Procrastination at Its Finest I have nine hours before my alarm wakes me up for school. Procrastination is one of my biggest flaws and my eyes suffer from it as I stay up late to write my essay. My fingers wander around the keyboard as I think of words to type. I start to regret going out with my friends, shopping, watching tv, and doing everything but writing a paper that was assigned a week ago. Before I begin to write, I transform into a motivational speaker. “Focus Karissa. You can do this. Hard work always pays off.” I sit crissed crossed on top of bed with my laptop in front of me while my door is closed. I lose all connections with the world (even my phone) and then my mind finally goes blank. Once I think of that first sentence …show more content…
Theorist Peter Elbow introduces two types of thinking in his article “Teaching Thinking by Teaching Writing.” First order thinking is not having control or direction in writing and it is used in freewriting. Second order thinking is “conscious, directed, controlled” thinking that involves outlining. According to Elbow, most people have second order thinking in mind when they talk about “critically thinking” (37). I consider myself a first order thinker due to my ability to create ideas without …show more content…
First order thinking is more for freewriting and exploring different ideas one may have in their mind like an author. Considering I am writing essays for college that have topics, I need to think thoroughly about ideas that will support the topic. “We are also likely to be fooled by first order thinking. In first order thinking we do not reflect on what we are doing and hence we are more likely to be steered by our assumptions” (Elbow 38). If I am being steered by my assumptions, I am not supporting essays like research papers with informative details. I am stating what I know. Adding second order thinking to my process will help break down my essay to find the best
Procrastination in terms of weakness of will has only been recently discussed in philosophical discourse. According to Richard Holton, weakness of will or the lack of willpower is defined as acting against one’s values or when one is too easily able to reconsider their intentions. Procrastination, by definition, is the act of avoiding completing tasks often until rearing that deadline. Procrastination has commonly been viewed as irrational and has held a negative connotation, partly due to being considered a willful act by an individual. Procrastination, like other aspects that resemble a lack of willpower, is naturally attached to the concept of weakness of will by not only laymen, but also theorists and philosophers. Only recently has procrastination
“First order thinking is intuitive and creative and does not strive for conscious direction or control.” Elbow explains how you can get your best ideas from writing your thoughts down instead of planning. On the other hand, he adds that first order thinking doesn’t give us something valuable. While first order thinking is not having control or direction, second order thinking help you write down your thoughts clearly an in order. On the other hand he adds that second order thinking is slow steps that lead us into wrongheadedness. The author states, “If we would see clearly the truth about thinking and writing we would see that the situation is not either/or, it’s both/ and: the more first order thinking, the more second order thinking, and vice versa.” Elbow writes that you should use both of these thinking processes because they go hand and hand, but don’t use them at the same time. Also, Elbow describes how you should wait or hold off revising and criticism for a while. I feel like if you start revising before finishing your essay you will lose your train of thought. Wait until you are finishing your essay and then go back and fix your
Since this moment on the very first day of class, I have grown immensely through hard work. In this essay, I will explain what I have learned over the course of this class about myself, and about writing. The first thing I learned about myself is that I can’t help but procrastinate. A few things I tried include treating myself after an assignment was done, remembering the stress-free moment when you finish an essay, and the ten minute technique.
Procrastination is the word that I would use to thoroughly depict people. It’s not that everyone procrastinates, but most people do, and almost everyone has at least once in their lifetime. I am positive that you have put off an assignment and had good reason to do so. I often put off all my assignments because the TV is always a better way to spend my time. The history paper can wait, as can the dog that needs feeding. The job doesn’t need to be completed until the very last minute. Now, there is a very sound science to procrastinating. Some would say that it is a skill; furthermore, all my friends refer to me as the “Pro” crastinator. Procrastinating is the best thing ever it feels amazing, and especially if the assignment is boring. The
Be able to know that you are a procrastinator in order to be helped. Have a commitment to yourself to get things done and making a to do list can help. Also, creating reminders through the day to help with what’s needed to get done. Write some of your goals so you can accomplish them. Having someone you can tell your goals, and how you plan to accomplish them is also good help. They can push you into making your goals. In order for you not to be distracted from social media you can use tools such as Rescue Time, Self-Control, and Focus to block those web sites while you do your work. Having an understanding of why you procrastinate will help you beat it. It will allow you to choose
3:30 A.M. finds me in front of a glowing computer screen yet again. I’m waiting for inspiration. My friends, kind enough to let me use their dorm room and their Macintosh, are asleep in their beds just feet away in the half-darkness, reaping the rewards of their wisdom: they haven’t waited until the night before like I have. I take swigs of Mountain Dew from a plastic mug; it’s the sweet nectar of the Gods of Last-Minute Paper Writing. No, make that bittersweet nectar -- the taste of sugary green goodness reminds me, with every swallow, that I’ve sentenced myself to another unnecessary all-nighter. I have few ideas and even less time…
Like an experienced politician, Christopher Morley composes his essay and weaves his words in such a way that causes his readers to believe and support his claim that laziness is not the weakness that we currently recognize it to be, but rather it is an important asset to have. In “On Laziness”, Morley utilizes a casual tone, combines complex diction with simple syntax, and uses examples that allow for a sense of logic, leaving the reader no choice but to consider his claims, and maybe even believe them.
