Procrastination at its Finest

I haven't blogged in awhile, I know.  I'd like to tell you that the reason for this is that I've been working hard studying for all my finals and using my reading days to their fullest potential.  But the fact is that I've been chilling in the library for 5-8 hours a day with absolutely nothing to show for it.  Then, the sun came out so I scratched the library as whole to sit out on the quad and do more of nothing.  But now it actually feels like crunch time... first final in t-36 hours.  The hours of time that stretched before me at the beginning of reading days have somehow dwindled.  And people are starting to feel the stress.

The library is a pretty interesting place during finals week.  Almost half the library is now open 24 hours and people are taking advantage.  This is the one time of the year when anything goes...people are taking power naps on the floor or in the comfy chairs (warning: if you sit there, you'll never get work done.)  Meal times no longer apply, so people have all kinds of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snacks spread out across their work station.  Getting pizza or Chinese food delivered to the lib is also common.  Evidence of caffeine highs, adderall binges, and energy drink crashes are all around.  I've seen someone eat a flashcard out of frustration.  They've clearly had too many chemicals in their body.

I'm really really good at getting distracted during the long, unstructured hours.  So much so that I felt the need to install Mac's SelfControl app, which blocks predetermined websites and programs.  My own self control is so lacking that I had to download an app for it, yes.  But I can click a button and be blocked from facebook, StumbleUpon, and other distracting websites for two hours, or however long I choose.  It makes logging on again a very welcome study break.  It's a great app and I'm glad I have it, but I do recognize that it's a little pathetic.

This blog post right here is an example of "productive procrastination." So is filling out online course evaluations, deleting old emails, making a color-coded to-do list, calling my parents, and catching up on all my Thursday night tv shows.  These are all things I've done over the past few days, while trying to convince myself that they are actually worth doing.  But it's really just another way to avoid the English paper on Julius Caesar that's due on Monday.  (I've written a paragraph a day over the last three days.  Pretty solid.)

Well, study break's over. Back to the grind.  Sleep, eat, lib, repeat.