How to motivate or force an ADD student to self-study?
April 26, 2011 9:50 PM Subscribe
I'm a college student with pretty serious ADD who's doing an Independent Study contract in a sink-or-swim situation on a topic I love and am motivated to research. However, I can't actually bring myself to start to do it seriously, and have wasted nearly half the quarter. Stress is mounting, time is nigh, my ability to follow my own schedules near-zero so far. How do I salvage this?
I'm getting so stressed, and so close to 'no going back, can't do it anymore stage' it's ridiculous. It's the 5th week and at the end of this week I'm supposed to have an outline for my thesis paper done. I haven't even gotten through one of my readings yet.
If I go 100% full-steam ahead, I can probably do it (mostly), if I just kill myself for the second half of this quarter, but I don't know how to put myself there. Stress *alone* doesn't keep me going long enough. It gets me through last-minute pushes that last a week or so. In creative writing, it's stress + obsession that gets me through. Usually, once I really get going, I'll keep going out of sheer interest and burning fixation. I'm not at that point yet-- that's the post-35%-in point (or so).
It's not like this is anything new: anytime I've had an independent writing/reading project in a class setting, I always put it off till the absolute last second, spending weeks feeling awful and avoiding. I was supposed to break that cycle by doing this Independent Study project the whole quarter, but no dice.
1) I have a 'work space'. In fact I have 2-- desks available in the library and my own cubicle in the arts building, where I even got an electric kettle. I mean, I even decorated it.
1a) I have an abstract 'how to': I've been told on how to break up my time (3 hour reading blocks, 2 hour rest, or 4 hours morning and 4 hours evening). I know about the theory of scheduling, and I've scheduled out my quarter (I've just ignored it). At this point, my schedule is one of my stressors,and it's not making me feel 'with it' but the opposite, as with each day it's not 'what I have to do' and more 'what I know I haven't done', and it keeps adding up.
2) I'm very motivated, fascinated by the material, good at research, think it's fun, etc. Unfortunately, this manifests as constant self-nagging which leads to feelings of pressure and therefore stress --> avoidance --> more stress --> more avoidance... But normally I just tell myself 'later'.
2a) I mean to do it. I always 'mean' to do it. But because I don't 'have' to, I don't. Like... when I set my alarm clock to say, 8:30am and I have a class at 9am, I wake up (barely on time, but I wake up). If I set my alarm clock to 8:30am and I know I'm the only one demanding I wake up... I wake up and then (sleepily) tell myself 'just a few more minutes' and go back to sleep. It's not a question of more alarms, because I can desensitize myself or sensitize myself depending on my subconscious knowing 'the real deal'. I don't know how to fix it.
3) I do have ADD, and delayed-release Ritalin I haven't been taking lately, partly 'cause it doesn't have the omg-burn effect of immediate-release and doesn't force me to do things anyway, or keep me awake. That was sort of the point, but because it's relatively mild, I don't get the 'need' to take it on the same visceral level (I've been misusing the fast-release Ritalin to cram and forgetting the rest of the time, even though I do have strong ADD... which is why I switched... but I'm not using the mild version almost at all). Nor do I think it's 'the solution'. It's probably part of the solution, though. I mean, I've been forgetting about it.
4) I've been told to focus on what I want to learn/discover rather than what I 'need to read' in a dry fashion to motivate myself (like, 'oooh, Lucifer' to read Milton rather than '3 books of Paradise Lost tonight'). But I'm so easily distracted and go 'ooh' about much more brainless things so easily... ('ooh manga' + feel-good factor drowns out 'ooh Lucifer').
4a) I've been having one tutor meet with me weekly to discuss, though we're skipping this week, but it's not enough. I can't rely on my sponsoring professor 'cause she's busy this quarter. I can only rely on myself-- that was the point-- and 'myself' is falling down on the job.
5) There is probably no magic bullet except Ritalin + brute force. But telling myself that doesn't help (only adds to stress). What is 'brute force' when I can't even wake up if I tell myself I will? Maybe I can just bury my laptop somewhere, only carry my needed books and go blindly to the library first thing each day to either read or stare into space....
Gah. Help?
I'm getting so stressed, and so close to 'no going back, can't do it anymore stage' it's ridiculous. It's the 5th week and at the end of this week I'm supposed to have an outline for my thesis paper done. I haven't even gotten through one of my readings yet.
If I go 100% full-steam ahead, I can probably do it (mostly), if I just kill myself for the second half of this quarter, but I don't know how to put myself there. Stress *alone* doesn't keep me going long enough. It gets me through last-minute pushes that last a week or so. In creative writing, it's stress + obsession that gets me through. Usually, once I really get going, I'll keep going out of sheer interest and burning fixation. I'm not at that point yet-- that's the post-35%-in point (or so).
It's not like this is anything new: anytime I've had an independent writing/reading project in a class setting, I always put it off till the absolute last second, spending weeks feeling awful and avoiding. I was supposed to break that cycle by doing this Independent Study project the whole quarter, but no dice.
1) I have a 'work space'. In fact I have 2-- desks available in the library and my own cubicle in the arts building, where I even got an electric kettle. I mean, I even decorated it.
1a) I have an abstract 'how to': I've been told on how to break up my time (3 hour reading blocks, 2 hour rest, or 4 hours morning and 4 hours evening). I know about the theory of scheduling, and I've scheduled out my quarter (I've just ignored it). At this point, my schedule is one of my stressors,and it's not making me feel 'with it' but the opposite, as with each day it's not 'what I have to do' and more 'what I know I haven't done', and it keeps adding up.
2) I'm very motivated, fascinated by the material, good at research, think it's fun, etc. Unfortunately, this manifests as constant self-nagging which leads to feelings of pressure and therefore stress --> avoidance --> more stress --> more avoidance... But normally I just tell myself 'later'.
2a) I mean to do it. I always 'mean' to do it. But because I don't 'have' to, I don't. Like... when I set my alarm clock to say, 8:30am and I have a class at 9am, I wake up (barely on time, but I wake up). If I set my alarm clock to 8:30am and I know I'm the only one demanding I wake up... I wake up and then (sleepily) tell myself 'just a few more minutes' and go back to sleep. It's not a question of more alarms, because I can desensitize myself or sensitize myself depending on my subconscious knowing 'the real deal'. I don't know how to fix it.
