I believe It's been awhile since I've said anything personal to you guys, but I find this is necessary. Half of the school year has come by and I've already had two instances where I stayed home for three days at a time out of the bare necessity of finishing a project, research paper, essay, or presentation that has yet to be even started. Even my normal school days are spent wastefully until an hour before bed, and an hour before the school bus leaves.
Half of the time, I find myself either here, on youtube, playing a videogame, watching anime, or doing some other arguably pointless tasks. It's become a problem, as much as I hate to admit. I joke about perfection all the time, but this is a problem that's been bothering me for awhile. I know that I normally say how I can connect to these tasks on a personal level, but I realize that it doesn't mean they are always the most important.
I know that I need to prioritize, but I can't focus on something without a break every few minutes or so, and those breaks grow from minutes to hours, more often than not. I've tried starting my homework as soon as I got home, like when I was still in elementary school, but on the ride home, I always think about what I could do on the computer on that day. I usually end up having fun until 8. I'd rather take an extreme course of action, like restricting myself from my computer entirely for awhile. This option isn't exactly practical either, since I usually need my computer for at least part of my homework.
I'm not sure if this will be a big problem for awhile, since it's only been for my English II Honors class. Maybe I won't have any problems next semester when my classes switch. Even so, I'd like to find a solution that I'm easily capable of, in case this becomes a bigger problem later. As much as I'd love to listen to however many of you that will say that I just need to stop and take a break for awhile, that's easier said than done, especially in my case. I've avoided calling it this, but the computer is an addiction of mine. I'd very much like for it to become more of a pass-time, even if that pass-time is every other minute I have that isn't spent on work.
Of course, I've already thought about this before, and I already know that other factors need to be taken into account, but I'll mention those as necessary. Thank you.
Addiction Problems
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This is Serious Discussion. If you want to tell us how your day was or just get some things off your chest, you will find ample opportunity to find a corner to discuss all the good things we see, or reach out to anyone who needs help. Just remember to pay attention to the Principles of Serious Discussion, and link to the source if posting news.
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Re: Addiction Problems
by Bogdan » January 28th, 2013, 7:43 am
I have same problem, I completely stopped learning anything at maths and I also stopped doing my homeworks and this caused me serious problems. I always end up not finishing important projects on time and I ask for an extra day to finish it. Sometimes I wish I could just have one day without the pc.
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Re: Addiction Problems
by Megar » January 28th, 2013, 7:48 am
This problem has resulted in detentions-a-many for me. (Well not really, but I never end up doing the homework.)
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Re: Addiction Problems
Thumbs up x3 
by Venexis » January 28th, 2013, 4:53 pm
It's definitely not a good habit to get sucked into, especially later on in life.
The key thing to remember is that breaks are important too. Sure, there's deadlines and projects to be finished, and they're all important, but a 15 minute break is often enough to distract you from the stress and let you return to work feeling more optimistic and energized (and often finish faster) than if you had just slaved over it for hours on end. I'm guilty of not handing in assignments too, because the effort required to finish them just isn't worth it- often it would require textbook referencing, looking up material online, simple practice problems, and lots of trial and error. It's much better to take a break, then finish something you know how to do/have the capability to do than waste all your time struggling to understand an assignment and accomplish nothing at all.
Note that proper time management would have ensured enough time to do everything, and that I in no way endorse procrastination and then giving up on assignments- it's only as a last resort. Trust me, when 80% of your mark comes from one midterm and a final, you do not want to get in the habit of passing up homework marks. That will kill you in university.
So the core of the issue is time management, I've found. There's a bunch of different things that work for a bunch of different people, and it's rarely something that will work if a school or parent forces it on you. Mess around and experiment, but there are some important things to keep in mind while figuring out what works for you.
1) Ask your friends for ideas. Chances are they're your friends because of shared interests, meaning that you'll likely have similar hobbies for breaks. Find out what works for them, and see if it would work for you. Even study groups with a bunch of like-minded peers are a great way to minimize slacking and maximize productivity.
2) Schedules. I personally hate them, because I tend to switch between several things a lot, but even a list of things to do before a certain date on your desk or whatever can be a reminder.
