Discipline? School work? ergh.

[Takushi Rena]

I JUST REALIZED WHAT DISCIPLINE IS. ...Well, not really. I know what discipline is. XD; I keep on saying that I have trouble focusing on my school work... then I remembered discipline. OH YEAH. THAT THING! :D Yeah, okies... to the point.

I suck at discipline or staying on task or focusing on what I'm doing right then and there or whatever. I always say that I'm busy. Truthfully... I am. Truthfully, I'm also not. "I'm going to make a to-do and schedule! I'll definitely stick to it! :D I mean, c'mon. I gotta write and draw and do soooo much stuff. How can I not stay on task? :3 ...but then there's youtube. yeah. youtubeeeeee. let's watch vocaloid music videos. *2 hours later* CRAP I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ON MY TO-DO LIST *SOB* ;___;" I suck at staying on task and it's affecting my school work. I like to look at tests and such and procrastinate. "...that question looks hard. LET'S DO IT LATER. *ignores*"

The only problem is... I'm not getting into the fall quarter at my college because of it. I might not even get into winter quarter partially because of it. (though that could be because of more than just because of my transcript)

I want to write and try to publish a book before I get to college. I need to finish three subjects in about a month. I REALLY gotta finish my fanfic before school starts...

And I'm watching videos on Youtube. :| Yes, they are shiny. Will watching them get my to-do list done? No. But as much as I tell myself to get working on the stuff I want to do... I just get distracted by other stuff. I think I'm on task but I'm not. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING RAWR. D:<

So. Anybody know how I can discipline myself to stay on task, stop procrastinating, stay on task in general... and not get so easily distracted? It's a lot, but that's what the problem is. I'm going to try to use the fact that Days is coming out and, if I finish my school work before then, THEN I GET TO PLAY IT WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT GEOMETRY HAHAHAHA yeah okay :|

Thanks in advance if you post! And especially if it actually is helpful and not RANDOM UNHELPFUL POST IS RANDOM AND UNHELPFUL. But thanks if you do post. xD;

[qster]

When your doing your schoolwork I reccomend instead of watching Youtube videos and doing other stuff while doing it, try these:
1. If it will be a while before you eat dinner or whatever, try having a light snack, like crackers and peanut butter, a sandwhich, or maybe some carrots or any other fruit or vegetable.
2. If you find it hard to stay focused, find some music to fit your mood.
What you are thinking- Song
I need to relax- YouTube - ? Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty End Credits Theme - Can't Say Good Bye to Yesterday
I need something upbeat and cheerful- YouTube - Spongebob Squarepants: Caramelldansen (Speedycake Remix)
I need something to rock out to- YouTube - The World Ends With You- Transformation (Full)
I need something serious and action packed- YouTube - MegaMan X Armored Armadillo - Cezar Batistão

3. The only disciplinary actions I can think of are you not having a good future because you couldn't finish your schoolwork. Other ones are:
Reduced Sleep
Lack of Meals [Because you are busy trying to finish it]
Loss of Extracurricullar Activities [They keep an eye on your grades too]
Loss of Sanity[Okay, that was a joke XD]

Hope these help!

[krexia]

You can't change your life overnight. If you wanted to start exercising, you wouldn't jump straight into visiting the gym twelve times a week. You could try, but you'd burn yourself out and give up on exercise entirely. The only way to make permanent changes is to get used to them gradually.

So rather than trying to turn your whole mentality around in a single step with to-do lists and schedules and colour-coded notes, start by trying to make small changes. Something like telling yourself that you'll watch no more than three videos at a time. Or that you'll solve at least five problems before you let yourself check Youtube. If you can't work for long periods of time, don't force yourself - maybe first of all aim to work and take breaks for equal amounts of time. Say ten minutes on geometry then ten on Youtube. Then try to go for fifteen of geometry and ten of Youtube, or ten of geometry and five of Youtube.

Whatever it is, it has to be something that you can force yourself to stick to.

[Pheonex]

I have the same problem sometimes when it comes to Youtube. But if I really want to focus, I just act like my computer's broken and I have nothing else to do but get my work done

[Du Soleil.]