3) I do have ADD, and delayed-release Ritalin I haven't been taking lately, partly 'cause it doesn't have the omg-burn effect of immediate-release and doesn't force me to do things anyway, or keep me awake. That was sort of the point, but because it's relatively mild, I don't get the 'need' to take it on the same visceral level (I've been misusing the fast-release Ritalin to cram and forgetting the rest of the time, even though I do have strong ADD... which is why I switched... but I'm not using the mild version almost at all). Nor do I think it's 'the solution'. It's probably part of the solution, though. I mean, I've been forgetting about it.
4) I've been told to focus on what I want to learn/discover rather than what I 'need to read' in a dry fashion to motivate myself (like, 'oooh, Lucifer' to read Milton rather than '3 books of Paradise Lost tonight'). But I'm so easily distracted and go 'ooh' about much more brainless things so easily... ('ooh manga' + feel-good factor drowns out 'ooh Lucifer').
4a) I've been having one tutor meet with me weekly to discuss, though we're skipping this week, but it's not enough. I can't rely on my sponsoring professor 'cause she's busy this quarter. I can only rely on myself-- that was the point-- and 'myself' is falling down on the job.
5) There is probably no magic bullet except Ritalin + brute force. But telling myself that doesn't help (only adds to stress). What is 'brute force' when I can't even wake up if I tell myself I will? Maybe I can just bury my laptop somewhere, only carry my needed books and go blindly to the library first thing each day to either read or stare into space....
Gah. Help?
Uninstall your internet browser and unplug the modem.
Break the work up into discrete chunks, and if they're still too intimidating, even more discrete chunks until you get down to "for twenty minutes I will do X", write it out, then do it for 20 minutes, then cross it off when you do it. Crossing off is key.
Committ to hand something - anything - in, no matter how bad.
Utilise your campus counsellors and/or study centre in helping you do this.
posted by smoke at 10:17 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Break the work up into discrete chunks, and if they're still too intimidating, even more discrete chunks until you get down to "for twenty minutes I will do X", write it out, then do it for 20 minutes, then cross it off when you do it. Crossing off is key.
Committ to hand something - anything - in, no matter how bad.
Utilise your campus counsellors and/or study centre in helping you do this.
posted by smoke at 10:17 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
How long did it take for you to type this post? You clearly have some dedication to something. Buckle down and get to it. Worrying about taking the first (late) step is getting you nowhere. Just take the step, then take another. Even if you stumble, just keep taking steps.
posted by santaliqueur at 10:30 PM on April 26, 2011
posted by santaliqueur at 10:30 PM on April 26, 2011
Who cares what happens to you?
The sympathy that you see
when you ask people that don't know you at all
is an artifact of basic human decency.
It's part of the social contract.
Think about failing.
Think about screwing up so bad
that it takes years to fix.
Think about never fully recovering from it,
achievement-wise.
Nobody is going to make you do it.
It's up to you.
posted by the Real Dan at 10:31 PM on April 26, 2011
The sympathy that you see
when you ask people that don't know you at all
is an artifact of basic human decency.
It's part of the social contract.
Think about failing.
Think about screwing up so bad
that it takes years to fix.
Think about never fully recovering from it,
achievement-wise.
Nobody is going to make you do it.
It's up to you.
posted by the Real Dan at 10:31 PM on April 26, 2011
Have you looked at your diet? I hate to give advice to someone in a crisis because it's difficult to know which way you'll sway the balance, but the only thing that has helped my attention problem is a major change to my diet. I omit all refined carbohydrates, but don't limit total carbohydrates i.e. I can eat all the carbs I want in the form of low glycemic vegetables--but no sugar, no grains, no legumes. The bulk of my calories tend to come from meat, eggs, and dairy.
Upon beginning this diet (after a four or five day withdrawal period) I just began magically to feel in control and stopped procrastinating. YMMV. If you're a vegetarian or vegan this may be difficult or impossible.
I'm just throwing this into the mix because it's made a tremendous difference in my life.
posted by sockpup at 10:43 PM on April 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Upon beginning this diet (after a four or five day withdrawal period) I just began magically to feel in control and stopped procrastinating. YMMV. If you're a vegetarian or vegan this may be difficult or impossible.
I'm just throwing this into the mix because it's made a tremendous difference in my life.
posted by sockpup at 10:43 PM on April 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
The most productive night of writing papers I ever had was when a friend and I got together and sat back-to-back at our computers and didn't talk to each other. Our backs were literally holding the other one up, so that made it harder to get up and do something else.
Thinking about doom and personal responsibility and Huge Issues will only paralyze and overwhelm you. Get a friend to come over and refuse to engage you in conversation other than gentle reminders to keep going. This isn't getting someone to do the work for you or make you do it, it's finding an external Jiminy Cricket to keep you on track. For those of us with ADD, our internal Jiminy Crickets are frequently distracted by something shiny in the next room; getting some auxiliary help in that department was probably the only thing that got me through college.
posted by corey flood at 10:48 PM on April 26, 2011
Thinking about doom and personal responsibility and Huge Issues will only paralyze and overwhelm you. Get a friend to come over and refuse to engage you in conversation other than gentle reminders to keep going. This isn't getting someone to do the work for you or make you do it, it's finding an external Jiminy Cricket to keep you on track. For those of us with ADD, our internal Jiminy Crickets are frequently distracted by something shiny in the next room; getting some auxiliary help in that department was probably the only thing that got me through college.
posted by corey flood at 10:48 PM on April 26, 2011
Try this TONIGHT.
Set a timer for 30 seconds. Work for 30 seconds, then read a page of manga. When you finish the page of manga, set the timer again for 30 seconds.
Very soon, you will start feeling like you actually want to increase the amount of time on your timer. Set it for 1 minute. Repeat.
You will get into a groove again and want to increase your timer. Increase it of increments of a minute or two at a time, max.
After an hour of this, get up and do something that feels physically refreshing, like exerting yourself physically or taking a shower.
