping still occurred, but it was difficult to do cold turkey though. However, after a couple of days without it, I started to feel myself get used to sleeping earlier.
Week two : I just got completely off of my tasks and everything was a bust. The punishments didn't kick in at all. I completely ignored them and just waited to the last minute for everything. I had the negative reinforcement, but that didn't work as well as I felt it would. However, the positive punishment stayed in mind and at least got me started before I really wanted to. One day ruined everything for the rest of the week. But, I think the slip up was a good eye opener because that's usually what happens to me week after week. I procrastinate and it usually ruins my week. But then again foul ups are good because you learn from them.
Week three: I would say it was a good recuperation, but I was still a bit behind on some things which just added to the stress. The punishments I kind of just ignored and only focused on the rewards. Maybe because even thinking of punishments just makes me want to find a way out of it, or avoid it somehow. Focusing on trying to have more time to relax, and my parents' nagging was a good motivator. Unfortunately, that week was really stressful regardless and I was trying to do my best to fit everything into a day...which is not enough time to do all the things wish you could accomplish. So I was working late, but not much longer :) but it was kind of worth it because I got a great grade in math that I really wasn't expecting.
Week 4: that week went really well. ha ha mostly because I didn't really have much to stress over. So I had more time to look at important things involving my future. My reinforcements is what works really well, and punishments just went out the window.
Week 5: Same as last week, and because I am an anxious person I was really concerned about the future of my education. Friends were spreading rumors about the summer and winter sessions at SAC which frightened me...and others were talking about acceptance letters from other schools...so that really kept me focused on my work too. Fear is a great motivator! -.-
I think my behavior did change. And I really do hope that it stays this way because there are a lot of responsibilities ahead of me, and if I keep procrastinating and going down that road, I am going to end up far behind, lost, and burnt out. This has helped me in many ways ( that I stated last blog). The reinforcements played a bigger role than the punishments, and I think choices during your awareness of procrastination are where the make it or break it points are. To make this long term it would really have to become habit; which I think is happening because today I was laying in bed, and just didn't want to take a nap :) I wanted to get things done. And since that was my biggest challenge, I believe that I can perfect a way to keep me from procrastinating. This was interesting just to see if it would work. I think humans can be operantly conditioned, just not by themselves :).
Again I bid all the readers adieu! Wish you all the best with the end of the semester!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
RAWR! I am a TiGeR...and procrastination is my PreY!
Hello all! for one of the last times before this ends='( tear...
Ahh this week went well! ha ha probably because it was pretty chill. I had tests and projects to stress out for last week, and the relief of them being done makes this week seem relaxing in a way.
Thurs: pretty chill day because its the end of my school week so I just relaxed for the rest of my day and hung out with Alex and Jamie at Pizza Co.
Fri: started my english paper then moved on to studying for poli sci (ha ha rachele and alex know my pain!).
Sat:went out with family and finished studying for poli sci. Worked on my english essay a bit more.
Sun:finished my english essay before my 11 deadline
Mon: yay back to school again -.-' yah right... any way 2 tests but had the rest of the day to do whatever. So I started reading for the psych quiz.
Tues: I continued to read for psych and went online to look at other colleges and everything i have done for my ed plan an what I still need to do...yep that's the great thing about extra time...you can figure out more things that are important for your future....not just for the week.
Wed:.....by the gods...that's today! I finished reading for psych, took the quiz not long ago and now I am writing this. :)
Overall I'd say it was a pretty chill week. I had a lot of extra time to think about other things and do things in sections so that I didn't feel overwhelmed. I used the note cards like those who commented my blog suggested and man did it help. I found that it is really beneficial to stop napping during the day because I feel that I sleep better through the night and wake up without that @_@ feeling of I'm so tired I wanna collapse, or my eyes are hurting and I look like I have a hangover.
I think my behavior changed a lot. I feel better, work better, and am seeing the benefits physically, mentally and emotionally that refraining from procrastination yields.
I would have to say that the reinforcements worked better than the punishments. The negative punishment( removing music) helped too, but it wasn't as strong as the reinforcements...which is kind of a testament to what the book was saying about reinforcements strengthening the recurrence of behavior. I think the punishments didn't really affect me because as all of us have learned, its hard to punish yourself especially when that brain of yours tries to find ways to get away from it, or think of ways to justify not punishing yourself. The heightened awareness of my behavior definitely helped the change. One of the problems with my procrastination was that I was procrastinating on purpose to try and gain sleep but it just made things worse. Hm I think that for this to be long term it would have to be so repetitious that it becomes habit. I mean so much of a habit that it is annoying when I am faced with doing work now or saving it for later. The most challenging part of this was not napping! I loved coming home and plopping on the bed and heading into la la land, and breaking that routine was extremely hard. I think the most interesting thing about this assignment was that I could be a guinea pig and the experimenter. I could see if I could change my behavior and it worked. It wasn't perfect and yes there were slip ups, but that comes with being both the experimenter and the test subject. I liked the changes that happened, and hopefully it does become habit. This site gave some info on how to make it a habit so I will try it and see what happens!
