![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by QuietHeart on January 23, 2004, at 23:33:31
Dear all,
While this may sound like kind of a trivial problem, I have OCD and this is eating up my life right now, so I thought I would post. I have a paper due on January 30 for a grad school class. I haven't even really started it and I am PETRIFIED and end up surfing all day (see my response to tabitha's post) and I just feel so stupid like I can't complete this damn paper. It is taking over my life. If I don't do it this weekend, I will probably flunk. I need some major motivation right now because I am so depressed and unmotivated, and I am a perfectionist to boot, so procrastination is a big problem for me. Any suggestions/support on how to get motivated? Thanks guys!
Posted by Elle2021 on January 23, 2004, at 23:38:39
In reply to Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by QuietHeart on January 23, 2004, at 23:33:31
I have the same problem (procrastination, perfectionism, OCD). I think the motivation is: If you don't complete this paper, you will flunk. Think of how much work it has taken you to get where you are at. Better just do it and get it over with. Think of how wonderful it will feel to be done with it.
Elle
Posted by shar on January 24, 2004, at 0:55:38
In reply to Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by QuietHeart on January 23, 2004, at 23:33:31
I used to teach a class called "Making Progress on Your Dissertation or Thesis" because it took me six years to get mine done, and I knew others were in the same boat.
Here are some of the ideas:
You don't have to start at the beginning. Write that part of the paper that is most interesting to you, or that you are most jazzed about. Even if you don't particularly feel excited, there is probably some part of it that will be more interesting to you.
Do whatever is easiest first. Because you don't have to start at the beginning, you can do the easiest part first. And the hard parts take care of themselves.
I told folks you can't write a dissertation, but you can write a sentence, or a section, or a paragraph, or a page. So, don't think "paper" think more in terms of an idea you might want to convey, or what paragraph you might want to write.
There is no one right way. Whatever you need to do to get started, that's what you should do. We all have our little rituals (or big ones) or special paper, or pen, and for women a lot of them have to clean the house (or tidy up a bit) before they can sit down to write. It is good to have an area devoted to your work, even if it is a box where you keep everything together. Having a designated area also helps prevent stimulus overload. The area should not be your whole house; you have a life other than your work, and your life needs an area for it.
You should have at least one draft that is/can be simply awful. It may be an outline, random ideas, some sentences, some paragraphs, don't worry about grammar, spelling, form at this point. This is for your eyes only and can be as big a mess as you want, or neat (unless neat = perfect). Many students who have profs that publish a lot have the idea that the profs just sit down and write out this sterling stuff, and I can tell you it ain't so.
Outlines are good as you get further along in organizing your paper, because it's easier to change an outline than to change chapters or sections of a paper.
This is not going to be your greatest work (magnum opus), because we start at the bottom and our greatest work will come later in our careers. Your major goal at this point is to get it out the door; do well enough to receive a passing grade, and turn it in, and let it go.
Work at least 4 hours a week, and PLAY at least 4 hours a week. I used to have students report at every meeting on what they did in both areas. Since you are time-limited, you may have to work more, but also continue to PLAY so your mind can rest.
Tell the story. When you write, just tell the story, as it has unfolded. Try to limit embroidery in sentences, be as straightforward as you can, use a simple and comprehensible style.
Hope some of those help.
Shar
Posted by EscherDementian on January 24, 2004, at 4:31:05
In reply to You got the drowning-in-your-own-potential blues.. » QuietHeart, posted by shar on January 24, 2004, at 0:55:38
Posted by Karen_kay on January 24, 2004, at 11:56:28
In reply to You got the drowning-in-your-own-potential blues.. » QuietHeart, posted by shar on January 24, 2004, at 0:55:38
Thanks for that post and the VERY!!!!!! helpful tips! Could you come give me a course at my house? :) [Free of charge of course] I'm printing this out! Thanks again!
Posted by gardenergirl on January 24, 2004, at 12:12:10
In reply to You got the drowning-in-your-own-potential blues.. » QuietHeart, posted by shar on January 24, 2004, at 0:55:38
Holy cow, I came across this by accident (always have to read Karen_Kay's posts...okay, you win again.) Very helpful for my own dissertation blues. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
I will definitely work on this using your advice.
Maybe a PB online course?? That would be so cool.
gg
Posted by Karen_kay on January 24, 2004, at 12:26:54
In reply to Re: You got the drowning-in-your-own-potential blues.., posted by gardenergirl on January 24, 2004, at 12:12:10
Posted by QuietHeart on January 24, 2004, at 12:58:08
In reply to I love you gg (nm) » gardenergirl, posted by Karen_kay on January 24, 2004, at 12:26:54
Wow, thanks everyone, especially Shar! You guys are wonderful. I am off to get dressed, eat something healthy (my T thinks I have anorexic behaviors so I'm struggling with eating normal stuff) and dive into it. Wish me luck, you guys are the best!
