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How do you kick yourself?

I actually am really glad this thread was made. I literally for quite a while been thinking of making a thread similar to this. I have a serious problem with this and it has made my gpa go on the decline. Thanks to you smogon. When I finally do study I find my self always having smogon and whatnot in the back of mind and I never really focus. Could I have some advice? I would really appreciate it. I find it difficult to do homework while having smogon be always on my mind.
 
I always find it amusing when people ask sites like Smogon and Reddit how to be more productive.

I mean it's right there.
 
I find that starting a small business helps to put life into perspective. It's a real motivator to get a bit into real life so that I know where my life is going to go.

There are lots of things I've tried to keep myself motivated. I find that I don't like rigidly scheduling everything, but still, having a rough idea of what I'm going to do when is useful. Take the guilt and shame out of the equation, play when I need to play, work when I can work. Sometimes it's better to do something else than to sit on one thing. Let my subconscious do some of the thinking.

Personally, my main cause for being unmotivated is when my ability to set realistic goals for myself is impeded by others. So I think that people should be careful around people they care about, and not to be overbearing on them. There's a difference between tough love and abuse, responsibility and blame. I'd rather have nothing than the latter.
 
Study in a library in a quiet corner with some water and easy-on-the-stomach snacks so you're not forced to move. Ignore people unless you're studying together though I advise against that since studying with people inevitably leads to random off-topic conversations.

Hm, I would disagree. When studying alone, I often end up doing work for 10 minutes, then watching a youtube video, then going back. You need to study together with another person, and both of you have to be relatively focused, so that the one person inspires the other to keep working, and the other in turn inspires the first. It's similar to lifting weights alone vs with a partner.

Of course, if you're both fooling around, it won't work.

Also, remove bookmarks to facebook, reddit, smogon, or whatever you spend the most time at. Without the bookmark for easy clicking, you'll end up going there only when you want to go there, rather than when you just want to avoid work.
 
Yeah, I struggled with this kind of thing a lot while I first started Uni. But I definitely got the hang of it later on.

For me, location was a big factor. I almost always worked in the campus library. Studying in my bedroom never worked, partly because of all the distractions within, and partly because I mentally labelled "bedroom" as "place of rest". Working in a public place like a library helped me immensely because I was surrounded by other students. Even if I didn't know them, they were still studying just like me, and it was comforting and motivating to know that I wasn't alone in my suffering. :heart:

Also, if I was in a public library, I found myself to be way more productive on the public machines. This is because they were all terribly slow compared to my laptop, and I couldn't browse Facebook etc nearly as swiftly. If you had an internet/gaming addiction like I did, then I suggest leaving your laptop behind and embracing the horrors of the public PC. It's probably good to leave your Smartphone behind too.

Keeping a regular sleep pattern also helped me, and getting up early was a critical part of my study routine. If I slept in too late, I couldn't focus that well for the rest of the day. I'm sure we all know the old trick of putting the alarm clock at the other end of the room so you have to physically get out of bed to turn it off. I experimented by also putting obstacles all over my floor so I'd have to step around those whenever I had to shut the alarm off (or trip, but hey that'd certainly wake me up anyway). My phone's alarm also has a neat feature where you have to solve a math problem to shut it off, I definitely recommend that.

What are you eating? Junk food turned out to be pretty bad for my concentration. I'd usually snack out of boredom/procrastination, but having a bloated stomach made me more tired and reluctant to work. As far as caffeine is concerned, one coffee/soft drink did me fine, but anything over that was usually for the worse. A strong coffee was great for me because I didn't want to eat directly after having one, and I work better hungry than I do full.

I dunno, just some ramblings haha. Hope someone finds 'em useful. Good luck!
 
Hm, I would disagree. When studying alone, I often end up doing work for 10 minutes, then watching a youtube video, then going back. You need to study together with another person, and both of you have to be relatively focused, so that the one person inspires the other to keep working, and the other in turn inspires the first. It's similar to lifting weights alone vs with a partner.

Of course, if you're both fooling around, it won't work.

Also, remove bookmarks to facebook, reddit, smogon, or whatever you spend the most time at. Without the bookmark for easy clicking, you'll end up going there only when you want to go there, rather than when you just want to avoid work.

That's why you leave the laptop behind. Or turn off the Internet if you really need it.
 
i suppose that works too, but there are some cases (for me at least) in which I couldn't accomplish my homework without an internet connection - obscure unit conversions or troubleshooting matlab programs, for example.
 
I think it is safe to say I use to be pretty addicted to Smogon. If I wasn't writing analyses, I was modding Pokemon Online. Earning Smogon badges was always on my mind, and I think the wake up call for me was my freshmen year 2nd semester report card. Frankly, it was terrible, and even though I knew I couldn't go on like that, I continued to mod and mod for hours every day until November/December 2011 when I finally decided to put an end to it. I forced myself to go out with friends more, do homework with friends so I don't get "bored", dis-install Pokemon Online, etc. It was really hard for me, but I guess if you're really dedicated, it's possible.

To this day, I'm still forcing myself not to go back to the old days, when I was in C&C and Smogon simulators every single day. I still love Pokemon, and I knew if I started playing again, it's unlikely that I'll stop.

But really, just go out with friends more and be out more in general, without your laptop. It really helps.
 
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