I think if you train your brain like this to associate working with the IMMEDIATE rewards that you've trained it to be used to, you can work with your brain. And you can slowly train your brain to expect its rewards to be less and less immediate.
posted by Ashley801 at 10:58 PM on April 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
Set a timer for 30 seconds. Work for 30 seconds, then read a page of manga. When you finish the page of manga, set the timer again for 30 seconds.
Very soon, you will start feeling like you actually want to increase the amount of time on your timer. Set it for 1 minute. Repeat.
You will get into a groove again and want to increase your timer. Increase it of increments of a minute or two at a time, max.
After an hour of this, get up and do something that feels physically refreshing, like exerting yourself physically or taking a shower.
I think if you train your brain like this to associate working with the IMMEDIATE rewards that you've trained it to be used to, you can work with your brain. And you can slowly train your brain to expect its rewards to be less and less immediate.
posted by Ashley801 at 10:58 PM on April 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
(P.S. When I do this on myself, I use little chocolate drops. Use whatever makes your brain go 'oooh a treat!' I came up with this idea from reading dog training books.)
posted by Ashley801 at 11:01 PM on April 26, 2011
posted by Ashley801 at 11:01 PM on April 26, 2011
I hear ya. I don't have ADD, but I am a highly ambitious smart slacker. It brings along its own mess of nasty stress. Hence me being awake until at least 4am every night since Friday...So. Tired.
Anyway. What really helps me is to get my butt OUT of my house. I cannot work well if I'm at my desk at home. At least, not on the important things that I really need to get done. I love being home, so if I'm out and have to get something done, I can't go home until I've finished. And that makes me get it done.
Also, akin to what Ashley801 suggested, I'm going to suggest embarking upon the Pomodoro technique. There are no consequences, etc, but you simply set a timer for 25 minutes. You work for 25 minutes and after your 25 minutes are up, you get a 5 minute break to consume as much mindless whatever as you want. There's a great Chome Extension.
Also: Self-Control lets you create a blacklist of sites (as well as your mail servers) you know distract you and then completely disables you from getting to those sites for whatever time you set, without interfering in non-distracting sites. It's great because you literally CANNOT undo it once you set the timer.
I also find programs like OmniFocus, with its GTD flow really helpful for day-to-day planning, and Scrivener is absolutely amazing for paper-writing.
Best of luck to you! You can do it!!
posted by shesdeadimalive at 11:11 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Anyway. What really helps me is to get my butt OUT of my house. I cannot work well if I'm at my desk at home. At least, not on the important things that I really need to get done. I love being home, so if I'm out and have to get something done, I can't go home until I've finished. And that makes me get it done.
Also, akin to what Ashley801 suggested, I'm going to suggest embarking upon the Pomodoro technique. There are no consequences, etc, but you simply set a timer for 25 minutes. You work for 25 minutes and after your 25 minutes are up, you get a 5 minute break to consume as much mindless whatever as you want. There's a great Chome Extension.
Also: Self-Control lets you create a blacklist of sites (as well as your mail servers) you know distract you and then completely disables you from getting to those sites for whatever time you set, without interfering in non-distracting sites. It's great because you literally CANNOT undo it once you set the timer.
I also find programs like OmniFocus, with its GTD flow really helpful for day-to-day planning, and Scrivener is absolutely amazing for paper-writing.
Best of luck to you! You can do it!!
posted by shesdeadimalive at 11:11 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Heck, I got antsy reading your words! I think maybe you could use an adjustment in your meds.
posted by rhizome at 11:18 PM on April 26, 2011
posted by rhizome at 11:18 PM on April 26, 2011
Sadly, there is no magic bullet. That being said, here are two random things to think about:
• Maybe it would help to spend a little more energy approaching this from a medical/pharmacological perspective? You've been diagnosed and prescribed various medications that could help (not solve of course, but help) with this situation, but you haven't been taking it and/or it isn't helping in the way that you want. It's awesome that medication might be able to help you here, but it can't do anything for you if you don't take it or its not the right drug and/or dosage for you. Can you get in to see anyone who you can work with to come up with a new medication plan that can more effectively and reliably help?
Fortunately, the problem of forgetting to take your medication is the easiest to solve. We can help you come up with something specific, but for a lot of people, there's a good way to fit it into your morning routine to help jog your memory. Perhaps you can keep the bottle on top of something you use every morning or even ruberband it to your toothpaste or similar item. Or maybe set your cell phone alarm to go off every morning as an extra reminder to take your pill. I bet the doctor who prescribes your medication has some tips for this too.
• Fuck the schedule. Yes, that sounds counter-intuitive–I mean you're having trouble getting stuff done, so shouldn't you be making even more detailed and mandatory schedules?–, but, for me at least, that path is just a trap that exacerbates the problem. If you're like me, if you try to dig yourself out of a procrastination situation with schedules, you will just look at the overwhelming schedule, feel even more doomed, and decide you're too stressed to get anything done, thus worsening the problem in a vicious circle of viciousness.
What can help, at least for me, is to do the opposite and set your own expectations really low. Right now, you feel pretty crappy and stressed right? You're kicking yourself for getting into this mess? That's all ok, because you have no real expectations right now anyway. Acknowledge that you have minimal control over your own brain at the moment. It's all ok, because your only goal at the moment is to be alive 24 hours from now, and in that time, to read one sentence at random from somewhere within your reading. I told you we're setting the bar low here. Since there are no hungry saber-tooth tigers in your neck of the woods (should you reside in a region of the world where tigers do roam freely, kindly substitute a non-local predator of your choice here), we're going to kick that goal's ass. You might want to tell yourself that you have tons of other short and long term goals, but you're not going to do that because everyone deserves a one day vacation from their goals sometimes.
