Monthly Archives: April 2015

Wait, wait! I’m Still Procrastinating…

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A girl saying, "I have done nothing productive all day"

In my book, procrastination does not entirely deserve its heinous reputation. True, procrastination is in many ways about avoidance, hesitance, even abject fear. But I say it’s also about problem-solving. Not your best problem-solving strategy, but an attempt nonetheless. What good does it do? In the moment, you are spared the anticipated stress of doing your work. Unfortunately, procrastination produces other stresses, like feeling guilty about not doing your work, feeling rushed because you are left with less time to do your work, and ultimately the worst of all worlds: not doing your best work because you’ve run out of time and are preoccupied by remorse and regret.

So the question really is, if procrastination is a misguided attempt at solving a problem, what are other ways to solve that same problem? What solves the problem without yielding the aftertaste of guilt, regret, and stress?

First of all, let’s define what the problems are we’re trying to solve.

The Problems:

Feeling overwhelmed
There’s so much on my plate I don’t know where to start.

Rebellion
No parents – boo yah! I can do whatever I want with my time!
I don’t even really want to be a doctor/lawyer/engineer/anything-my-parents-want-me-to-be.

Head in the sand
I’ve put it off this long, what’s one more day?

Impulse control (lack of)
Ooh look! My roommate’s cousin’s boyfriend updated his facebook status!

Sabotage
If I wait until it’s too late to do good work, I can tell myself my poor performance is because I waited too long. Then I’ll never have to really find out if my best effort wasn’t good enough.

Low frustration tolerance
I CANNOT STAND HOW I FEEL WHEN IT ISN’T PERFECT.

Insecurity
What if I can’t do this work?
What if feel inadequate?
The last time I tried, I failed, and I might fail again.
What if I didn’t understand the lecture and there’s no way I can start the pset?
What if it takes too long?

The Solutions

Feeling overwhelmed
Parse your work. If you want to climb Everest, you gotta start from the bottom. One step at a time. First look at the paper prompt. Then look at your notes. Then organize your notes. Then refine your notes. Then develop your ideas. If necessary, intersperse rewards like donuts or naps in between each of these discreet tasks.

Rebellion
That’s right, you’re here for your education and no one else’s. So who is it really screwing if you don’t do your work? If you really want to rebel, tell your parents you want to be a veterinarian/philosopher/anthropologist instead of an engineer.

Head in the sand
Yes, it is nice and quiet down there. But since you’re not really shutting out the noise in your head reminding you that you know better, grab hold of a friend and get yourself back on track. Now is not the time to isolate. OK seriously, stop reading this blog now. Go get a friend to help you start your assignment.

Impulse control
When you have the impulse to check facebook, just pause for a moment, a moment, and consider this question: how did it work out for me the last time I procrastinated?

Sabotage
Take the risk of doing your best. Play out the whole imagined disaster. What’s the worst that can happen? Will lives be lost? See how your CS professor deals with finding out he’s not all that as a freshman at Stanford.

Insecurity
Know this: intelligence is malleable. It grows with effort and time on task. You will get better at learning the more you work at it. You’re not supposed to have nailed it yet.

And by the way, if you aren’t sure you’re procrastinating, ask yourself if you have ever said these things to yourself:

“I work best under pressure, so I’m waiting until I get that adrenaline surge at 3am the night before it’s due.”

“I don’t know how to start this p-set, so I’m waiting until I know how.”

“YOLO.” Closes books, begins partying.

“I waited until the last minute last time and it worked out okay, so why not this time?”

“Relax. The world won’t end if this doesn’t get done.”

“I always spend the first 4 hours staring at a blank screen. I might as well do something else for 4 hours and then just start writing after that.”

“If I work on this, I’ll miss out on…”

“Writing that other paper at the last minute — that was a fluke.”

“I’m burned out.”

“I’m reading The Duck Stops Here for the fourth time this week because it’s SO much more approachable than my physics homework.”

Yes, dear. You are procrastinating. Now it’s really time to stop reading this blog, and get to work.

As always, stay calm and stay tuned.

Proverbs for Spring

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A quote from Oprah saying "Where there is no struggle there is no strength."

A lot of wisdom has been shared this week with Oprah Winfrey having visited campus. We thought it best to follow suit and share some of our nuggets of knowledge as well.

Stressing won’t make it easier.

One cannot simply opt out of their biological clock.

Just because no one is saying it does not mean they are not thinking it.

All Stanford Diplomas are made with the same paper.

Success is in the eye of the beholder.

Relationships often have greater life span than grades.

Not doing the assignment will not make the assignment go away.

Sleep is essential.

