How much do you slack off?

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Tegan05

Tegan05

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I admit it, I am terrible about procrastinating. It is always the same game too... the beginning of the semester I keep up with class, read the book and study every day, and after the first test, my work ethic starts to decline, and by the last test (this time of year!) it's pretty bad.

My grades are always fine and consistently good through the semester, because I eventually end up buckling down and studying, but it just gets harder and harder to motivate myself sometimes!

This week is an example. I have a test Wednesday and two hard tests on Friday. Not to mention my regular class schedule, 2 labs, 4 exam review sessions, and daily time fit in for my horse.
What have I spent the last hour doing? Watching Dexter of course. 🙄

Does anyone else get like this or am I just lazy? This is one of the reasons I am considering applying to schools with the quarter system, I think shorter classes will do me good!
 
You could have been describing me. I am so motivated at the start of the year, then it slowly declines until the end when I just want everything to be over with. I keep organized and do well in all my classes so this system works for me (so far). I find I need pressure to focus and get things accomplished.
 
Tegan05 said:
What have I spent the last hour doing? Watching Dexter of course.
Click to expand...
Just dexter?

That's nothing..
I spend every monday watching Dexter, Walking Dead, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, and Bored to Death 😀

Sincerely yours,
A+ student 😉
 
Let's see right now:

- Watching College Basketball
- Drinking a beer
- Casually working over prelab
- Posting on SDN

That's still pretty productive 🙂 Work smarter, not necessarily harder.
 
*raises hand*

I'm a slacker. I got through my undergrad degree and all of school before that on BS and not much else, with honors tyvm. I've had to revise my style since getting into my pre-reqs, but honestly I'm STILL a slacker. And I will almost always prioritize things like going to the barn or watching a cool surgery over studying.

I work with a girl who is in nursing school. She is one of those super hardcore schedulers who plots out how many hours she's going to study and then ACTUALLY DOES IT.

Currently: Just finished an exam, got home, ate my weight in pasta, and am now watching more Top Gear, which is kind of what I always do.
 
World's Biggest Slacker, at your service.
 
I have a histo exam tomorrow another one on Thursday, a take home immunology final due next week and a still yet to be assigned Coagulation exam assignment due all in the next 10-11 days....

Sitting at Starbucks and surfing the internet. bad deb. bad bad heylodeb....
 
I consider myself to be one of the world's best procrastinators. I never did anything early, all of my studying/homework was done the night before in UG. I did the lab report for a semester-long microbiology lab the night before it was due (it was 20 pages long; AND I got over 100% on it; which confuses me because I BS'ed my way through it).

Oh well, it is my style and has always worked for me (I did my best work under pressure), but I am sure once vet school rolls around I will have to straighten up a bit. 😛
 
My Dev Bio final is tomorrow. It's worth 50% of my grade in a 6 credit course. I'm posting on SDN.

'Nuff said.
 
Its easier for me to count the number of hours of actual studying than it is for me to count the number of hours I slack off....

And my procrastination has really been biting me in the ass the past few weeks. Trying to be good tonight even though next exam isn't until Friday. (four whole days of studying vs my usual two will hopefully help....)
 
I am usually pretty excited about starting the new semester. But, about half way through I get burned out. Right now I would give $1,000.00 to not have to set through another algebra class lol. I always wait until the last minute to write papers, usually about 2-3 days before it is due. I have a 7 page paper due on fescue toxicity and a 3 page paper due on animal welfare at the first of next week and haven't even started yet. I can't get motivated to write much more than 48 hours beforehand.
 
cowgirla said:
Its easier for me to count the number of hours of actual studying than it is for me to count the number of hours I slack off....
Click to expand...

same here. and the longer my posts on sdn are, the more pressing the actual studying really is.

if i'm productively procrastinating by watching tv or spending time with friends or whatever, i'm not at my computer. so essentially, i'm only at my computer when i'm trying to do work... so sdn is very very bad. i'll just start blabbering about things i don't even care about just so i can get out of doing work. that usually continues until 4 hrs before the exam...
 
Well, all I can say is that I WISH I could be a slacker and get away with still doing well when I'm in student mode (right now I'm not in school...graduated in 2006). You all are very lucky (and smart I guess, too) to be able to slack and get good grades. I have to work my butt off. Most of the time I go through a whole semester without watching any TV at all! But really...isn't that the goal...to be able to still do well with as little effort as possible? This way you can really have that ideal balance of work and free time which keeps you from burning out and makes your life happy. I wish I didn't have to put in so much effort to do well. Hats off to all of you (lucky dogs!)
 
