Pointless dodging & procrastination!

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:20 pm

Don't you just love it/hate it in equal measure?

What's the most extreme you've taken it? I've got a Saturday morning deadline and I know i'll be working well into tomorrow night, and i'll be a broken, empty husk running on coffee embers come Saturday.

And I've known well in advance when it was due.

And I've hardly ever changed this practice.

Actually I did it once or twice, in good time and the experience was excellent. Painless, even fun. In fact it was so easy that I didn't bother to do it again after that. Masochist.

Anyone got any hellish stories on the latest they've left something, whether it be an essay, a Wedding or whatever?

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:13 pm

Each year I assign my catechism students an independent report that they are to do outside of the classroom. They have about 4-5 months to write a 5-7 page paper. I have them choose their topic very early and tell them to get started on it right away so if they can't find any information they have time to change their topic.

Last year I got a phone call one hour before the papers were due and one of the students asked if he could change his topic. I was shocked when I discovered that his 6 page biography of Martin Luther was taken word for word from Wikipedia and 2 other websites.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:27 pm

Ha! Wikipedia must be the bane of teacher’s lives! Its funny how most of us never learn despite all the good advice and best intentions.

Word for word... did he even remove the references in italics and whatnot? My friend is a teacher and some of his kids did the same thing; leaving in the references with different coloured text making it soooo obvious it was ripped from Wikipedia. Still, good on him for checking those other two websites.

All I’ve done this evening is fritter away more precious time surfing and texting. Done less than an hours work out of 4 possible hours. I am a muppet. And now I’m tired.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:38 pm

I once in college put off finishing a drawing on an architecture class.

I ended up doing a 38 hour binge of graphite, Mountain Dew, and Hot Pockets to retrace 5 full pages and draw 1 from scratch. Mind you these where 36"x48" sheets of vellum and I had to do two elevations of a two story house with a basement as the one missing page.

However after 38 hours, a bout a dozen Hot Pockets and a 12 pack of Mountain Dew, I handed the drawing in after making a copy. A half hour later I dragged my ass into my apartment, flopped on the couch, and slept for 13 hours. Woke up to my wife asking what I wanted to eat. The dear even covered me with a blanket.

Oh, yea, I also got a 94% on the drawing with only two minor errors.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:55 pm

Now that's hardcore

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:12 am

I'm terrible for procrastination, often not even doing anything more fun in the process... If I get to work at 5:45 before the place opens at 6:00, it makes the whole day run easier to a ridiculous extent. But every day I'm still sitting here at about 5:50, reading comments on a news article I'm not actually interested in or hammering keywords into ebay for stuff I don't actually want, and so I get into work at 5:59 and spend the first hour or so running around like a lunatic.

I'm procrastinating about going to bed now, TBH, even though I know I'm tired and there's nothing I can't do in the morning when I'm less tired, more productive and don't have to keep the noise discipline. But I'll just finish my roll-up first. Check to see whether there's anything new on a couple of places. Find out whether anyone's listed any more 1982 issues of Grand Prix International in the half hour since I last checked. Oh look, I've rolled another cigarette. Might as well smoke it.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:52 am

I feel for you Thunderwave, I once turned into Brian from Spaced for a short while when I stayed up into the wee wee hours finnishing an essay on Rodchenko that was due in a couple of days and doing an oil painting for the next morning even though I had most of december to finish both in good time. I was running on just coffee and a Peep Show box set, was all jittery from the gallons of coffee, was feeling ill and dizzy from paint and turps fumes and had a headache from staring at a screen all day. Not fun at all, I actually turned to myself in the mirror and started saying things along the lines of "wtf?" to myself.
I also had to improvise a substitute for beeswax from toothpaste and chalk dust to try and get rid of any glossiness and add texture to the paint when I could've just bought some weeks ago like a sensible person.

I was doing all this in full knowledge that I had to be up in a few hours to tidy my pig sty of a studio, clean, sand, polyfill and paint the walls in order to present the painting that would still be wet when I hung it up.

I got a B for the project with the painting but my tutors could tell that this particular painting was not my best work and was probably started the night before. For my essay I was one mark off an A* so swings and roundabouts really.

I was eventually free at 3pm and slept till about 3 the next day. I say It'll never happen again but I put stuff off like a boss. (it did happen again about a wek later for a drawing project but it was not as intense, still waiting for the marks though)

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:32 am

electro girl wrote: I also had to improvise a substitute for beeswax from toothpaste and chalk dust to try and get rid of any glossiness and add texture to the paint when I could've just bought some weeks ago like a sensible person.