The key here is that you're turning the "I need to buckle down and get this done" mentality on its head. Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment and more stress if you get distracted, you're setting your goals so low that you're able to massively surpass them. And if you fail, you've fallen such a short distance that it's easy to pick yourself back up again. It might all feel futile; how does reading one sentence at random get you any closer to getting your project done? Just remember that right now, you essentially are at the starting point, so reading one sentence puts you infinitely closer to finishing. Might as well read a second sentence and you can stick a great big 200% in the "percent completed" column next to your goal. How often do you get to do twice as well as you planned on something anyway? From there, you can keep nudging the bar a little while still maintaining the theme of massively low expectations. Maybe tomorrow you'll try writing one note down about the reading. Tell yourself, "by the end of the semester, I will write a one sentence paper on my topic." Heck, actually open a Word document and type something vaguely resembling a crappy sentence that could be somewhere in the middle of your paper. Plenty of papers have been written from the inside out. Once you've crossed that off the list, you can promise to yourself that you'll write a one paragraph paper that your 2nd grade self would be embarrassed to turn in. Keep it up, and eventually you'll reach that 35% (or so) point and fixation can take over.
Finally, a bonus thing to think about: it might feel like you're the only person in the universe who could screw this up so badly, but that is far from the truth. In reality, I can think of dozens and dozens of folks from my own (quite recent) college career, all of them super smart and talented, who could have written pretty much exactly the same post at one point or another. Furthermore, your point 2) has got to be shared by basically everyone at your college; I heard some minor variation on that point from basically everyone when the topic came up. Heck, I know plenty of really successful people who often fall into the very same trap you describe. There's no moral failing here. Let me say that again; nothing about this situation involves any kind of moral failure on your part. The goal here is to better understand how your brain works and how you can best use it to accomplish certain tasks.
P.S. Showing off my own scatter-shot tendencies here, I bring you an extra bonus thought: social forces can be a really powerful tool to help with this. Can you study alongside a friend or two? You can even just say "hey I'm having a really hard time focusing and have got to get this done, so don't let me get distracted." This can backfire if you're with the wrong people, but I've found that the social pressure of "ok we're all going to sit here and get through this reading and not get distracted" can be really useful. You don't all have to be doing the same type of work at all either. Picture you and two friends all working quietly in the living room/common room/library space/middle of the quad/whatever you have. All you have is your reading, highlighter and notecards, and you've left your computer and similar diversions elsewhere. In that situation, it is a lot harder for you to do anything besides your work because of the social pressure to focus.
posted by zachlipton at 11:54 PM on April 26, 2011 [10 favorites]
• Maybe it would help to spend a little more energy approaching this from a medical/pharmacological perspective? You've been diagnosed and prescribed various medications that could help (not solve of course, but help) with this situation, but you haven't been taking it and/or it isn't helping in the way that you want. It's awesome that medication might be able to help you here, but it can't do anything for you if you don't take it or its not the right drug and/or dosage for you. Can you get in to see anyone who you can work with to come up with a new medication plan that can more effectively and reliably help?
Fortunately, the problem of forgetting to take your medication is the easiest to solve. We can help you come up with something specific, but for a lot of people, there's a good way to fit it into your morning routine to help jog your memory. Perhaps you can keep the bottle on top of something you use every morning or even ruberband it to your toothpaste or similar item. Or maybe set your cell phone alarm to go off every morning as an extra reminder to take your pill. I bet the doctor who prescribes your medication has some tips for this too.
• Fuck the schedule. Yes, that sounds counter-intuitive–I mean you're having trouble getting stuff done, so shouldn't you be making even more detailed and mandatory schedules?–, but, for me at least, that path is just a trap that exacerbates the problem. If you're like me, if you try to dig yourself out of a procrastination situation with schedules, you will just look at the overwhelming schedule, feel even more doomed, and decide you're too stressed to get anything done, thus worsening the problem in a vicious circle of viciousness.
What can help, at least for me, is to do the opposite and set your own expectations really low. Right now, you feel pretty crappy and stressed right? You're kicking yourself for getting into this mess? That's all ok, because you have no real expectations right now anyway. Acknowledge that you have minimal control over your own brain at the moment. It's all ok, because your only goal at the moment is to be alive 24 hours from now, and in that time, to read one sentence at random from somewhere within your reading. I told you we're setting the bar low here. Since there are no hungry saber-tooth tigers in your neck of the woods (should you reside in a region of the world where tigers do roam freely, kindly substitute a non-local predator of your choice here), we're going to kick that goal's ass. You might want to tell yourself that you have tons of other short and long term goals, but you're not going to do that because everyone deserves a one day vacation from their goals sometimes.
The key here is that you're turning the "I need to buckle down and get this done" mentality on its head. Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment and more stress if you get distracted, you're setting your goals so low that you're able to massively surpass them. And if you fail, you've fallen such a short distance that it's easy to pick yourself back up again. It might all feel futile; how does reading one sentence at random get you any closer to getting your project done? Just remember that right now, you essentially are at the starting point, so reading one sentence puts you infinitely closer to finishing. Might as well read a second sentence and you can stick a great big 200% in the "percent completed" column next to your goal. How often do you get to do twice as well as you planned on something anyway? From there, you can keep nudging the bar a little while still maintaining the theme of massively low expectations. Maybe tomorrow you'll try writing one note down about the reading. Tell yourself, "by the end of the semester, I will write a one sentence paper on my topic." Heck, actually open a Word document and type something vaguely resembling a crappy sentence that could be somewhere in the middle of your paper. Plenty of papers have been written from the inside out. Once you've crossed that off the list, you can promise to yourself that you'll write a one paragraph paper that your 2nd grade self would be embarrassed to turn in. Keep it up, and eventually you'll reach that 35% (or so) point and fixation can take over.
Finally, a bonus thing to think about: it might feel like you're the only person in the universe who could screw this up so badly, but that is far from the truth. In reality, I can think of dozens and dozens of folks from my own (quite recent) college career, all of them super smart and talented, who could have written pretty much exactly the same post at one point or another. Furthermore, your point 2) has got to be shared by basically everyone at your college; I heard some minor variation on that point from basically everyone when the topic came up. Heck, I know plenty of really successful people who often fall into the very same trap you describe. There's no moral failing here. Let me say that again; nothing about this situation involves any kind of moral failure on your part. The goal here is to better understand how your brain works and how you can best use it to accomplish certain tasks.