Bisbee said:
But really...isn't that the goal...to be able to still do well with as little effort as possible?
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It depends on your definition of "do well" ..
If "do well" just refers to getting good grades, then no that is absolutely not the goal.
Somebody might put in one fifth of the time studying as you, and then get better grades than you.
However the dynamics of memory are such that the person who worked their ass off all term for the lesser grade will likely retain more information in the long term. And as long as the person with the lower grade isn't stressing themselves to the edge, they might also benefit through character strengths like patience, commitment, prudence, greater attention span, etc.

I would trade off some of my intelligence for a better work ethic in a second 😎
 
In retrospect, I shouldn't have saved the urogenital system for last. Now I'm so punchy and caffeinated that I can't help but giggle every time I see the word "testes." 😉
 
Ha I am a total tv addict (following 13 current series right now) so school sometimes has to wait until I've watched my shows for the week (especially during premiere/finale time when the really good episodes air)...

I procrastinated a lot more in undergrad though because I could afford to since I had lots of time to study. Now that I'm not finished classes until 5:30pm each day (and by the time I eat dinner, shower etc it's at least 6:30-7pm), I can't really afford to slack off as much. Still have time to watch 1 or 2 tv shows everyday though 😉.
 
I am not in class right now.

I just think it's funny that vet students who sit in class and worry about class all the time and study a lot ding themselves so much for being "slackers" for doing a little bit of anything that isn't studying. Yall don't even know.
 
Well, I'm on SDN instead of paying attention in physiology right now, if that tells you anything. 😉

I get good grades for the most part (er, the past few years, anyway), but I'm really a terrible student. Procrastinate, cram, somehow pull off an A is my m.o. I don't recommend it, and I hope I can break the bad habits before vet school.
 
I am with Bisbee on this one. Super jealous of the slackers!! I have to study like no other for good grades, which means giving up some great TV, happy hours, trips and pretty much anything else that might include fun. I saw so many people in undergrad do all the fun stuff, then pull A's out of who knows where. Kills me!! But, I do believe that when you self-professed slackers get to vet school, your smarts will allow you to have a much healthier life balance than someone like me who lacks the cram-the-night-before-and-still-get-an-A capabilities. Just make sure you fill me in on all the Dexters and football games that I'll be missing!
 
The people above may say/be slackers at any given time, but I can tell you that if you look up the definition of slacker in the dictionary, my picture and full name are underneath the pronunciation.

I make slacking off look like child's play. I'm in no way proud of this (often shameful), because it makes me a horrible student, but I just cannot seem to get out of the rut I'm in. This year, I almost never go to class, and simply study the notes for tests, and just sort of pass. That's all that really matters to me at this point.

I think it's because this year is so incredibly tiring and boring and monotonous without any reward whatsoever. It's like not as "stressful" for me as last year was but its almost worse because it's just "blah"... like a drop of water dripping on you... at first its not that annoying but after so long it starts to wear you down and drive you crazy. That's how this year has become, and thus my transition from fair student into reclusive procrastinator/slacker extraordinaire.
 
Guilty here as well... I also seem to function, or rather, focus better under pressure.
 
Maddiegirl said:
Guilty here as well... I also seem to function, or rather, focus better under pressure.
Click to expand...

Exactly, it's like I can't buckle down unless I have uselessly whittled away my study time to a sub-optimum, borderline risky, amount of time to prepare. Attempting to study amply ahead of time results in me just screwing around as usual til the cycle comes full circle and I am panicked and rushed to cram.
 
I am a slacker. It has come back to bite me on more than on occasion. That is why I am not in vet school yet.
 
libster06 said:
Exactly, it's like I can't buckle down unless I have uselessly whittled away my study time to a sub-optimum, borderline risky, amount of time to prepare. Attempting to study amply ahead of time results in me just screwing around as usual til the cycle comes full circle and I am panicked and rushed to cram.
Click to expand...

I'm the same way. I try to study and get things done ahead of time, but then I just end up wasting time because I think "oh, I have plenty of time to get this done!" If it's say, the night before an exam, I am much more motivated. :laugh:
 
I've found the proper balance between slacking and productivity, and that is multiple monitors. TV show on one, note card creator on the other.

I can now slack more efficiently so that I have more time for procrastination later.
 
