My experience in this class has been excellent so far. From the beginning, I have felt organized and prepared, with the only challenge being the research paper. There are not many sources to support my arguments in the research paper, but I believe I am managing. Also, developing argument points for my writing was daunting, but the positive feedback from our fantastic instructor has been inspiring. Also, the approach being employed in this course in terms of the writing process makes it easier to develop a research paper.
My time management techniques include the use of a mobile application and the use of a work scheduler website called freedcamp.com. For instance, when I enrolled for this course, I made sure that I captured all the due dates in my time management programs. I realized that being organized and proper planning reduces the chances of procrastination and significantly reduces stress. Time management requires discipline and self-drive, which is a challenge for a procrastinator. I am guilty of ignoring the time frames on my schedulers, and most of the time, I end up working on activities at the last minute. Moving forward, I need to practice strictness in time management, and like Ferrari (2011/2018) says, “these individuals need to change their affective, behavioral, and cognitive responding to tasks and time.”
Ferrari’s article made me realize that I am a chronic procrastinator, especially where he states that “…chronic procrastinators more often claim they are “night” people, preferring to work on social or individual activities after dark” (Ferrari, 2018). My productive hours are usually at night since that is when I get most work done. I find great motivation from working against the clock, which is another characteristic of a procrastinator, as identified by Ferrari. I am a victim of performing tasks on the due date, something that I need to work on improving. According to Ferrari (2011/2018), “people feel good when they make progress toward reaching goals.” The article has taught me to learn to set goals and get inspiration from achieving the set goals. Also, I have realized that to overcome procrastination, I need to manage my responses to schedules, timeframes, and deadlines.
Reference:
Ferrari, J. R. (2018). Chronic procrastination: Life beyond ineffective time management. In A. Garten, College Writing Handbook (pp. 155-159). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. (Original work published 2011)