Productive Procrastination.

In recent posts I've droned on about the swamp of university essays I'm currently wading through. Well after a month of library time and research term has now started, my first 5,000 word beast and I'm polishing up a second (thankfully shorter) essay at the moment. However, staring at my netbook screen for 12 hours a day is not the most exciting thing and I keep having to think of treats (such as trips to the water fountain or loo) as incentives to get keep me writing and get my a couple of hundred words closer to the finish line.

However, I'd be a massive liar if I said I've been that focused the whole time. at times I've been productively deceptive with myself, as my creativity's dark side thinks up jobs to do in order to put off getting out my laptop, all in the name of productivity.

Some of you may be familiar with the YouTube sensation that is Jenna Marbles. Some of you won't be, but all you really need to know is that you she is a vlogger who posts weekly videos. One of the first video I ever saw of hers was 'Things To Do Instead of Cleaning Your Room'.

Well Jenna, I think I must have crossed a threshold of lunacy, because I've recently been a room cleaning, laundry doing machine, in order to avoid essaying.

There's a fine line between efficiency and procrastination, however, over the past few weeks suggest that I may have actually found a decent balance. I may not have been on task the whole time, but a lot of my procrastination has actually been productive, and consequently lessened my academic guilt.

During essay and exam season students can easily get sucked into a black hole of Red Bull, sleep deprivation and an 'All Library, All The Time' mentality. But I think my weird new habit of 'Productive Procrastination might actually help me in this last week of essay madness and the upcoming insanity of revision and exam season. Sometimes ticking off the little jobs actually help- I cleaned out my diary earlier this week. after pulling out all the pieces of paper I'd rammed in there it's not only a quarter of the size- but I can actually use it for planning without fear of unleashing a paper tsunami!

You know I'm getting really hyped for climbing Kilimanjaro in September and essay madness has both pushed me into a state of super excitement and possibly made me a better Adventure Leader. Having so many deadlines has made me really organised and lots of deadline close together has made me better at forward planning. I actually submitted my last Adventure Leader report early because during moments of total essay mind block I'd take a couple of minutes to contact my group and check on their progress and totals. This meant that I actually had all the information I needed and had made personal contact with the guys. Not only did my report write itself in minutes, but I got the mood boost I needed after my essay failure had started to drain all my drive. I felt even better knowing how well my team our doing, so fair we've collectively raised over £23,000 for Practical Action and the Meningitis Research Foundation... and I've just had them more stash delivered to get out on the streets and keep fundraising.

They say "If you want something done, ask a busy person" and I think there's a lot of truth in that. From my recent experience a busy person loves new tasks- they great distractions, but don't making you feel like a complete time-waster the same way that a cheeky half hour on Facebook might.

The more 'productive' I am and the more jobs I tick off my check list (e.g. two loads of laundry, hoovering my room and changing my linen) only leaves me with less excuses not to turn my attention back to my work.

That's it really. Even this blog was a cheeky bit of procrastination- but hey, I achieved something. I made a whole thing- even if it is just a blog post!

I'm going back to editing now- good luck to all the other students out there currently in essay mode and fearing exams. Remember, there's always a way to take a break without feeling like you're wasting time and soon enough you'll be on a roll!

Here's your musical reward. This is my friend Flik singing an amazing song which I have now had stuck in my head for days. I'm trying not to learn how to play Cups until I actually have hours to spare because I know I won't be able to stop until I've got it down to pat.