3) Account for breaks and keep more time available than you think you'll need. If you need longer, no problem. If you finish early, even better.
4) Get in the habit now. Not just for budgeting your time, but also studying. It's pretty much a requirement in post-secondary, and you do not want to learn how to study effectively while simultaneously trying to avoid failing six courses.
5) Finally, if you're having a lot of trouble sticking to it, there's a lot of apps (on Chrome, anyway, but I'd assume Firefox at least would too) that can help in a lot of different ways, from creating schedules to forcibly denying access to sites during "homework times". I haven't looked too much into them, but they exist.* Asking other people to constantly remind you can also work, if someone keeps pestering me to do something I'm more inclined to get it done with so they shut up about it. :p
I hate working on weekends, so I make a point to always be done my work Friday night at the latest. Anyone who joins chat can probably see me on it, but I'm only actually paying attention to it a small fraction of the time, the rest is spent with homework or other things. I find this allows me to keep up with what's going on, while keeping it from being distracting when I'm trying to concentrate. Typically I get out of class anywhere in the range of 4-7, so I usually do something fun for an hour or so after getting out, because taking notes for hours straight isn't fun at all, and then spend an average of 2-4 hours a night working. I'm taking five classes currently, at one assignment per class per week, that's one assignment finished per week night. After that I just chill for the rest of the evening, knowing that I don't need to worry about finishing anything before sleeping. The crucial point in my system is flexibility, if I feel super motivated on Monday and do an extra assignment, then that's another evening I have free.
tl;dr: Time management is important, but so are breaks. Don't burn out trying to do all your work at once, it's not worth it. Try out different things to see what works for you, and then get in the habit early, because it's a ♥♥♥♥♥ to sort out once you start failing.
*Edit, googled a few and found some. At the moment this one seems like the best.
The key thing to remember is that breaks are important too. Sure, there's deadlines and projects to be finished, and they're all important, but a 15 minute break is often enough to distract you from the stress and let you return to work feeling more optimistic and energized (and often finish faster) than if you had just slaved over it for hours on end. I'm guilty of not handing in assignments too, because the effort required to finish them just isn't worth it- often it would require textbook referencing, looking up material online, simple practice problems, and lots of trial and error. It's much better to take a break, then finish something you know how to do/have the capability to do than waste all your time struggling to understand an assignment and accomplish nothing at all.
Note that proper time management would have ensured enough time to do everything, and that I in no way endorse procrastination and then giving up on assignments- it's only as a last resort. Trust me, when 80% of your mark comes from one midterm and a final, you do not want to get in the habit of passing up homework marks. That will kill you in university.
So the core of the issue is time management, I've found. There's a bunch of different things that work for a bunch of different people, and it's rarely something that will work if a school or parent forces it on you. Mess around and experiment, but there are some important things to keep in mind while figuring out what works for you.
1) Ask your friends for ideas. Chances are they're your friends because of shared interests, meaning that you'll likely have similar hobbies for breaks. Find out what works for them, and see if it would work for you. Even study groups with a bunch of like-minded peers are a great way to minimize slacking and maximize productivity.
2) Schedules. I personally hate them, because I tend to switch between several things a lot, but even a list of things to do before a certain date on your desk or whatever can be a reminder.
3) Account for breaks and keep more time available than you think you'll need. If you need longer, no problem. If you finish early, even better.
4) Get in the habit now. Not just for budgeting your time, but also studying. It's pretty much a requirement in post-secondary, and you do not want to learn how to study effectively while simultaneously trying to avoid failing six courses.
5) Finally, if you're having a lot of trouble sticking to it, there's a lot of apps (on Chrome, anyway, but I'd assume Firefox at least would too) that can help in a lot of different ways, from creating schedules to forcibly denying access to sites during "homework times". I haven't looked too much into them, but they exist.* Asking other people to constantly remind you can also work, if someone keeps pestering me to do something I'm more inclined to get it done with so they shut up about it. :p
I hate working on weekends, so I make a point to always be done my work Friday night at the latest. Anyone who joins chat can probably see me on it, but I'm only actually paying attention to it a small fraction of the time, the rest is spent with homework or other things. I find this allows me to keep up with what's going on, while keeping it from being distracting when I'm trying to concentrate. Typically I get out of class anywhere in the range of 4-7, so I usually do something fun for an hour or so after getting out, because taking notes for hours straight isn't fun at all, and then spend an average of 2-4 hours a night working. I'm taking five classes currently, at one assignment per class per week, that's one assignment finished per week night. After that I just chill for the rest of the evening, knowing that I don't need to worry about finishing anything before sleeping. The crucial point in my system is flexibility, if I feel super motivated on Monday and do an extra assignment, then that's another evening I have free.
