I’m overdue for a New Year’s Resolution update post. I’m sure these are boring, but they really do provide some accountability for me, so here goes.
- I’m doing fine on the money and cooking resolutions.
- Lab work is slowly but steadily progressing. I met a small milestone for Chapter 2 work this week. Chapter 3 work is not going as fast, but not entirely stalled.
- The paper is not going well. Well, it’s not going badly but this is April already and it’s still not done. I have no one to blame but myself. No excuses. I just haven’t done it. Progress has been creeping along, but I need to get my A into G and do it. Actually, that’s not really fair. I did do a fair bit of work on it in March. However, I can feel myself fake working during my writing time and that’s bad. Also, I put everything else first and that’s also bad.
- I still have the same old problem of being really effective in the lab and not so much at my desk. One of the resolutions I have let slide was to make tomorrow’s to-do list at the end of each day. I think I should try that again. Also, I think the goals should be more specific. Currently, I’ll say I’m going to “write” for 2 hours or whatever, but I think I need to say “I’ll work on paragraph X” or “I’ll find the appropriate references for these 3 arguments”. There’s currently some good advice about goal making and list writing at the Aphasic Grads Writing Group.
Sorry I complain about the same crap over and over, but it’s what I struggle with.
5 comments:
Don't beat yourself up to much about what you haven't done, it's a waste of energy that you can use for productivity. Said the queen of procrastination angst... My trouble is getting the analyses done so I actually have something to write about.
Don't beat yourself up - periods of fake work happen, and they always will. Sometimes in order to be productive I have to get ridiculously specific with my goals. I have sat down to write at my desk with the goal of "I will write 50 words" (thank goodness I did more than that.) Sometimes if you're having a hard time getting starting, setting a small goal can make you get your ass in gear - and once you start working you'll likely not stop at 50 words. BUt if you do, you've accomplished your goal! Hooray!
Is your environment for working okay? I can't get a lot of writing done in my campus office because of distractions, so I have a more quiet space at home.
I share an office with one person who is hardly there, so my work environment is good. I think starting with tiny goals is good advice. Once I get started on something I've been putting off, I typically get momentum to keep going. I should also disable the internet when I want to work at the computer. I did that a few times and it helped but I haven't been consistent about it.
To-do lists rock! I have both weekly and daily lists that I fill out the evening before. Apart from the motivation of crossing things off, it also helps me switch off my work brain when I get home. If I know everything's written down, I can stop thinking about it because I know I won't forget it!
I struggle with this too. My attempt at solution? To-do lists with tiny steps. But it still doesn't always work...
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