[dancininrain]

i feel like i set myself up for stressful situations, i always procrastinate , like now i have a 20 page paper due in a few days and i keep phycing myself out and freaking out how i havent started and then i waste my time stressing. my stress has been causing medical issues and im getting sick of letting my mind control me, wat should i do.. besides meds!

 

[CrabbyPaws]

Sit down and study. Force yourself, just do the action regardless if your mind doesn't want to participate. It will eventually follow. And at the same time shut out any other possible distractions, such as turn off the TV, no music (or maybe some music if you're that sort of person who works well with that), no internet, put your phone on silent.

Keep a time limit in your mind, like an hour. Your brain can't absorb more than an hour, so after an hour you either stop or take a break for half an hour or so. This time limit will help you because you won't have in the back of my mind "Oh my god I have to FINISH all of this" but instead "I will do as much as I can in 1 hour, then no matter what I'm free. That's all. Just one hour." And that will help it seem less daunting.

Find the right method for you to study, so that even if your mind doesn't want to engage, the method of studying will actually enable you to learn it. For example, I know I am an auditory learner. So if I force myself to just sit down and write everything out, I will not learn because I know it's not what my brain responds to. But instead I make flash cards because I know I will be able to ask myself the questions out loud or get other people to test me on them, or I try to teach it to someone else, so even though I might not be all 'there' when I'm studying, I know it will eventually aid in my learning and I will take something out of it. So do something you know your brain will engage in regardless if you want to do it or not. Does that make sense?

Finally, reward yourself. Have times off, have breaks, have treats, have baths, don't push yourself. This way you take things a step at a time instead of this whole big thing all at once. And by organising it in chunks like this, it will seem reachable and possible and won't put you off.
You are an INFP, you will still stress a tiny bit let's face it. But encourage yourself to keep motivated, know yourself and how you work best, and although we rely on our intuitions and run quickly when we don't feel like facing something, remember to push yourself at times anyway because 5 minutes in, you will most likely realise it wasn't so bad. It is just that initial part we have problems with, and the whole idea of it, rather than the actual act of writing an essay, or completing some sums.

Also, remind yourself why you want to do what you're doing, and how many benefits it will have in the future for you. In the end if you realise you don't have many answers to those questions then you will know you're probably not following the right path for you, and you can decide to pursue something different.

I hope this helps. Good luck

 

[infpblog]

I procrastinate too. I think it's part of the INFP nature. The objects is not to go against our nature but find a better way to do it. I found my healthy way to procrastinate.

 

[Taker]

I always procrastinate until the last minute too, thankfully despite being lazy, we INFPs come through when we have to, even if we do kick and scream all the way through to the end . I'm sad to think that procrastination has caused you stress, which in turn has upset your health. Maybe you could find activities to relive stress by doing something creative (writing and playing music works for me) or by doing exercise. At the very least, you can be content that the stress will abate when this project is done and you can help plan better for next time. =)

Unfortunately, as you already know, all you can do for your paper this time is plough through it. Thankfully however, once this paper is done, you'll be feeling less stressed and there will be time to relax and think of ways to stop work creeping up on you in the future. Maybe you could develop a system for getting yourself to work, like rewarding yourself with something you enjoy doing (for me it's playing guitar) or eating when you finish something, or maybe you know someone who could help motivate you to work. Of course, it would have to be someone who you respond well to =p. What I mean by this is that it'd have to be someone who understands your habits and behaviour, I'm so whimsical and histrionic that I procrastinate even more if I think someone is "forcing" or "bullying" me into doing something. I respond much better to encouragement and motivation. So maybe there's someone who could help encourage you to work in that way. Or maybe you could focus less on the work itself and instead on the success you'll reap if you get through the work and out to the brighter side of the tunnel. When I feel like giving up on something and just doing the bare minimum, sometimes the thought of fulfilling my potential and working to the best of my ability gets me to keep going, of course sometimes it doesn't work too! I admit it, I'm lazy....

Just remember that we're all human, and nobody likes to do work they don't want to and that it's just a part of life. I know you'll be able to pull through and get this done, and when people read back on this thread, they'll see your mood widget as "Relaxed" instead of "Stressed"! Good luck with your paper and I hope you can find ways to alleviate the stress. It's not nice to know someone is feeling distressed.

I hope I helped. =)

 

[LittleHawk]

This is a big issue for me to. *Planning* for me is vital to avoid getting into such stressful situations, where applicable. For example if I know I have work dates and projects that I need to complete along with everything else in my life then I find sitting down and writing lists is very helpful. Lists you can refer to and edit as you go along.

If you don't stick to these and do end up stressed out anyway - then calm music and breathing. Just chill out and put a plan into place anyway. It's fine to be spontaneous but it's also good to be aware of the things we need a little nudging in the right direction with.

Best of luck.

 

[Kaspa]

CrappyPaws is right. The best thing you to do, is just sit down and start now. There is no other ways to tackle procrastination. Or at least, set up a spefic time when you must start, no matter what.

 

[dancininrain]

I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE. ok thats a lie, i can. i procrastinated the whole day and now im mad with myself. i cant deal with family stuff, friend stuff, emotional stuff, its too much for me. so now i walk around like a robot and no one wants to be around me anymore cuz im no longer my positive cheery self, but im this robotic emotionless human. i cant seem to fake the smiles anymore.

 

[lightened]

Then stop setting yourself up for stressful situations. The solution sounds really simple to me.

 

[Thalandor]

No one so far (aside from CrappyPaws) has actually helped with getting you through your 20 page essay so I'll try in short. I apologise if you already know this. She is correct in saying that you need to organise your paper into smaller sections. Start with the meat of essay, jot down the ideas you want to discuss and begin with the ones you have the most knowledge about. This will get you rolling. Introduction/conclusion can be done last because they are really just reiterating what you've said in the body of your paper. Presentation/formatting comes last.

 

[epiglottis]

If you are a Firefox user, the LeechBlock addon is a godsend. I would honestly be failing all my classes right now if it weren't for that.

As for writing essays, I usually give myself a break after each page (I time it with breaks that I add on LeechBlock). But what ends up happening is that I get really involved in a certain paragraph that carries on to the next page and I end up finishing the rest of the paper without any breaks. Feels good when that happens

 

[Isthmus]

I find that the only times I can work well is when I'm convinced that I will disappoint and/or inconvenience somebody else if I don't. Part of that caring for others, and caring how others perceive you INFP trait, I guess.

Something like this the following usually works for me: Pick someone you care about. Ask them if they'll read a draft of your paper. Promise, really promise, them that you'll send them the draft before tomorrow morning/noon tomorrow/some other suitable time. Or, if you care about your professor's (if this is for a class) opinion of you, set up a meeting where you'll discuss the draft of your paper. Or heck, I'll read your paper if you want me to.

This doesn't eliminate the procrastination completely; I'll still procrastinate like mad until like one hour before the deadline, and probably only get something very half-arsed done, but the point is that it makes me do some work before the real deadline, and feel pretty good about it. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Up and Away]

Eh. If we have a handle on things, then that doesn't seem right. Imagine pushing a wheel barrow with one hand. I think we need two handles, one being discomfort, the other being comfort.

The question then comes to be, "what should i do next?"

Which, might have simply been to connect with people, hence the creation of the post.