#11

 

Over time, always going to the same places to do work can get pretty uninspiring. I have my go-to coffee shops but even there, I eventually drift into routine, boredom, and lack of focus.

I agreed to go to UBC today with my boyfriend (I study at SFU). While I've been there before, I always forget how huge of a campus it is — that it takes a significant amount of effort to get from building to building and that transit stops aren't conveniently everywhere. I was unfortunately really tired for no reason, so I could've enjoyed the walk a lot more seeing as it was such a beautiful afternoon!

#2

It doesn't get any better than this time of the semester — students, including myself, bashing their heads against the wall because of the final wave of term papers and presentations creeping towards us. While the streets and malls are outfitted with Christmas decor, seeing it makes me sad that I can't even think about the holidays for another three weeks! 

Oh, and it definitely doesn't help that my attention span has been nonexistent lately. It's been way too easy to set the current project aside, stare blankly at the wall, reach over for my phone, go on every social networking site possible and the next thing you know I'm out the door to go for beer and wings.

So it hit me last night: I needed to learn how to re-focus. My to-do list was massive and there was no way I could pull it off with all these distractions. There was also no point in cringing at everything that needed to be done — for once I had to stop thinking bigger picture, and tackle the smaller pieces first.

Armed with this new insight I ignored everything else on my list this morning, turned my phone upside down and basically rewrote an entire, poorly-written group paper that I had avoided all week in under three hours (with 10 hours to spare). I'd like to acknowledge that this never happens. And hopefully this works the rest of this term!

Here's a thought: if you have any suggestions on how you stay focused, I'd love to hear them :)