I am an addict. I will freely admit it. I am addicted to my computer.
I didn't mean to be, it just sort of happened. Just like I don't mean to be a procrastinator, it just sort of happens every time. And I think the two are related.
See, I have this tendency to do just one more thing. Just one more round of whatever Facebook game I'm playing. Just one more small thing on Minecraft. Then I'll get off and do my homework. Or my laundry. Or clean up my room. Or going to bed or whatever else I should be doing instead of playing on the computer.
The problem is that I forget. "Just one more thing," but by the time I finish that thing, I've gotten caught up in the game again and go start doing another one more thing before I can remember to get off. "Oh well, I'll just finish this, and THEN I'll get off." Right.
Or if I don't forget, I'm just stubborn. I didn't get the score I wanted in that round of Bejeweled, so I'll play another round. I'm sure I'll get a better score, and I'll get off feeling better about myself than I would if I got off now. Darn it, I got a lousy score again. Just one more round. One more minute-long round won't cut into my study time too much. (This, BTW, is why I'm often running late or just barely on time in the mornings. One more five-minute snooze cycle won't cut into my time to get around too badly, right?)
The result is that I never get off, and I'm almost always doing my papers and studying at the last minute, instead of getting them done ahead of time and relaxing the last few days. I never have time to hang out with my friends. I see them at meals and in class, and that's about it. And I never have time for my hobbies and projects anymore (including one that should have been done for an event two months ago and still isn't). I'm so busy procrastinating on my homework that I never have time to do anything but procrastinate and do homework.
Ironically, as I've been thinking over the past couple of days about making this my post for this week, I've done a lot better. Go figure. These are some of the things that seem to be working for me so far:
1. Just don't click on it. Whatever "it" is, whether the Minecraft icon on my desktop or the link to the Facebook game, just don't click on it. It can wait until after my homework is done and I've done some with my projects. The hard part with this one is that having audio input (ie music) helps me focus on my homework, and having something going on (music or a video or something) helps me not get bored working on the minute details of my projects. This, I think, might be a symptom of my addiction, that I feel the need to have constant input no matter what I'm doing. But when I pull up Youtube to get to my music, there's all these cool looking videos vying for my attention, and most of them are things that look really interesting, since they're related to things that I've looked at before. And looking at "just one" leads to lots of similar cool-looking videos (which I suppose should lead me back to "just don't click").
2. Just turn it off. I am learning to just make myself turn it off, no matter where I am. Granted, this is usually after five or so times of "just one more," but it's better than the ten or more it was taking before.
3. Get the off-computer stuff done before you turn on the computer. There's this wonderful invention called a book. Most of my assignments this semester involve reading them. If I start with my papers, I get distracted on the computer and never get to my papers, much less my reading. But if I start with my reading, that's one thing out of the way, and I'm already in the studying mindset when I turn the computer on, which makes it easier to not turn on the games.
4. Don't let your breaks involve the computer. Taking a break from studying is good every once in awhile. It helps your brain be more productive. But if taking a 15 minute break turns into playing two hours of Minecraft, your productivity is nil. Read a story (just don't let it turn into "one more chapter". On second thoughts, stories might be a bad idea. :) ). Go for a walk. Play the piano. Blitz-clean your room. Just don't spend hours playing when you still have homework.
I'm not saying that playing on the computer is bad, it's just very, very distracting. My goal for this semester is to stop letting myself get distracted, and only allow myself to play when I actually have time to do so, and only for a reasonable amount of time.
Here's to self-discipline!
I didn't mean to be, it just sort of happened. Just like I don't mean to be a procrastinator, it just sort of happens every time. And I think the two are related.
See, I have this tendency to do just one more thing. Just one more round of whatever Facebook game I'm playing. Just one more small thing on Minecraft. Then I'll get off and do my homework. Or my laundry. Or clean up my room. Or going to bed or whatever else I should be doing instead of playing on the computer.
The problem is that I forget. "Just one more thing," but by the time I finish that thing, I've gotten caught up in the game again and go start doing another one more thing before I can remember to get off. "Oh well, I'll just finish this, and THEN I'll get off." Right.
Or if I don't forget, I'm just stubborn. I didn't get the score I wanted in that round of Bejeweled, so I'll play another round. I'm sure I'll get a better score, and I'll get off feeling better about myself than I would if I got off now. Darn it, I got a lousy score again. Just one more round. One more minute-long round won't cut into my study time too much. (This, BTW, is why I'm often running late or just barely on time in the mornings. One more five-minute snooze cycle won't cut into my time to get around too badly, right?)
The result is that I never get off, and I'm almost always doing my papers and studying at the last minute, instead of getting them done ahead of time and relaxing the last few days. I never have time to hang out with my friends. I see them at meals and in class, and that's about it. And I never have time for my hobbies and projects anymore (including one that should have been done for an event two months ago and still isn't). I'm so busy procrastinating on my homework that I never have time to do anything but procrastinate and do homework.
Ironically, as I've been thinking over the past couple of days about making this my post for this week, I've done a lot better. Go figure. These are some of the things that seem to be working for me so far:
1. Just don't click on it. Whatever "it" is, whether the Minecraft icon on my desktop or the link to the Facebook game, just don't click on it. It can wait until after my homework is done and I've done some with my projects. The hard part with this one is that having audio input (ie music) helps me focus on my homework, and having something going on (music or a video or something) helps me not get bored working on the minute details of my projects. This, I think, might be a symptom of my addiction, that I feel the need to have constant input no matter what I'm doing. But when I pull up Youtube to get to my music, there's all these cool looking videos vying for my attention, and most of them are things that look really interesting, since they're related to things that I've looked at before. And looking at "just one" leads to lots of similar cool-looking videos (which I suppose should lead me back to "just don't click").
2. Just turn it off. I am learning to just make myself turn it off, no matter where I am. Granted, this is usually after five or so times of "just one more," but it's better than the ten or more it was taking before.
3. Get the off-computer stuff done before you turn on the computer. There's this wonderful invention called a book. Most of my assignments this semester involve reading them. If I start with my papers, I get distracted on the computer and never get to my papers, much less my reading. But if I start with my reading, that's one thing out of the way, and I'm already in the studying mindset when I turn the computer on, which makes it easier to not turn on the games.
4. Don't let your breaks involve the computer. Taking a break from studying is good every once in awhile. It helps your brain be more productive. But if taking a 15 minute break turns into playing two hours of Minecraft, your productivity is nil. Read a story (just don't let it turn into "one more chapter". On second thoughts, stories might be a bad idea. :) ). Go for a walk. Play the piano. Blitz-clean your room. Just don't spend hours playing when you still have homework.
I'm not saying that playing on the computer is bad, it's just very, very distracting. My goal for this semester is to stop letting myself get distracted, and only allow myself to play when I actually have time to do so, and only for a reasonable amount of time.
Here's to self-discipline!