I have the exact same problem. Like, right to the tee. I think a big part of it is a sort of dread feeling about school work, where I think, 'Eurgh, I actually have to do this.' And then I end up kidding myself I'll have time to do it later and then when 'later' comes, I tell myself I can do it in the morning, and when the morning comes, I tell myself I can just get away with lying to the teacher that I've done my work when really I haven't because I've been doing other shit, like wasting my time on the Internet and watching videos and talking on MSN and stuff. I made a to-do list, too, but guess what? It's still sat there and nothing has been done.

So what I think you really need to have before doing something, is motivation. Like, whatever motivates you, think about it. There're times when I'll feel motivated so I'll go do something I'm supposed to, and it feels great afterwards knowing I've done it and I don't have to do anything else and that I can just chillax. So set yourself up for some motivational thinking. Then, as you're working, put classical music on quietly in the background, since it's proven to stimulate your brain. But be warned you have to consider the BMP (beats per minute) and such. For example, baroque music such as Bach or Vivaldi slow movements, has a BMP of about 60, which is the rate at which the brain can retain information for the longest period. Classical music is also very calming and will help reduce the stress of the workload and can make the work quite enjoyable.

Those are just some tips. Keep yourself hydrated by drinking water. I hope this helps you.

[Euphoria]

Originally Posted by krexia

So rather than trying to turn your whole mentality around in a single step with to-do lists and schedules and colour-coded notes, start by trying to make small changes. Something like telling yourself that you'll watch no more than three videos at a time. Or that you'll solve at least five problems before you let yourself check Youtube. If you can't work for long periods of time, don't force yourself - maybe first of all aim to work and take breaks for equal amounts of time. Say ten minutes on geometry then ten on Youtube. Then try to go for fifteen of geometry and ten of Youtube, or ten of geometry and five of Youtube.

Originally Posted by sunofdiamonds

So what I think you really need to have before doing something, is motivation. Like, whatever motivates you, think about it. There're times when I'll feel motivated so I'll go do something I'm supposed to, and it feels great afterwards knowing I've done it and I don't have to do anything else and that I can just chillax. So set yourself up for some motivational thinking.

krexia and sunofdiamonds have pointed out the best ways to get yourself to do your school work, in my opinion.

I was in the same boat as you in my sophomore year of high school -- unmotivated, couldn't concentrate on a single thing, and spent my entire time online and figured I could wake up early the next morning to do my work. Rarely did that ever work out -- I was tired, I had none of my work and my grades were horrid. >: It got to the point to where I thought I had ADD and even got tested for it, but when I truly had no motivation or 'plan' to finish all my work.

It was suggested to me to take breaks when doing work; work for fifteen minutes, take a break for ten minutes, then get back to work for fifteen minutes and so on. It works so much better than just driving through all your work at once, you need give your mind a break every now and again. Also, as stated before, motivate yourself -- think about how much less work you'll have once you finish your assignment. These two things really helped me get back on my feet, seriously. xD

I hope everything works out for you, Rena~

[Du Soleil.]

Originally Posted by Euphoria

It got to the point to where I thought I had ADD and even got tested for it, but when I truly had no motivation or 'plan' to finish all my work.

Yeah, I had a similar experience. I was so distracted by smaller, trivial and much less important things such as stupid websites or computer games or television that I realised my general sense of concentration was deteriorating, and it got so bad that I couldn't look at text books or text in general because while my eyes were reading the words, my mind was completely oblivious and wasn't paying attention at all, and it was a bad thing because in exams, I would waste all my time just trying to piece together the sentences in front of me and work out their basic linguistic meaning that I had hardly any time to answer any of the questions. I was concerned about it so I requested a dyslexia test and thankfully the results were negative.

[Banishing Blade]

Sounds like turning off your computer would be a good start.

[Du Soleil.]

Originally Posted by Banishing Blade

Sounds like turning off your computer would be a good start.

Most people need the Internet for resources & extra research & such.

[Banishing Blade]

Then they can go to the library.

[Du Soleil.]

Originally Posted by Banishing Blade

Then they can go to the library.

Internet's easier.

[Stavvy]

You know, one time I had to write an essay for a class, but I couldn't sit down long enough to get anything out. I'd write, maybe one or two sentences, and then go check facebook or something and forget about the essay.

Eventually I just unplugged the ethernet cord from my computer and told myself that I wouldn't use the internet until I was done.

That seemed to work. So maybe lessen your distractions.

[Banishing Blade]

Originally Posted by sunofdiamonds

Internet's easier.

If that were true, this thread wouldn't exist.