We all do it. We all let our minds drift from our thesis when we shouldn’t. We have our eyes dutifully glued to our books / data / computers, when suddenly it seems super-critical to check the weather. Then, of course, we need a cup of coffee to help us concentrate, and then gee, that sink could use a scrub, and before you know it several hours have gone down the immaculately clean drain.
Don’t even talk to me about the internet. Sure, it’s great for research, but it’s also great for videos of sneezing baby pandas. What hope does a twenty-first century researcher have for staying focused? In my case: next to none. I’m an extremely proficient procrastinator. My house is spotless, my knowledge of internet memes is first-rate, and my thesis isn’t done.
I haven’t quite made my peace with procrastination, but we’re in a bit of a truce at the moment.
I’ve been making an effort to procrastinate academically. It’s a strange concept – I’m still (deliciously) wasting time, but in a way that’s actually useful. I’ve wiped out all my usual procrastinatory* web bookmarks and set up new, somewhat justifiable ones. For instance, when my mouse drifts over to the Firefox button, I’m no longer going to Facebook.** But often, I’m going to PhD comics for a postgrad-relevant laugh. Or Arts & Letters Daily, for an update on the latest articles of note in the humanities. Or Liz Lemon, PhD for 30 Rock gifs that address the foibles of postgraduate life.
And if I’m not at my computer, I can still producticrastinate* by doodling caricatures of theorists, or sketching graphs that chart my own dying reluctance to tackle a tough reading. I may, or may not, have scripted an entire short film in which noted gender theorist Judith Butler and father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud enter into an increasingly silly battle fought with words, lightsabers, and rubber chickens.
These brief distractions don’t directly help me with my thesis. But they do help me to immerse myself into the world of academia, to see the funny side of research, and to absorb concepts through light-heartedness that I might not grasp through more serious study. They also refresh me. Once I’ve scripted Freud’s surreal, poultry-aided demise, I find his writings somehow much less intimidating.
So hit me up in the comments: what kinds of academic procrastination have you discovered? Aside from, obviously, commenting on a thesis blog?
*Not a word, but should be.
**That’s a bit of a lie, but I go there less.
excellent way of summing up how we procrastinate when it’s clear that we have an assignment, dissertation/thesis chapter or even a presentation to write.
I tend to clean and cook as a substitute to writing….. that’s why I throw myself into the surroundings of the library – to find the motivation to ‘get back to it’!! Be interesting to see how others feel as well!
Excellent expression of real life experience of a novice researcher indeed. Personally, I too tend to distract from writing by cooking, shopping or even social networking. However, to overcome this hindrance, sometimes I attempt to watch educational or motivational clips, relevant for my research on YouTube. I found it a very helpful to overcome any regrets of unproductive distractions.
Writers’ retreats too provide the perfect atmosphere to keep focus in writing. No distractions and no escape from writing
Thank you Anaise. That’s a great ‘procrasti-read’. I do all of what every body here said they are doing. I have even educated my kids on the word ‘procrasti-cooking’ – they enjoy the outcome while I face the consequence! I also practice my unacademic writing (in case I lose the skill by the time I graduate) by off-loading my thoughts on a blog:
http://phdpicnic.wordpress.com
Cooking seems to be a common choice of procrastination activity. Buy hey, if we can finish our qualifications with a new ability to make perfect pancakes, then I say let’s do it!
Interesting topic and very well written.
Well for me it would be cooking, cleaning or going for a walk. But when I am not doing any of these, I would watch clips of BGT on youtube… over and over and over again 🙂 silly me!
Your idea of PhD comics is a great one, I’ll definitely try it. Hope I don’t end up writing an assignment on PhD comics rather than the actual topic. 😛