P.S. Showing off my own scatter-shot tendencies here, I bring you an extra bonus thought: social forces can be a really powerful tool to help with this. Can you study alongside a friend or two? You can even just say "hey I'm having a really hard time focusing and have got to get this done, so don't let me get distracted." This can backfire if you're with the wrong people, but I've found that the social pressure of "ok we're all going to sit here and get through this reading and not get distracted" can be really useful. You don't all have to be doing the same type of work at all either. Picture you and two friends all working quietly in the living room/common room/library space/middle of the quad/whatever you have. All you have is your reading, highlighter and notecards, and you've left your computer and similar diversions elsewhere. In that situation, it is a lot harder for you to do anything besides your work because of the social pressure to focus.
posted by zachlipton at 11:54 PM on April 26, 2011 [10 favorites]
Don't think "It has so much potential, I must do it in the perfect awesome way the topic deserves" and don't think "I can't get it done unless I'm going at full intensity every waking hour" -- both of those are another excuse not to sit down and do ten solid minutes right now.
You need to do it to 80% of good. There is enough time to do this, working at a human pace.
To do this, you need to sit down and work on it, solidly, each day. You can make yourself do that. Resolve to do that much and follow through.
Other good tricks:
-study buddy (do you know someone else doing a thesis? get together for 2 hours each day in a good study space)
-hired enforcer (you've got one tutor, could you hire another? could you hire a fellow student to just say 'meet me in the library at 8 and sit there while I work for an hour, I'll pay you $15' or whatever.)
-short term accountability to your advisor. Explain you've had a hard time getting traction and you'd like to send her updates twice a week, which you don't need feedback on necessarily but just as a way of keeping yourself accountable.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:55 PM on April 26, 2011
You need to do it to 80% of good. There is enough time to do this, working at a human pace.
To do this, you need to sit down and work on it, solidly, each day. You can make yourself do that. Resolve to do that much and follow through.
Other good tricks:
-study buddy (do you know someone else doing a thesis? get together for 2 hours each day in a good study space)
-hired enforcer (you've got one tutor, could you hire another? could you hire a fellow student to just say 'meet me in the library at 8 and sit there while I work for an hour, I'll pay you $15' or whatever.)
-short term accountability to your advisor. Explain you've had a hard time getting traction and you'd like to send her updates twice a week, which you don't need feedback on necessarily but just as a way of keeping yourself accountable.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:55 PM on April 26, 2011
I do NOT strive in those types of open-ended situations either until the last week, or day, or hours...So, create that situation now. Draft an email to your sponsor/prof to have a meeting to go over your outline NEXT WEEK. Just write it and send it. Just do it. You don't have the outline. However, this will get the ball rolling -- you thrive on pressure, so give yourself a bit of pressure and you will produce the outline, and then you will start filling it out, and it will get easier from there. But just send that email -- it's like daring yourself. You may not even hear back from the Prof, or they may postpone the meeting, but you will give yourself a scary deadline now that isn't quite as scary as the end of the semester.
If for some reason you can't produce under even that pressure, then go into that meeting and discuss your problems with the Professor. There is still time, and it may be very helpful.
Another method is to not worry about doing the perfect project -- start at some point that you CAN do. Perhaps the first paragraph intimidates you -- type up your biblio, type up the quotes you might use, type up one paragraph describing one small part of the overall project. It can sometimes work like a seed that the project grows around -- it may take you in a different direction, it may just be the spark you need, but either way it will get the ball rolling.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 12:02 AM on April 27, 2011
If for some reason you can't produce under even that pressure, then go into that meeting and discuss your problems with the Professor. There is still time, and it may be very helpful.
Another method is to not worry about doing the perfect project -- start at some point that you CAN do. Perhaps the first paragraph intimidates you -- type up your biblio, type up the quotes you might use, type up one paragraph describing one small part of the overall project. It can sometimes work like a seed that the project grows around -- it may take you in a different direction, it may just be the spark you need, but either way it will get the ball rolling.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 12:02 AM on April 27, 2011
If you were about to run a marathon but had a sore leg and a limp, and you had medicine to help the sore leg and limp, and came on to Metafilter to ask us for marathon-running strategies, we'd all say ... "Take your medicine!"
You have a diagnosed mental illness. It is as real as a physical ailment, even though you can't see it. You have medicine that has been prescribed to help you with your illness. It's not a miracle cure: it's not gonna make you do your work. But it's gonna make doing your work so so much easier.
My only guess is that you are waiting for the high stimulation real crisis / panic to set in and banking on that to get you through your paper. I say get up tomorrow morning, take your medicine, unplug the internet, and get down to work. Yeah, you'll still have to work hard. But you can do this. Just make sure to use all the tools at your disposable.
(And if you're forgetting your medicine: toss it in your backpack. If you forget it at home, you'll still have it with you.)
Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 12:23 AM on April 27, 2011
You have a diagnosed mental illness. It is as real as a physical ailment, even though you can't see it. You have medicine that has been prescribed to help you with your illness. It's not a miracle cure: it's not gonna make you do your work. But it's gonna make doing your work so so much easier.
My only guess is that you are waiting for the high stimulation real crisis / panic to set in and banking on that to get you through your paper. I say get up tomorrow morning, take your medicine, unplug the internet, and get down to work. Yeah, you'll still have to work hard. But you can do this. Just make sure to use all the tools at your disposable.
(And if you're forgetting your medicine: toss it in your backpack. If you forget it at home, you'll still have it with you.)
Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 12:23 AM on April 27, 2011
"I do have ADD, and delayed-release Ritalin I haven't been taking lately"
I'm extremely nearsighted, and I have glasses, but I don't wear them, why does everything look all big and fuzzy and over there?
TAKE YOUR MEDS
posted by tel3path at 12:26 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm extremely nearsighted, and I have glasses, but I don't wear them, why does everything look all big and fuzzy and over there?
