Establishing a routine

[ofugur]

Okej, I know I can't be the only NF who has trouble working consistently. I was hoping that with maturity and experience, conscientiousness would come. However, my senior year in high school is coming to a close, and I can't afford to fail a few college courses before I whip myself into shape.

So, could any of you provide me with some useful tips on:

• setting a routine
• avoiding procrastination
• focusing more on the "here and now."

Basically, I'm looking for techniques on developing my SJ functions that don't involve sheer will power and force.

[heart]

I am pushing 40 and I still don't have answers about this!

One thing is, you gotta have passion for what you do or nothing will stick, and even then not a consistant thing in my experience.

I didn't fail anything in college though. Te comes through usually. The will and strength come and the work gets done in the nick of time.

[ofugur]

Originally Posted by heart

I am pushing 40 and I still don't have answers about this!

One thing is, you gotta have passion for what you do or nothing will stick, and even then not a consistant thing in my experience.

I didn't fail anything in college though. Te comes through usually. The will and strength come and the work gets done in the nick of time.

so in the end, i'm just in for a roller coaster ride. lovely.

[heart]

Originally Posted by ofugur

so in the end, i'm just in for a roller coaster ride. lovely.

What are your study habits like now?

[cafe]

I still stink at that kind of thing. I don't know if I'll every be really good at it, but I'll give you a few things that help me sometimes.

Telling myself I will only work on something for a certain (short) amount of time and setting a timer helps me get started on stuff and sometimes promising myself small rewards for completed tasks helps. Starting tasks is always the hard part for me. Once I get started, I'm compelled to finish unless I'm interrupted.

Refusing to allow myself to get bogged down in perfectionism is very important if I want to get anything done.

Setting up a routine that has some outside structure can help, like say after a particular class you go to a low-stimulus place and work for an hour until lunch time. Set the alarm on your watch if needed. Or maybe between supper and a favorite TV show you work on homework and if you stay on task you reward yourself with a snack and the TV show you've been looking forward to.

Wish I had more. I'm interested to read what others suggest.

[heart]

Finding ways to develop Te might help you, Ofugur. Read Te based stuff like history or Ti based stuff like logic. Even just a few pages a day. Approach any organization from a list type Te perspective.

[Kyrielle]

Originally Posted by ofugur

Okej, I know I can't be the only NF who has trouble working consistently. I was hoping that with maturity and experience, conscientiousness would come. However, my senior year in high school is coming to a close, and I can't afford to fail a few college courses before I whip myself into shape.

So, could any of you provide me with some useful tips on:

• setting a routine
• avoiding procrastination
• focusing more on the "here and now."

Basically, I'm looking for techniques on developing my SJ functions that don't involve sheer will power and force.

When I have stuff to get done, I almost always end up working on it about 4 hours before I go to bed. That way, I always get in 4 hours of work and if I finish early, I can go play until bed. I think I wait until night because for some reason daylight makes me want to nap or go play...I just can't work consistently with the sun is up (unless I'm in a class).

When I study, I always do it at night. I remember stuff a thousand times better if I sleep on the information almost immediately after I've absorbed it.

What also really REALLY helps if you have a problem remembering stuff on exams, is to NOT study on the day of the exam (or at least two hours before the class). Do something else that will let you relax. My theory is that if you do not know it two hours before the test, you sure as hell won't know it if you try to cram it in right before class. It's nice because you end up feeling less stressed out about the exam itself. And you get to walk in, sit down with no notes, and feel confident in your knowledge (because you aren't the one looking anxiously over your notes). I told my brother to do these things for tests, and his issues with stressing out about them gradually went away. =)

As for working consistently, I never do exactly. Even with my evening routine, I tend to work in spurts. Some days I'll throw myself into something for a few hours and then reach a point (and I think it's different for everyone) where I feel like I've mentally stopped right in front of a wall...I cannot work very well when I'm at that point. And then some days I don't do any work at all.

I procrastinate all the time. It's because the pressure of having to complete something quickly tends to fuel me. Otherwise I dabble at whatever it is I'm doing. (Like say I have a painting due next week. I could start on it and maybe mess around with basic colours, but I won't really, actually grind it out until it's a couple of days before it's due.) The cool thing that happens then is I learn how to streamline a lot of my processes so things get done more efficiently.

I rarely ever focus on the "here and now"...the only thing I can say is go read Aldous Huxley's Island and you might end up with a couple of those birds in your head saying "Here and now, boys. Here and now." (Which is what I tell myself when I'm wandering a little too far from reality.)

[alcea rosea]

I haven't succeeded yet in this and I'll probably never will. I just simply hate all routine and fight against it even if I'll have to do it sooner or later. I'll gather all my strenght and do all the routine stuff in one day as fast as possible to get it over with.