HopefulAg said:
I've found the proper balance between slacking and productivity, and that is multiple monitors. TV show on one, note card creator on the other.

I can now slack more efficiently so that I have more time for procrastination later.
Click to expand...

Me too! Currently have House playing on 1 monitor and organizing my histo notes on the other.
 
skittles12 said:
I'm the same way. I try to study and get things done ahead of time, but then I just end up wasting time because I think "oh, I have plenty of time to get this done!" If it's say, the night before an exam, I am much more motivated. :laugh:
Click to expand...
I have a slightly different problem. When I try to study ahead of time, I inevitable have plans that are way too ambitious, don't get to finish what I am trying to accomplish, so end up wasting the time.

My solution was to not bother, and just spend the time doing something less productive so at least I have a life. Then just cram near the end.

My other problem, which may be related to health, was that I basically couldn't remember anything I studied more than a week before an exam.

Kind of frustrating to work hard for no positive result, so why bother?
 
HopefulAg said:
I've found the proper balance between slacking and productivity, and that is multiple monitors. TV show on one, note card creator on the other.

I can now slack more efficiently so that I have more time for procrastination later.
Click to expand...


👍 Tablet pc for school work, giant laptop for movies, FB/SDN/Pinterest/VIN/Craigslist and other time-consuming useless websites. OR. one laptop for school, one laptop for FB, and the TV on with movies running. Only downside is that then I have to get up every 2 hours to change the DVD :laugh:
 
I am loving the dual monitor idea!!

What note card program are you all using? Sounds like something that might be beneficial.

Like someone said earlier, I always start the semester fired up and ready to go...after I ace the first test, my work ethic slides to the bare minimum and by the time the second test rolls around it usually bites me in the rear forcing me to buckle down again.

I am starting o-chem in the spring and think there will be nothing but studying. I'm a little nervous about this class. Any tips for survival much appreciated!
 
A depressingly accurate illustration of your time-management skills:

4ec154338db6e.jpg
 
Maddiegirl said:
I am loving the dual monitor idea!!

What note card program are you all using? Sounds like something that might be beneficial.

Like someone said earlier, I always start the semester fired up and ready to go...after I ace the first test, my work ethic slides to the bare minimum and by the time the second test rolls around it usually bites me in the rear forcing me to buckle down again.

I am starting o-chem in the spring and think there will be nothing but studying. I'm a little nervous about this class. Any tips for survival much appreciated!
Click to expand...


I use flashcardexchange.com
I type most of my flashcards into excel or google spreadsheets, then upload them. You can also make them right on the website and use audio/images. Flashcards will then download to your iphone for studying on the go....something I'm rarely motivated to do.
 
I don't consider taking a "mental break" from studying for a few minutes to do something like post on SDN, check facebook, get a snack, or run an errand, slacking. I consider my roommate a slacker. She barely studies or attends class and goofs around on the internet all day but still manages to do reasonably well. If I don't study for at least a few days in advance, I consider that slacking. But, then again, I was raised by a German mother.
 
Glad I'm not the only one! It's 8:30 and I have about another hour left of studying for animal science, then I have to watch a 4 hour orgo review, gross! Then I have a test at 7 am tomorrow, even worse!

This is a horrible habit to have, and I should really know better being in the medical field, but one of the best things to get me into studying mode is lighting up the hookah and chain smoking while drinking coffee and studying! Bad bad bad 😳

I'm just planning on ingesting huge amounts of coffee the next few days and losing large amounts of sleep. Then I have an IHSA show this weekend, but next week I am going to crash!
 
My toenails are so long, they could be considered lethal weapons. Now that is slacking.
 
I use Quizlet and love it. It even has matching games and stuff to play with your own flash card set. Oh and yeah I have been slacking on and off all night when I should have just studied for 3 hours straight for my exam tomorrow.




cowgirla said:
I use flashcardexchange.com
I type most of my flashcards into excel or google spreadsheets, then upload them. You can also make them right on the website and use audio/images. Flashcards will then download to your iphone for studying on the go....something I'm rarely motivated to do.
Click to expand...
 
psilovethomas said:
I don't consider taking a "mental break" from studying for a few minutes to do something like post on SDN, check facebook, get a snack, or run an errand, slacking.
Click to expand...

no no that's totally fine. what becomes a problem is when you go through all your emails, refresh sdn 15 times and realize that no one else is going to post, and then move onto facebook, and then read every interesting thread on vin, and then grab some food, check sdn some more, write a long post, then refresh sdn 15 more times, and then go back to facebook, then go to sidereel to look for any tv shows you might have missed, realized you've watched all the shows for the week, get all bummed out and end up watching something totally boring like 20/20 or something (all the while checking email every time something comes in the inbox). AND THEN realize that you've already wasted 4 hrs or so, and you really meant to take a nap before hardcore studying... but it's already 9 pm so you might as well go to sleep and wake up early. Of course that waking up early to do work never happens when classes start at 8.