TAKE YOUR MEDS
posted by tel3path at 12:26 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Get off the internet. ADD or not you're an adult and you have to get out of bed and do the work, no-one's going to do it for you. Get off the internet. Do a logical plan then write a first draft on that basic framework as quickly as possible. Get off the internet. It's much easier to edit something which already exists, no matter how rough or inadequate, than it is to start on a blank new page. Get off the internet. The work comes first, everything else - manga, friends, everything and anything - comes after you've done the work. Get off the internet. Work is ten hours a day, not two and a half. Get off the internet. It takes less energy to get stuck into the work than it does to sit around worrying about what you haven't done yet. Get off the internet. Forget about stress. Stress is watching your baby die, not writing a paper for school. Get off the internet. You can't cruise on potential any longer, either do the school work or get a job. Get off the internet. The internet? Get off it.
posted by joannemullen at 1:37 AM on April 27, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by joannemullen at 1:37 AM on April 27, 2011 [4 favorites]
In addition to seconding most of the advice given above, I have to ask: what do you mean the professor is too "busy"? I've directed multiple independent studies at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and while there's certainly room to negotiate the amount of face-to-face contact, I'd get a royal hiding if I completely left students to their own devices. (An independent study is independent of the curriculum; it's not independent of the faculty.) I'd suggest politely telling the instructor that you need more hands-on direction.
posted by thomas j wise at 4:31 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by thomas j wise at 4:31 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
The regular curriculum, that is.
posted by thomas j wise at 4:31 AM on April 27, 2011
posted by thomas j wise at 4:31 AM on April 27, 2011
Is there a research component to your project? Then despite the fact that you've been told to read whatever you want, you really, really need a bibliography. A good one. Make a list of all the books you'll need (this list will grow as you go along and see other things cited). Then attack each book/article and take notes, writing down page numbers anytime you see anything relevant. I'm serious about that-- the ideal situation is reading the book once, quickly, and then not having to open it again when you're writing except to double-check when you're quoting or paraphrasing. The lazy (but still effective) way to do this is to use the index like you're SEOing: read every single page given for your topic, and then every single page given for related topics or your original topic, worded slightly differently. If you're working with secondary sources, read their bibliographies to make sure you're not missing any major works. From here, things should be easier no matter what your writing strategy is, but here's what I do:
Once I know my sources, I like to physically (digitally?) arrange the quotations I'm going to use in a blank Word document, roughly following my original outline. Sometimes I end up needing to change my paper's structure at this point, but it's as easy as moving around blocks of quotation. Seeing the way the different sources engage with each other solidifies my argument, so that when I'm done, I know how my paper will look as a whole and writing is as simple as filling in the blanks.
THEN, I start writing, I tackle whichever part of the paper I feel like when I sit down at the computer. I try to set a target for each session, like 200 words or so. Then I put it away. Then I repeat the next day, until it's done.
This style of writing makes putting aside a couple of days for editing absolutely necessary, but it works.
posted by oinopaponton at 5:49 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Once I know my sources, I like to physically (digitally?) arrange the quotations I'm going to use in a blank Word document, roughly following my original outline. Sometimes I end up needing to change my paper's structure at this point, but it's as easy as moving around blocks of quotation. Seeing the way the different sources engage with each other solidifies my argument, so that when I'm done, I know how my paper will look as a whole and writing is as simple as filling in the blanks.
THEN, I start writing, I tackle whichever part of the paper I feel like when I sit down at the computer. I try to set a target for each session, like 200 words or so. Then I put it away. Then I repeat the next day, until it's done.
This style of writing makes putting aside a couple of days for editing absolutely necessary, but it works.
posted by oinopaponton at 5:49 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't have ADD, but I have depression and chronic illness, which also contributes to not getting things done on a schedule.
I've found only two things that work for me so far:
1) Having a particular place to work. This is the library. It is just nothing like being at home and it helps me focus. It makes a world of difference to actually *go somewhere* to do my work, even though it's inconvenient. It also means I have more free time because when I'm productive it takes me less time to do stuff!
2) Stop focusing on fucking up when I fuck up. This just stresses me out and makes me want to avoid the situation, which results in, I don't know, five hours of playing the Sims rather than actually catching up. It's kind of like what people say about eating healthily--if you eat a whole cake, there are two responses: to obsess over eating the cake, which can result in you just saying "fuck it" and eating more cake, or to just pick up where you left off.
Instead of focusing on how I've fucked up, I focus on what I can do now. I have two hours, so I might not be able to finish such-and-such assignment, but I can make headway on it. Things like that. The little bits of progress really do add up fast, even though when you're looking at the whole picture it seems impossible.
This doesn't always work but it helps me a little.
(Basically, what I'm saying boils down to "stop stressing about what you haven't done and do what you can. You'll end up doing more than you think is possible.")
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:29 AM on April 27, 2011
I've found only two things that work for me so far:
1) Having a particular place to work. This is the library. It is just nothing like being at home and it helps me focus. It makes a world of difference to actually *go somewhere* to do my work, even though it's inconvenient. It also means I have more free time because when I'm productive it takes me less time to do stuff!
2) Stop focusing on fucking up when I fuck up. This just stresses me out and makes me want to avoid the situation, which results in, I don't know, five hours of playing the Sims rather than actually catching up. It's kind of like what people say about eating healthily--if you eat a whole cake, there are two responses: to obsess over eating the cake, which can result in you just saying "fuck it" and eating more cake, or to just pick up where you left off.
Instead of focusing on how I've fucked up, I focus on what I can do now. I have two hours, so I might not be able to finish such-and-such assignment, but I can make headway on it. Things like that. The little bits of progress really do add up fast, even though when you're looking at the whole picture it seems impossible.
This doesn't always work but it helps me a little.
(Basically, what I'm saying boils down to "stop stressing about what you haven't done and do what you can. You'll end up doing more than you think is possible.")
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:29 AM on April 27, 2011
1) Having a particular place to work.
I should add that "having a particular place to work" means an impersonal place, for me. If I had an office that wouldn't work--it would be my space, and I would fill it with distractions. A public computer lab, on the other hand, has much fewer distractions. Also, people give you the stink-eye if you're reading Metafilter while they're waiting for a computer.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:31 AM on April 27, 2011
I should add that "having a particular place to work" means an impersonal place, for me. If I had an office that wouldn't work--it would be my space, and I would fill it with distractions. A public computer lab, on the other hand, has much fewer distractions. Also, people give you the stink-eye if you're reading Metafilter while they're waiting for a computer.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:31 AM on April 27, 2011
Take your meds, if you have them. I tried to read a book called 'Eat that Frog' and I couldn't get through it, most likely because I have ADD. However he did say something that I tell myself and I've reworded it some but its along the lines of 'A fool who does one thing well will run circles around a genius who does nothing'. It was in the context of people around him who were getting promoted whom he felt he was definitely superior to.