Posted by Camille Dumont on January 24, 2004, at 13:57:47
In reply to Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by QuietHeart on January 23, 2004, at 23:33:31
I know how you feel ... I took a break from doing my memoir to get my M.Sc. last year but I have to finish it this summer.
Its so hard, I find myself struggling and procrastinating because in a way I'm trying to avoid the difficulties and frustrations.
What helps me is to separate the work in relative ly small parts.
For example, in my case its as mathematical model. So the parts go something like this.
- Specify the model
- Prove that a solution exist
- Find the solution
- Graph the solutionAnd so on ... when I get a small part done I feel good and it doesn't feel like such a huge amount of work. Its also easier to get a small part done well and less discouraging than to try and get everything done right at one time.
Posted by bookgurl99 on January 24, 2004, at 22:11:23
In reply to Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by QuietHeart on January 23, 2004, at 23:33:31
QuietHeart -- oh yeah, try to marry the "play" with the "work." so for example, i have a computer game i like to play. I will do half an hour of homework and then half an hour of playtime.
It's a great structure -- you are excited to play the game so you say "i can play as soon as i just do half an hour on this." that's helped me get a lot of schoolwork done recently, after a lifetime of procrastination.
Posted by shar on January 25, 2004, at 0:07:25
In reply to Re: You got the drowning-in-your-own-potential blues.. » shar, posted by Karen_kay on January 24, 2004, at 11:56:28
It's very nice to share something that might help some of us get thru a tough job more easily. Good luck to all you hard workers out there; I'm grateful that it's not me anymore!
And, a howdy to you, too, Esch!
Shar
Posted by 8 Miles on January 25, 2004, at 17:20:58
In reply to Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by QuietHeart on January 23, 2004, at 23:33:31
Well... I have not read the other responses, but as a fellow OCD/ADD etc..., and having gone to graduate school, I feel that I can provide you with empirical advice. I too, had a tendency to procrastinate on FINISHING a paper. However, I DID have all the research completed, and all the relevant source material documented. This comes down to setting priorities in your life, and deciding what is more important to you. Then, you delineate on a piece of paper (or on a calendar) the order that you will procede. This takes the repetitive planning and rescheduling of your assignments out of the equation. You say you are a perfectionist, but that would suggest that you would not accept last-minute, slung together work at all. As for motivation, you should already have tons of that, assuming that you went to grad school with a set plan and purpose. IF you think that your depression (treated?) has caused you to have a real mental block, then I would stongly suggest that you see your professor immediately, BEFORE the paper is due, and explain the situation to him/her. With reason, a professor can give you an extension if they are convinced that you are sincere. Now, this MAY mean you have to go to the school medical center for at least a preliminary DX, however, I would not give that to the professor, just tell him to check with the medical center to verify that you have seen them. They cannot disclose the nature of your treatment unless you have given signed release of it. This would be my last resort if you cannot get going on your own. The thought of having to do this might, in itelf, serve as all the "motivation" that you need. I hope that you do not take my frank comments as a put down of you, they are not. But I did tell you honestly how I would react to this situation. Either way, I hope that you get this figured out, and that if you are not currently getting proper medical treatment, that you do so directly.
8
Posted by Catmom on January 25, 2004, at 17:35:39
In reply to Re: Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by 8 Miles on January 25, 2004, at 17:20:58
Good luck with your work. I hope that you are finding this weekend helpful.
Some of the things I did that helped with some OCD tendencies: I would make up a list that would say "write" and then put down the hours that I was committed to writing. I would intersperse it with hours for reading, tv, computer, or whatever else I was into.
If I have a list, sometimes, really quite often, I can persuade myself that I MUST follow it. An allocation of time that I have dictated to myself on paper helps me. Of course that might not work for everyone.
I also with the advent of word processing especially learned that I did not have to be linear. I especially enjoy working on conclusions first so that I know where I need to arrive at! Sometimes it ends up being revised, but looking at the end point has been helpful for me.
Good luck!
Posted by gardenergirl on January 26, 2004, at 6:44:57
In reply to Re: Trivial but not so trivial to this OCd sufferer, posted by Catmom on January 25, 2004, at 17:35:39
Working on other parts first...that's a really great idea. I sometimes get stuck at the beginning, and get frustrated, because I know what else I want to say. I feel a big "Duh!" coming on.
I'll give it a try.
gg
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.