Funny that. I've become a master procrastinator because of brushes like that. My workshop is loaded with little fiddly bits that are hard to get at 2am. While I usually purchase all the basic supplies I need for my leather work, sometimes i find myself short of things like beeswax and such when I'm rushing to finish a project for someone (usually because I've got so many projects on my plate when I do have them one gets lost in the mix). Upside is that I've got plenty of it for when I just plain put things off because something isn't very fun.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:45 am

Auntie Slag wrote:Ha! Wikipedia must be the bane of teacher’s lives! Its funny how most of us never learn despite all the good advice and best intentions.

Word for word... did he even remove the references in italics and whatnot? My friend is a teacher and some of his kids did the same thing; leaving in the references with different coloured text making it soooo obvious it was ripped from Wikipedia. Still, good on him for checking those other two websites.

Even if he hadn't have called me just before class, I would have known he had copied it from somewhere. When you can barely put 3 words together when speaking, it's highly unlikely you'd use sentences like, "Reveling in his justification through Christ's blood, Luther sought to share the newly re-discovered Gospel with others."

As for checking the other sites, he only did that because the Wikipedia article was only about 2 1/2 pages long. That was another clue that it was copied; the paper seemed to start over and give some of the same information several times.

To his credit, though, he did take the time to remove the footnote markings. Probably because I had mentioned it in class, but maybe he thought of that himself.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:00 am

I'm the past master of setting out to work at a point so that I'm ever so slightly late but not so late I lose pay (within three minutes in the key).

I'm currently halfway through a review of the Stainless Steel Rat 2000AD stories that I've been not finishing for about two months now. I'm dangerously near the point where it will have been too long since I read the source material and will need to abandon it entirely (at least until the next time I read it anyway). If the next Webb Page review is anything else you'll know what happened.

My greatest procrastination was probably my History A Level coursework on the Russian space program. Left so late I completely made it all up and wrote it the day before. I was incredibly lucky the marker obviously didn't know anything about the subject and seemingly just took it on faith I knew what I was talking about and gave me a great grade. IIRC I got a B overall.

Wildrider · Post by **Wildrider** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:41 am

At University, I would always get my assignments at least two months in advance, with the options of consulting tutors one to one for advice and what not should I be struggling.

However, I just could never be bothered. For me I need the fear of non submission to motivate me into doing an assignment and would always put starting any work off until the last possible moment and had quite a set routine.

Work due for submission Monday? Friday would be a trip to the library and take out the maximum number of 'reference' books, usually on the basis of the title alone, then it was a trip to the corner shop, twenty Marlborough Lights, a litre bottle of full fat coke and the biggest bag of Starburst I could find!

Thing is once I had started, I'd continue until I'd finish, the hurdle was actually getting started and the fear of being the only one not to submit any work would drive me through the sixteen hour days up until the frantic 6am scribbling down of my reference list and rummaging fro a suitably appropriate binder to tidy it up.

Sugar, caffeine and nicotine, the breakfast of champions! Chewing, drinking, smoking and typing my way to victory.

Post by **Sades** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:40 am

I wrote a couple of essays last term overnight. Not really my favourite thing to do, I found out.

I'm procrastinating right now on some assignments, but they're due Monday and I worked on them all morning...

Baxter · Post by **Baxter** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 3:28 am

I was once on my way to a writing class, not having even started the assignment that was due. Stopped off at the bookstore for a second to pick up something and had my backpack stolen. Claimed my assignment was in the backpack and got another week to finish it.

Also once got out of a black and white photography assignment that wasn't completed by having our apartment building burn down.

You would have thought that the stolen backpack was a warning to always do my assignments.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:38 am

I keep misreading the thread title as "Pointless Dogging". Reveals a whole new side to Slag.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:59 am

[Edit] No, I take that back. You're a dangerous influence, Dalek!

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 3:07 pm

Auntie Slag wrote:[Edit] No, I take that back. You're a dangerous influence, Dalek!

You can't blame me for the terrible things you get up to in parks!

Playing on the swings obviously. You're far too old and it makes the actual kids cry.

I've spent most of today finding new and exciting ways not to watch The Mutants. There's only so much jon Pertwee a man can take.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:17 pm

I can't get tired of Sean Pertwee though, what a fantastic voice.
If he'd have done of the voices in Watership Down, I never would've been allowed to leave the institution.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 1:52 am

Today I wrote a to do list of things to do tomorrow, a staggering 8 things!
Important stuff like things I need to buy or write up.
(although one of them is to take a dvd out my dvd player and to send a text)

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:55 am

electro girl wrote:Today I wrote a to do list of things to do tomorrow, a staggering 8 things!
Important stuff like things I need to buy or write up.
(although one of them is to take a dvd out my dvd player and to send a text)

That would actually count as two things rather than one.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:44 am

Unless they've invented a texting DVD. I can't keep up with technology anymore. Get off my lawn!