Study Prof

I’ve written elsewhere about using a daily to-do list in conjunction with a calendar to make your schedule bow down before the awesomeness that is you, but does your to-do list get to “done”? Here are five simple ways to put some serious smack-down on daily tasks by pimping your to-do list.

1. Make sure you can do ‘em. Having a hulking, obnoxious, hairy task sitting on your to-do list glaring at you is a recipe for procrastination. Chop that beast down to size. No single task on your list should take more than an hour. If it takes longer than that, you need to break it down into (more…)

Procrastination; the Big Bad Wolf in our fairy tale life. The Godzilla in our own personal Tokyo. Put off that slavering, monstrous task and it only gets bigger and badder. As the behemoth bloats so does your anxiety, your shame, and your desire to find a hole to hide in … anything to avoid the red-eyed, demon task. That means yet more procrastination, and soon you find yourself quivering under the bed in the fetal position. Not good times.

What you need, my friend, is an erstwhile hero who can slay the beast, or at least kick it in the shins and give it a wedgie. Enter our hero, the mini-goal. Here’s how it works. Set yourself a laughably small David of a goal that will at least hurl a wee pebble at that Goliath of a task looming over you. Your mini-goal should be an easy first step, something that takes ten minutes or less to accomplish. It should be something you can’t possibly fail at. Example: The evil twenty-page research paper is huffing and puffing (more…)

If you can’t procrastinate, you won’t procrastinate.

Obvious, you say? Then why aren’t you making procrastination impossible (or at least scaldingly painful)? Here’s how you can make the P-word so blindingly agonizing that it ain’t even an option.

First, identify that dreaded procrastination-inducing uber-chore. Hint: What were you thinking you should do just BEFORE you started scrubbing out the trash cans and polishing the plastic ware?

Next, chunk it down into pieces that can be done in under an hour. For example, have you been thinking about embarking on a summer campaign for world domination? Why not start with building that death ray you designed last August. –No, no.– That’ll take days. Let’s just start with figuring out which former Soviet republic has the best prices on high grade uranium. That shouldn’t take more than an hour; maybe much less with a couple of good search terms, a Russian online dictionary, and the magic that is Google.

Finally, get a sadistic buddy or two to help you bring on the pain. Pick any handy roommate/cousin/friend/neighbor, or what-have-you for this role. Next, hand said sadistic buddy your cell phone (or xBox, or car keys, or Facebook password, or … you get the idea). Make him or her promise not to give it back until you can rattle off sources and prices for weapons grade, fissionable elements from at least three different third-world, bargain-basement, munitions wholesalers. Voila! Instant cerebral cattle prod.

Procrastination is not a problem when pain is imminent. So put that red hot poker in the hands of a willing (slightly demented) compadre and kiss procrastination goo’bye.

I’ve mentioned Gopingme.com before. I’ve been using it lo these many years now to set up reminders for myself. Reminders can be emailed or texted to you on any interval you choose.

For example, I can set it to text me, “Don’t forget The King’s birthday,” once a year at 12AM on January 8th, or “Pick up more hemorrhoid cream,” every second Tuesday at 8AM. You can even configure it to keep bugging you, say every five minutes, until you respond to the text or email. It’s dead simple and way powerful, so go get an account NOW (totally free, by the by).

Now you have a procrastination assassin on call! Set up (more…)

Another random family photo. I wanna party with these guys!

I recently received an email from one of my students with several great questions. I thought these issues, and their answers, might benefit everyone.

Hi Cody,

Some study issues that I have noticed that I have is not in how I study but when I study.  I have a horrible habit of procrastinating and only studying a minimal amount at the last minute…. Now, I will not say I have made bad grades by doing this, and actually much to the chagrin of my peers I always am one of the top scores in the class and normally manage an A in the course….

I’m with ya’. I used the same technique when I was an undergrad, back when the earth’s crust was still hardening. But–Danger Will Robinson!!!–The procrastinate and cram technique has several killer flaws, which (more…)

One very effective way to keep yourself from giving in to temptation (whether that temptation is to eat that last piece of pecan pie or to watch that last episode of The Office) is to procrastinate–just keep putting it off. And you can do that by distracting yourself.

Check out this great article on how some 4-year-olds (yes, 4-year-olds) were able to effectively delay gratification by distracting themselves.

Remember, getting to work when we don’t want to is a learned skill. We have to train ourselves to get motivated on command.

Here are the final three motivation busters. Make sure to check out the first two articles in the series if you haven’t already.

1. Blow up the little problems - Sometimes a little problem can cause more motivation frustration than a big problem. That little issue of (more…)

Part two in the series…

1. Shake it up – Get pumped up by acting like you’re really stoked. Think Dwight Schrute, from The Office. He psyches himself up for an upcoming sales call by doing some heavy metal air guitar kicks and jumps, and talking about how he’ll DOMINATE! Sounds silly, I know. But it works (although it does make my downstairs neighbors mad.)
2. Just take the next step – You don’t have to read (for example) all seven volumes of the Giant Compendium of Skin Diseases, like the prof assigned. All you have to read is that next page. Once your finished with that, pat yourself on the back, and then tackle the page after that. One step at a time.
3. Plan to prevail – Map out how you’ll get started and what each step will be. Get up early, lay out your tools, turn off all distractions, provide yourself with food and drink, and get crackin’. It’s much harder to shirk when you’re all prepped and ready to go.
4. Inspire yourself - Please log in or sign up to read the rest of this content. Find out more.

Lacking the uuumph to bust out that text book on, The Fascinating History of Colloids? Fear not, grasshopper. Here are 13 slick tips to overcome your motivational malaise (this is part one).

1. Consider why you are doing it – Step back to get the broad perspective. Where does this fit into your life goals? Example: “I’m studying this to get an A on that next exam so I can become the world’s greatest puppeteer and avenge Jim Henson’s nasty comments about my father’s ventriloquism talents. Curse you, Jim Henson! Curse you!”
2. Commit to 5 minutes – Promise yourself you’ll (more…)