And if I don't have more than a couple of important lectures in a day that I feel like I'd benefit from, I tend to rationalize to myself that perhaps I'd be much more efficient if I studied from home. But then... I end up repeating the above so it's a moot point anyway. I just can't get myself cranking until I'm close to hyperventilating with the study load I've left myself.

I did figure this out about myself pretty early on, so instead of trying to force myself to sit down and do work, I schedule other more productive things to do outside of school (e.g. jobs, clinical experience, research, etc...). That way, I'm pretty tight on time so I'm much more likely to get to business when I'm home.
 
libster06 said:
A depressingly accurate illustration of your time-management skills:

4ec154338db6e.jpg
Click to expand...
ZOMG libster06, me and my sister totally LOLed over this picture 😍 totally summarizes my life right now...chem lab report tomorrow and physics test thursday. what am i doing instead of studying? listening to pandora, facebook stalking, and drinking a mcdonald's mocha frappe :laugh:
 
HopefulAg said:
I've found the proper balance between slacking and productivity, and that is multiple monitors. TV show on one, note card creator on the other.

I can now slack more efficiently so that I have more time for procrastination later.
Click to expand...

I do this, but with one monitor. Half homework on the left, top right is excel sheet for homework, bottom right is an old simpsons episode I'm half watching. And of course SDN in the other tab. Wooh distractions. 🙂
 
I don't slack off more as the semester progresses but I do find that it becomes impossible to get ahead in anything, so rather than trying to keep up as you do in the beginning, you start to just cram for the very next exam and put off anything else that might be looming on the horizon. When you have weeks with 2 exams and multiple quizzes, it is impossible to studying anything else to "keep up". Basically I just get used to feeling behind and it bothers me less as the semester goes on. It's also easier to take a little more time for yourself once you have a few exams under your belt.

I'm in semesters and not quarters and the semesters definitely drag on a bit. I'm pretty tired of my classes now. I think first year will be like that more than other years (or at least I hope) since this is really the foundational courses. Only one exam this week and T minus three days until Thanksgiving! I'm counting the hours...
 
Minnerbelle said:
no no that's totally fine. what becomes a problem is when you go through all your emails, refresh sdn 15 times and realize that no one else is going to post, and then move onto facebook, and then read every interesting thread on vin, and then grab some food, check sdn some more, write a long post, then refresh sdn 15 more times, and then go back to facebook, then go to sidereel to look for any tv shows you might have missed, realized you've watched all the shows for the week, get all bummed out and end up watching something totally boring like 20/20 or something (all the while checking email every time something comes in the inbox). AND THEN realize that you've already wasted 4 hrs or so, and you really meant to take a nap before hardcore studying... but it's already 9 pm so you might as well go to sleep and wake up early. Of course that waking up early to do work never happens when classes start at 8.

And if I don't have more than a couple of important lectures in a day that I feel like I'd benefit from, I tend to rationalize to myself that perhaps I'd be much more efficient if I studied from home. But then... I end up repeating the above so it's a moot point anyway. I just can't get myself cranking until I'm close to hyperventilating with the study load I've left myself.
Click to expand...

You read me like a book
 
Minnerbelle said:
no no that's totally fine. what becomes a problem is when you go through all your emails, refresh sdn 15 times and realize that no one else is going to post, and then move onto facebook, and then read every interesting thread on vin, and then grab some food, check sdn some more, write a long post, then refresh sdn 15 more times, and then go back to facebook, then go to sidereel to look for any tv shows you might have missed, realized you've watched all the shows for the week, get all bummed out and end up watching something totally boring like 20/20 or something (all the while checking email every time something comes in the inbox). AND THEN realize that you've already wasted 4 hrs or so, and you really meant to take a nap before hardcore studying... but it's already 9 pm so you might as well go to sleep and wake up early. Of course that waking up early to do work never happens when classes start at 8.
Click to expand...
holy crap minnerbelle, i totally do the same thing - doing it right now as we speak (type?). SO NOT GOOD.
 
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