The best way to approach failure is to face and embrace it.

applause from Oprah GIF

Staying Sane for Stanford Spring

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Ducks in a pond

By Guest Blogger Monica Ellwood Lowe

From the second I arrived at the Farm, I began to hear stories about the glory of Stanford Spring.

beach animated GIF

“Winter quarter sucks,” the all-knowing upperclassmen in my dorm would say, turning their lips up slyly, “but just wait til spring.” See, spring is when Stanford comes alive — social events pick up and the campus carries a palpable energy, radiating from sun-drenched courtyards and glistening metal bikes. Looking back, it is that energy that drew me to Stanford in the first place. “Everyone just looks so happy,” I remember telling my parents. Four years later, I have come to recognize those shiny, carefree exteriors for what they are (quack). But freshman year I was none the wiser, and I dove into spring without pausing to take a breath.

Here’s the truth about spring quarter: it’s not that glamorous. You’re coming off an all-too-
short spring break, not fully recovered from everything winter quarter threw your way, and you’re suddenly expected to match the energy around you. The constant events are exhilarating for a while, but then classes start to pick up and it’s hard (read: impossible) to juggle everything at once. But you don’t want people to think that you don’t have it all together, so on you push.

Ducks in a pondAt least, that’s how it was for me. I did everything I was supposed to do freshman year. I went out at night, I “did homework” outside during the day, and I skipped class to go to the beach whenever the weather in Santa Cruz exceeded 75 degrees. Social media was full of evidence that I was having the time of my life. And don’t get me wrong, it was great. But it wasn’t THAT great. I was exhausted every day, my grades slipped, and I ended up withdrawing from one of my classes — not because the content was too challenging, but because I couldn’t keep up with the biweekly assignments.

In the end, I think, it all comes down to this: we are made to believe that there is nothing better than spring quarter at Stanford. If we aren’t at every event radiating ease and joy, we think people will notice. But the reality is that nobody thinks about you more than you. You’re putting on a show that no one else is even watching.

Having fun is important. Having “fun” because you think that’s what you should be doing is stupid. So as spring quarter picks up (hi, Week 3) and you struggle to maintain a fun-school balance, ask yourself these three questions before you go to an event: Will it make you feel good in the moment? Will it make you feel good as you’re falling asleep at night? Will it make you feel good a week from now? If the answer to more than one of these questions is no, don’t. Do. It. You don’t want to miss out on Stanford spring, but I guarantee that you’ll look back and remember the way you felt ten times more than what you did. Spoiler: selling yourself short academically doesn’t feel good.

Tips for Productive Studying

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Good luck on studying

By Guest Blogger Valerie Chang

Its only week 2 of spring quarter and I know what you’re thinking…What!?! Midterms already!?! Many classes are having midterms as early as next week!  But these next few weeks don’t have to be all study and no fun.  Here are some tips to be more productive when reviewing all the material you have learned so far this quarter. So you can still enjoy the sun and blossoming flowers with friends this quarter.

Take Notes and Create an Outline

Before going deep into review of the material, glimpse over notes, the textbook, or slides for the class.  Humans are more likely to understand material if connections and the overall big pictures are made.  If all the material for the class is organized into sections, then everything comes together and you’re more likely to retain the information better.

Try Studying in Different Environments

According to a 1978 psychology experiment, changing environments makes the brain more alert since it’s not used to the new surroundings.  Thus, since the brain is more “awake” your mind is more focused, making studying more productive.

Don’t Leave that Last Bit of Studying for Later

A young person staring at a book and a caption that says "Finish Him!"You’ve been studying for a while now and have been really productive.  However, you just have one last chapter of that physics book to cover, but all of a sudden you don’t feel like doing it and think I’ll just comeback to it later. After all, I only have one chapter left.  Don’t do it!  Once you leave the studying environment it’s really hard to get back into the “studying mode” and you are more likely to postpone the studying since there is only a little bit of material left.  Thus, when that happens, the Zeigarnek effect (see week 2’s post during Winter Quarter about it) kicks in and you feel slightly apprehensive when taking a break and going out with friends. It’s best to just get that little bit of studying done out of the way right there to have a stress free night.

And Did You Know…

  1. Eating sushi, dark chocolate, nuts or berries increases memory and helps you The star from the movie 300 yells "Tonight we eat sushi"concentrate.
  2. Studies show exercise boosts memory and brain power.  So think about taking a relaxing 15 minute walk before study and/or an exam.
  3. Times New Roman is the fastest font to read.  So change a web article to Times New Roman if you’re short on time and want to read an article quickly.
  4. You’re 50% more likely to remember something if you read it out loud rather than reading it over and over again.

And remember… TAKE BREAKS WHEN STUDYING!