getting college essays etc done

LegacyUser

In my final year of college and have about 25 000 words of stuff including my undergrad thesis and three essays due in about a month and I'm really starting to feel I won't get it gone. Some days it gets me down so much get I just feel like walking out of my course.

In the first three years of my course, I was just relaxed and didn't particularly care... and it worked out really well... but this year I care more than I ever did before, have a conditionnal offer for a postgrad course over in England, but just can't seem to get anything written and with every day passing, it's getting worse.

(my thesis supervisor isn't any help btw). I browsed the usual books on time management and all that, and so far hasn't really helped me.

any ideas.

Miss Fluff

If you look at all assignments as a collective it is bound to be daunting. However that 25,000 words is not one assignment, set yourself small goals and start on one of the essays this evening. Have you done the reading? Aim for a gentle start of 750 words or whatever, as soon as you are proactive and are actually doing something, it will all come together (wasting time on time management books won't help either). Also, you should only be on Boards as a reward for completing a set number of chapters etc Good luck, once you start you will feel a lot better.

chuci

hear hear, final year sucks im meant to be currently typing up my lit review for my research proposal but here i am perusing the internet for a distraction. i just need a good kick up the backside. i know how you feel about just walking out but your nearly finished think about june when the exams are over and you will have your mitts on a coll degree/ba/cert and you can just chill out for the summer. its hard to get motivated alright though. i would maybe go to the moduel leader say you cant think of anything for your thesis they will offer you suggestions. my research tutor isnt much help either which makes me really lazy because they are not pushing me to work to my full ability.
hope it helps that there are plenty of people in the same boat

arbeitsscheuer

Yeah, I'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm doing an MA, but how much I'm actually 'doing' is negligible. I just can't seem to help my procrastination and aversion to making any sort of progress on my thesis, essays or even registration for my courses!

What you say here is the crux for me:

collegestuff wrote:

In the first three years of my course, I was just relaxed and didn't particularly care... and it worked out really well... but this year I care more than I ever did before, have a conditionnal offer for a postgrad course over in England, but just can't seem to get anything written and with every day passing, it's getting worse.

See, it was the same for me too, and what I reckon is this; when you don't care as much, you're much less anxious about the work, and it weighs less heavily on your mind. Thus, you aren't afraid of the work, cos you're pretty apathetic about it, and getting it done seems pretty simple.

Maybe I'm not making any sense... Just trying to rationalise my own lethargy!

All in all, Miss Fluff's advice is pretty sound. Break the mass of work into smaller pieces, and get into the rhythm of only going on boards/bebo, or out with friends, once you have achieved something substantial in your studies each day.

hunnymonster

Can you get a different supervisor or at least ahve a useful conversation with another member of your department? Most of us academics are approachable.

As mentioned above, break the work into smaller chunks and get started. Say have a friend read over something next weekend, that way you have to get it written by then.


Counselling services at most uni's offer writing skills courses. It might be worth looking into these?

Caliden

Cut yourself off from the internet, turn off the mobile phone. Don't try watching tv and type on your laptop at the same time.
Just lock yourself in your room and you will have no other choice but to do it

togster

Caliden wrote:

Cut yourself off from the internet, turn off the mobile phone. Don't try watching tv and type on your laptop at the same time.
Just lock yourself in your room and you will have no other choice but to do it

Yeah this is good advice. Just focus for a while on small amounts and you will soon see a big difference in how you feel towards it all. Good luck!:)

Dudess

Yeah, I've been there. In fact, exactly the same - three essays and my dissertation due in a month's time. But I got it done. It meant a good deal of sleep deprivation and an awful lot of caffeine, but it got done, and I got on well. You'll get it done all right. You just have to be tough on yourself for the next four/five weeks. When you think about it, that's not much of a hardship. Think about it: you can get a good essay done in a couple of days - once you're able to give it your undivided attention and aren't distracted by other things. I wouldn't be an advocate of the "start an essay at 8am and hand it in at 5pm" approach. You need to give yourself at least two days. So that's six days for essays, over three weeks for the dissertation (roughly). It seems like nothing but it's actually worth a good deal when you use it wisely. Sometimes cramming is the only way, because the time pressure gives you the red-hot fork up the arse you need.

Best of luck anyway...