The typical college course requires the successful completion of challenging assignments, such as exams, term papers, and presentations. With deadlines looming for these assignments, some students will begin their work right away, while others will wait until the last minute to get started. While research evidence does not support the utility of last-minute strategies, such as cramming for exams, students may nonetheless engage in these behaviors as a result of procrastination (Schraw, Wadkins, & Olafson, 2007; Senecal, Koestner, & Vallerand, 1995). For active procrastinators, their act could lead to positive outcomes, such as high grades,
The sound of my alarm buzzed while I struggled to get out of bed. I wiped my eyes and got out of bed. My mind was packed with thoughts and emotions. That day was a very special day for me. I had prepared for that day for months if not years. Just thinking about it, made me nervous. It was tryout day for the high school golf team. Even though I was on varsity since freshman year, I was still nervous because there was always the possibility that you can get booted if your performance is sub-par. After staring at the wall for a solid minute, I shook myself out of the trance I was in and continued with my routine. Minutes passed, and I was ready to go to school. I loaded my car up with my clubs and started for school. I had a hard time keeping
I stared at the blinking cursor, unbelieving at what I had just done. I was indeed done; done with a paper I agonized over for 6 hours. The paper was due in a scant 4 hours and I had all week to do it. The radio had stopped working because my brother got on the Internet and thus cut off my connection. That was the least of my problems working on this paper. I got it done, though. My life changed with one trip of a teacher to the chalkboard and one phrase, narrative essay. God, I hate narrative essays.
Questions are something that must be asked and can be very important when reading a literary work, watching a movie, or just simply trying to understand the habits of people today. Asking questions opens up the human brain to dig farther and deeper into the meaning of why someone did something in a specific way and what purpose it has that something must be done in that way. Critical thinking is asking question and trying to hypothesize on what the answer to that question might be. Critically thinking is a healthy aspect of opening up the brain and will improve one’s thought process on how to apply critical thinking in situations where it is dependent, like a future
Procrastination & nbsp; & nbsp; It is Monday morning and I have slept in, thanks to Thanksgiving. In fact, it's twelve o'clock and I am free for the afternoon. As usual, I sit in. front of the television after I clean myself up, staring endlessly at the screen with my finger clicking on the remote.
The definition of procrastination is: the action of delaying or postponing something. Tim Urban, who conducts a speech called Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator for TED in 2016, explains that every human is a procrastinator- some more than others. I agree with everything he says in his speech because I can connect with every piece of evidence he claims, mostly including that there is a “Panic Monster” that pops up in your brain when you are close to a deadline and haven’t gotten anything done, especially when it comes from why I’m always so stressed out about school. There are two different kinds of procrastination: deadline and non-deadline. (Urban, 2016) Everyone that I have ever met is a procrastinator
“Procrastination, quite frankly, is an epidemic,” says the writer of “The Procrastination Cure” Jeffery Combs. Recently, an infographic shows that during the 140 million hours people spent on YouTube watching “Gangnam Style”, four pyramids can be built, according to The Economist. Naturally, we may wonder what drives us to act on this irrationality and feel bad and guilty about it. If it is not truly a personal and individual defect, why not blaming culture roots for the unproductiveness?
After spending three hours perusing the internet on articles about procrastination and time management, with two of those hours spent looking at planners, apps, and other various materials that theoretically will help me stop procrastinating, I suppose it is time to actually start writing my paper about procrastinating. I’ve fallen into the learned habit that I work best under pressure; however, the process of procrastination is always laced with acute anxiety and hassle, even if I ultimately finish the assignment on time. I am on a journey to find out why people procrastinate and hopefully find attainable solutions to the problem of procrastination, but first I must go outside and play in the snow.