I don't feel superior to anyone, but I have people around me who make significantly higher grades and do better than me and ask for my notes and assistance, and some of that comes from the fact I don't study at all, I just spend my time organizing notes and lie to myself its studying. When I actually 'focused' and studied I made top grade in every class, that really motivated me.
Get the book ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg and thumb through it. Also Hallowell writes good stuff, he has a new book about organizing your life but I don't know if its ADD oriented or not. His Delivered from Distraction is still a good read.
More over just sit down and study and go for it and do it in bursts, lots of short bursts is better than none.
posted by aorkis at 6:54 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't feel superior to anyone, but I have people around me who make significantly higher grades and do better than me and ask for my notes and assistance, and some of that comes from the fact I don't study at all, I just spend my time organizing notes and lie to myself its studying. When I actually 'focused' and studied I made top grade in every class, that really motivated me.
Get the book ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg and thumb through it. Also Hallowell writes good stuff, he has a new book about organizing your life but I don't know if its ADD oriented or not. His Delivered from Distraction is still a good read.
More over just sit down and study and go for it and do it in bursts, lots of short bursts is better than none.
posted by aorkis at 6:54 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, don't try to go to a 'secluded' area like a corner in the library or a carrel. This was murder for me; the silence was too distracting its much like trying to meditate.
posted by aorkis at 6:56 AM on April 27, 2011
posted by aorkis at 6:56 AM on April 27, 2011
I have ADD, and I am a Project Manager (lot's of deadlines and stuff I don't like doing)
YOUR ARE IN THE SWIRL!
The best way out:
1) Take the meds
2) Make a list of what you need to do - break it down for your self. Use a mind mapping tool to do this.
3) Print it out and post it where you can see it.
4) Pick one thing and see it through
5) When you finish it have a little ritual where you cross it off, reward yourself with some free time (use a timer with an alarm.)
6) Repeat steps 4 & 5 until you complete the project.
7) When you have turned in the project give yourself a bigger reward, something you really want. (A day of doing nothing, a trip, some frivilous thing your want to buy, what ever your thing is.)
posted by empty vessel at 7:32 AM on April 27, 2011
YOUR ARE IN THE SWIRL!
The best way out:
1) Take the meds
2) Make a list of what you need to do - break it down for your self. Use a mind mapping tool to do this.
3) Print it out and post it where you can see it.
4) Pick one thing and see it through
5) When you finish it have a little ritual where you cross it off, reward yourself with some free time (use a timer with an alarm.)
6) Repeat steps 4 & 5 until you complete the project.
7) When you have turned in the project give yourself a bigger reward, something you really want. (A day of doing nothing, a trip, some frivilous thing your want to buy, what ever your thing is.)
posted by empty vessel at 7:32 AM on April 27, 2011
What is 'brute force' when I can't even wake up if I tell myself I will?
Lots of good advice already but I wanted to address this specifically. I was, not so long ago, in a similar situation where I needed to get a lot of self-directed work done alone in order to avoid, like, failing out of college & losing my job. It was awful! I had exactly the same issue you describe--I knew I needed to have a set schedule, and I made lots of pretty ones, but when it came to actually getting up to do it I'd hit snooze a million times and by the time I had finally woken up I had already failed my first task of the day. It was extremely discouraging and meant that I started every day already deep in the anxiety cycle you describe in #2.
This is what I did to solve it: I put my coat and shoes right by the side of my bed, and every morning when the alarm went off I got up, threw my coat over my pyjamas, put on my shoes and went for a 20 minute walk--no makeup, no teeth brushing, no hair combing, just out the door the very first thing & wander any direction for 10 minutes, then turn around. My rule for myself was that when I got back, I could get back into bed if I was still tired (some days I did!) but I had to go for the walk. Now, I'm no morning person and I'm not terribly fond of exercise, so this was kind of a stretch for me. But I found that it did wonders--at the very least, I got to start the day with a clean slate, and it felt good to feel like I had at least done one thing I promised myself to do. You might find that the other tactics that folks have suggested are easier to implement when you're not waking up in a panic each day.
Oh, and look into LeechBlock.
posted by kelseyq at 9:30 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Lots of good advice already but I wanted to address this specifically. I was, not so long ago, in a similar situation where I needed to get a lot of self-directed work done alone in order to avoid, like, failing out of college & losing my job. It was awful! I had exactly the same issue you describe--I knew I needed to have a set schedule, and I made lots of pretty ones, but when it came to actually getting up to do it I'd hit snooze a million times and by the time I had finally woken up I had already failed my first task of the day. It was extremely discouraging and meant that I started every day already deep in the anxiety cycle you describe in #2.
This is what I did to solve it: I put my coat and shoes right by the side of my bed, and every morning when the alarm went off I got up, threw my coat over my pyjamas, put on my shoes and went for a 20 minute walk--no makeup, no teeth brushing, no hair combing, just out the door the very first thing & wander any direction for 10 minutes, then turn around. My rule for myself was that when I got back, I could get back into bed if I was still tired (some days I did!) but I had to go for the walk. Now, I'm no morning person and I'm not terribly fond of exercise, so this was kind of a stretch for me. But I found that it did wonders--at the very least, I got to start the day with a clean slate, and it felt good to feel like I had at least done one thing I promised myself to do. You might find that the other tactics that folks have suggested are easier to implement when you're not waking up in a panic each day.
Oh, and look into LeechBlock.
posted by kelseyq at 9:30 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
May I pass along to you the Half-Assed Effort method? Given to me by a wise Mefite in the past, it goes like this:
Commit to doing a half-assed effort at the task that is daunting you. Ta-dah! You've started!
Seriously. Right now, I'm putting off exercising... waitaminute... just did three pushups. Not my usual 20+, followed by other exercises. Just enough to force me off the "I haven't started yet" ledge.