Goodbye fellow classmates! I bid you adieu!
P.S. my title is lame and I am aware of that, but I couldn't help it! it was funny at the time!
Ahh this week went well! ha ha probably because it was pretty chill. I had tests and projects to stress out for last week, and the relief of them being done makes this week seem relaxing in a way.
Thurs: pretty chill day because its the end of my school week so I just relaxed for the rest of my day and hung out with Alex and Jamie at Pizza Co.
Fri: started my english paper then moved on to studying for poli sci (ha ha rachele and alex know my pain!).
Sat:went out with family and finished studying for poli sci. Worked on my english essay a bit more.
Sun:finished my english essay before my 11 deadline
Mon: yay back to school again -.-' yah right... any way 2 tests but had the rest of the day to do whatever. So I started reading for the psych quiz.
Tues: I continued to read for psych and went online to look at other colleges and everything i have done for my ed plan an what I still need to do...yep that's the great thing about extra time...you can figure out more things that are important for your future....not just for the week.
Wed:.....by the gods...that's today! I finished reading for psych, took the quiz not long ago and now I am writing this. :)
Overall I'd say it was a pretty chill week. I had a lot of extra time to think about other things and do things in sections so that I didn't feel overwhelmed. I used the note cards like those who commented my blog suggested and man did it help. I found that it is really beneficial to stop napping during the day because I feel that I sleep better through the night and wake up without that @_@ feeling of I'm so tired I wanna collapse, or my eyes are hurting and I look like I have a hangover.
I think my behavior changed a lot. I feel better, work better, and am seeing the benefits physically, mentally and emotionally that refraining from procrastination yields.
I would have to say that the reinforcements worked better than the punishments. The negative punishment( removing music) helped too, but it wasn't as strong as the reinforcements...which is kind of a testament to what the book was saying about reinforcements strengthening the recurrence of behavior. I think the punishments didn't really affect me because as all of us have learned, its hard to punish yourself especially when that brain of yours tries to find ways to get away from it, or think of ways to justify not punishing yourself. The heightened awareness of my behavior definitely helped the change. One of the problems with my procrastination was that I was procrastinating on purpose to try and gain sleep but it just made things worse. Hm I think that for this to be long term it would have to be so repetitious that it becomes habit. I mean so much of a habit that it is annoying when I am faced with doing work now or saving it for later. The most challenging part of this was not napping! I loved coming home and plopping on the bed and heading into la la land, and breaking that routine was extremely hard. I think the most interesting thing about this assignment was that I could be a guinea pig and the experimenter. I could see if I could change my behavior and it worked. It wasn't perfect and yes there were slip ups, but that comes with being both the experimenter and the test subject. I liked the changes that happened, and hopefully it does become habit. This site gave some info on how to make it a habit so I will try it and see what happens!
Goodbye fellow classmates! I bid you adieu!
P.S. my title is lame and I am aware of that, but I couldn't help it! it was funny at the time!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
No time to waste!
hello all!....yet again! :D
Well this week has been interesting because I don't really have time to procrastinate. There is so much to do in so little time that I have to work on things when I can find the time for it. My sleep has been a bit off, but its more due to finishing up projects, doing homework, or doing intense studying.I would say besides sleeping late...by just an hr..which isnt too bad, I have done pretty well this week. It basically followed the schedule of last week but I dont feel like it was because I purposely procrastinated. I worked hard, and with the semester coming to a close things are coming at me fast. I still feel good about the conditioning, and I feel that once thursday evening comes everything will be back on track.
Well this week has been interesting because I don't really have time to procrastinate. There is so much to do in so little time that I have to work on things when I can find the time for it. My sleep has been a bit off, but its more due to finishing up projects, doing homework, or doing intense studying.I would say besides sleeping late...by just an hr..which isnt too bad, I have done pretty well this week. It basically followed the schedule of last week but I dont feel like it was because I purposely procrastinated. I worked hard, and with the semester coming to a close things are coming at me fast. I still feel good about the conditioning, and I feel that once thursday evening comes everything will be back on track.
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