tl;dr: Time management is important, but so are breaks. Don't burn out trying to do all your work at once, it's not worth it. Try out different things to see what works for you, and then get in the habit early, because it's a ♥♥♥♥♥ to sort out once you start failing.
*Edit, googled a few and found some. At the moment this one seems like the best.
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Re: Addiction Problems
by CrazyMario » January 28th, 2013, 10:10 pm
Just around a year ago I was basically that. Until my crappy exam results hit me,so I thought about stopping,but extremes don't work on me.So I just cut down on some and managed my time quite well(but not that well anyway >_>) and it worked.
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Re: Addiction Problems
by Bomberman101 » January 28th, 2013, 10:36 pm
I keep a daily schedule seperating my schoolwork and other stuff. To me that prevents me from worrying about hw and stuff.
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Re: Addiction Problems
by lordpat » January 29th, 2013, 2:33 am
Well, Ven, my system is different.
If I take breaks, I usually really get into it and cannot leave it. So I usually do two things:
a)in case the assigment or such is fairly easy, I usually do it while I am distracting. This means that there are not actual breaks or work-time. They are kinda mixed. This works surprisingly well for me. I was able to read countless of texts, and make many reports and such. Of course, if they are not too hard.
b) in the case the assigment or such is fairly difficult or much more time consuming, then I must do the work with very short breaks in the middle. In those breaks I am not allowed to have fun really, just chillax, have something to drink or such. Then I can get back to work. It is a pain, but it is the only method I've got really.
It is not better, it just seems to be the kind of way that works the best for me. Maybe you should try something else and see if it works, Nin. I am sure you will find something.
If I take breaks, I usually really get into it and cannot leave it. So I usually do two things:
a)in case the assigment or such is fairly easy, I usually do it while I am distracting. This means that there are not actual breaks or work-time. They are kinda mixed. This works surprisingly well for me. I was able to read countless of texts, and make many reports and such. Of course, if they are not too hard.
b) in the case the assigment or such is fairly difficult or much more time consuming, then I must do the work with very short breaks in the middle. In those breaks I am not allowed to have fun really, just chillax, have something to drink or such. Then I can get back to work. It is a pain, but it is the only method I've got really.
It is not better, it just seems to be the kind of way that works the best for me. Maybe you should try something else and see if it works, Nin. I am sure you will find something.
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Re: Addiction Problems
Thumbs up x1
by ~MP3 Amplifier~ » January 31st, 2013, 7:51 am
I've always called the computer my addiction. And not ashamed to either. 
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Re: Addiction Problems
by nin10mode » May 19th, 2013, 11:37 pm
It's been awhile, but this is still a problem in this new semester. I think I may have found the resolution I need to start getting this under control though.
Just a few minutes ago, I had a talk with my parents. I have confirmation that we truly are parallels of each other. I told them my true views, and they tried to tell me just how wrong they thought I was. I would go into more depth, but that's for another story.
Basically, I'm going to prove them wrong, by managing all of this online business while still maintaining grades and doing my own chores. I'm no longer under their false cushion of comfort, which is actually good. I work better towards a goal. Hopefully, they don't act normally for awhile, else I'll be sucked back into my habits.
Just a few minutes ago, I had a talk with my parents. I have confirmation that we truly are parallels of each other. I told them my true views, and they tried to tell me just how wrong they thought I was. I would go into more depth, but that's for another story.
Basically, I'm going to prove them wrong, by managing all of this online business while still maintaining grades and doing my own chores. I'm no longer under their false cushion of comfort, which is actually good. I work better towards a goal. Hopefully, they don't act normally for awhile, else I'll be sucked back into my habits.
-
nin10mode - Immune to Death
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