The Half-Assed Effort won't always work. But sometimes it will, and every time it removes the onus of "I haven't even started yet." If starting is a big block for you, as it is for me, this method can help.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:33 AM on April 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
Commit to doing a half-assed effort at the task that is daunting you. Ta-dah! You've started!
Seriously. Right now, I'm putting off exercising... waitaminute... just did three pushups. Not my usual 20+, followed by other exercises. Just enough to force me off the "I haven't started yet" ledge.
The Half-Assed Effort won't always work. But sometimes it will, and every time it removes the onus of "I haven't even started yet." If starting is a big block for you, as it is for me, this method can help.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:33 AM on April 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
When I was in the exact same situation, what worked for me was a timer. I set it up a little differently than Ashley801-- I did a cycle with twelve minutes of work, then a three minute break (it's longer than it sounds). Four cycles an hour, then a ten minute break... repeat, repeat.
At first it was really freaking hard just to stay in my chair for 12 minutes. Stuff I told myself that helped me do it:
--It won't be any easier to get this done tomorrow (of tonight, or in an hour, etc.)
--My advisor has invested a lot of time in helping me do this and my parents have invested money for me to be here. I owe it to them to knuckle down.
--Feeling guilty and stressed about not getting things done is ultimately more painful than just doing them. Those are my choices, so I have to get this stuff done.
--I will feel so fucking good when I don't have this hanging over my head. I will reward myself with [x].
I also had the same problem you have with sleeping through alarm/ hitting the snooze button. I solved it by making breakfast dates with people (then I had more than just an obligation to myself to get out of bed) and by having a friend phone me in the mornings. He'd make me turn on the faucet while I was on the phone with him to prove I'd actually gotten out of bed.
Good luck!
posted by Sifleandollie at 10:45 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
At first it was really freaking hard just to stay in my chair for 12 minutes. Stuff I told myself that helped me do it:
--It won't be any easier to get this done tomorrow (of tonight, or in an hour, etc.)
--My advisor has invested a lot of time in helping me do this and my parents have invested money for me to be here. I owe it to them to knuckle down.
--Feeling guilty and stressed about not getting things done is ultimately more painful than just doing them. Those are my choices, so I have to get this stuff done.
--I will feel so fucking good when I don't have this hanging over my head. I will reward myself with [x].
I also had the same problem you have with sleeping through alarm/ hitting the snooze button. I solved it by making breakfast dates with people (then I had more than just an obligation to myself to get out of bed) and by having a friend phone me in the mornings. He'd make me turn on the faucet while I was on the phone with him to prove I'd actually gotten out of bed.
Good luck!
posted by Sifleandollie at 10:45 AM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
What helps me to remember to take my ADHD meds is a Google calendar alert that emails me every day at 9 AM inquiring if I've taken them yet.
And I know what you mean about not being able to sit down and do anything until the absolute last dead second! What helps me is a playlist on my iPhone that's nothing but ambient music - something about putting that on my headphones narrows my attention and keeps me from getting distracted. Also making the rest of the room dark except for the area right around my desk and computer, and forcing myself to close the window with my email in it. (I reward myself for getting a sentence or two down by allowing myself to check my email or look at one website.)
posted by telophase at 1:03 PM on April 27, 2011
And I know what you mean about not being able to sit down and do anything until the absolute last dead second! What helps me is a playlist on my iPhone that's nothing but ambient music - something about putting that on my headphones narrows my attention and keeps me from getting distracted. Also making the rest of the room dark except for the area right around my desk and computer, and forcing myself to close the window with my email in it. (I reward myself for getting a sentence or two down by allowing myself to check my email or look at one website.)
posted by telophase at 1:03 PM on April 27, 2011
Try working on it for just ten or 15 minutes out of each hour, starting right now. Keep working longer if you're on a roll.
But yeah, change of location might help too. And once you're getting stuff done, give yourself permission to do the manga and other fun reading and goofing off, so that you don't get into the cycle of goofing off and NOT EVEN ENJOYING IT because you're busy feeling guilty.
Good luck!
posted by wintersweet at 2:34 PM on April 27, 2011
But yeah, change of location might help too. And once you're getting stuff done, give yourself permission to do the manga and other fun reading and goofing off, so that you don't get into the cycle of goofing off and NOT EVEN ENJOYING IT because you're busy feeling guilty.
Good luck!
posted by wintersweet at 2:34 PM on April 27, 2011
By the way, I don't know if this mindset change will help since there's an actual ADD issue here and not just a personality thing, but something I read in Writing your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day helped me: The author pointed out that all of those unavoidable emergencies that come up at the last minute that prevent so many school procrastinators from finishing things in an unhurried, thorough fashion--unexpected illnesses, family issues, computer crashes, once-in-a-lifetime events, etc.--are pretty much avoidable. We had the power all along to prevent not the incidents themselves, but the fallout. If we make progress on the projects earlier, rather than later, we've taken the power of the unexpected derailments away (at least in terms of our school stuff). It probably seems obvious to most people, but it wasn't to me--I'd always blamed those things! Not MY fault! But changing how I thought about it helped me feel like I had more control, instead of less. (And this may not even be one of your issues--just mentioning it.)
posted by wintersweet at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by wintersweet at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
It helps me to have someone holding me accountable. Have the boss/professor hold you to a slightly flexible timeline. I can't get anything done if no one holds me to it.
posted by djpuddings at 6:46 PM on April 27, 2011
posted by djpuddings at 6:46 PM on April 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
What worked for me, was first admitting there was a problem (which you seem to be on top of). Then I made an arrangement with my supervisor where every Monday I would send him an itemized list of things I planned to get done that week. Then on Friday I would send him another email with what I had actually accomplished (and I made myself be honest). I don't think he every read the emails (only reply I ever got was "Looks great!" every week), but it forced me to plan and be accountable. And making the list in the first place really helps you to organize your thoughts, and you get the positive reinforcement as you check stuff off.
I think the same idea can work if you have a SO or parent or close friend that you can email; anyone who you don't want to disappoint. You could also make the schedule daily or every other day, or whatever works for you.
Hope that helps!
posted by auto-correct at 10:17 PM on April 26, 2011 [2 favorites]