What do you do when you have been procrastinating, have a deadline to meet, and completely and totally lack motivation to do anything at all? I’m in law school, and I have a very heavy workload. I have several things I need to do, one by tomorrow. I have been putting them off all week. I have two assignments to turn in that absolutely need to be finished tonight, because I have reading to do in the morning that needs to be done before class.
So here are two plans for you. The first…
Step 1: Go get some candy. Swedish Fish, Whoppers, those candy corn pumpkins if it’s fall, Cadbury Mini Eggs if it’s spring, circus peanuts if you’re desperate or weird. Make sure you stand in the candy aisle of Rite Aid for 45 minutes trying to figure out which kind you’re in the mood for, and then buy all of them, plus some pretzel M&Ms.
Step 2: Caffeine. Diet Coke, or a Starbucks venti with three shots of espresso in it. If you go this route, make excessive small talk with the barista before you order, and then make friends with the other people waiting for their drinks, and then chit-chat a little longer with that guy with the dreadlocks who always sits on the stool closest to the door and plays air drums.
Step 3: Panic. Realize that you don’t have an essential piece of equipment, literature, or that information packet you were supposed to pick up in your advisor’s office. Freak out and call everyone in your class to see if someone can help you out, and then drive to Topeka to pick it up from the kind soul who’s willing to lend you her book because she did her work days ago like a normal person.
Step 4: Cry. Sit at your desk with your head in your hands, listen to “Ghost” by the Indigo Girls and tell yourself, “Yes, it’s true, there’s NOT enough room in this world for my pain!” and then cry some more.
Step 5: Start counting your hours of work vs. hours to sleep ratio, and see it slowly start to turn in the direction of more work than sleep. Pick up your notes and turn on your computer.
Step 6: Do your work.
Here’s another plan:
1. Get off the damn internet.
2. Do your work.
3. When you’re done, go out for a good dinner with people who make you laugh, have a few drinks, and let yourself sleep in the next day. This will go a long way toward recharging your battery for next week, when you will inevitably do the same thing.
