Initial student post due Monday, January 28th:
Go to: http://www.quora.com/Life-Advice/How-do-I-get-over-my-bad-habit-of-procrastinating#
Read the initial questions, and then the response (should be the first after the questions) about Albert and Rex, and answer the following questions.
1. What makes this source credible? (Number of votes, the epithet behind his name, what he says seems true, you have read enough about this subject to understand the truth of his words?)
2. In his post, what do you agree with? What do you disagree with?
3. Who is this person's audience? (is it just the person asking for help, or a broader group of people? Is it you? Is it me?)
4. What is this writer's purpose (or, what does the writer hope to accomplish by his response to the initial post?)?
5. Does his post, ultimately, persuade you? Why?
If you have the time to post early, then please feel free. If you are stuck on what to write, look at the writing of your classmates.
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ReplyDeleteFor me, I believe the answer given was a mixture of making sense and having heard this information from a credible source before to believe what he had to say. I also agreed with the part of it being harder to control your more impulse driven sections of the brain but I don't think it is as difficult as he made it out to be. Then again, we do all have that inner child in us. His audience is not just the person who wrote the original question but also the huge amount of procrastinators out there as well as all those who are just dying to add their two cents on the subject. The writers purpose is to educate and persuade the readers. He wants to educate them about the two opposing sides of the brain. He also wants to persuade them to believe his point of view as facts unquestioned. He persuaded me to believe he was educated about the different parts of the brain but not necessarily that he knew how to actually stop procrastinating.
ReplyDeleteHolly,
DeleteI think you nailed it for me. While we are impulse driven, we can learn and be taught self discipline. Some of this article was beginning to sound like "the devil made me do it."
Holly,
DeleteNicely stated. The author definitely seemed more science based in his way of persuading. He showed he knows what makes or causes us to procrastinate, but now how to stop it. Knowing why it occurs is not the same as knowing how to correct it.
Holly,
DeleteI see your points about the educational concept of what the write is trying to say, but I have to disagree with you when you say he didn't show how to stop procrastination. I felt he laid out a solid plan of how to manipulate your own mind into enjoying what you think you don't enjoy. By doing this, you form good habits and start to lose the wants of procrastination. I was actually motivated by what he wrote, and how he explained dealing with procrastinating. I have been trying to apply some of these concepts into my daily routines.
In this article I believe the result given was a logical answer. It not only seems logical, but the answer is given in a scientific way to encourage belief. I agree with the way the answer stated how hard it can be to maintain focus. As I was reading the article, I myself, had a hard time focusing due to being distracted by the TV show, "King of the Nerds." However, as I thought about it and kept reading, I realized I was doing exacty what the answer was saying. I was letting my "Rex" take over. I turned off the TV. I believe the target audience is a broad one. Many people procrastinate resulting in added stress to accomplish their mission on time. The author is trying to get people to look at their inner-selves to see that procrastinating is really a battle of the mind. I am persuaded by the part of the answer that talks of the ease of one part of the brain taking over the other simply because how can I not believe it when I was struggling while reading this assignment? However, I do not believe it is as hard to control as the author states. We tend as a society let our hearts and emotions take over our decisions, but we are also a people that are able to think and work logically making us successful professionally and as students.
ReplyDeleteNickie,
DeleteI agree with your statement regarding our ability to think and work logically. Focusing can be difficult but can improve greatly with practice.
Nickie,
DeleteI completly agree that television is a major distraction. I too kept getting distracted by it and had to turn it off. I also liked how you put that procrastination is a battle of the mind, couldn't agree more.
Nickie,
DeleteI, like Jessica, also was on the same page with you about the tv. thing. I have a very hard time staying on track when the tv. is on. I need to have either a quiet room or nothing but classical music playing.
The thing about this article that makes it credible to me is that I have heard and read similiar explanations and it makes sense. As well as some of his methods or examples that he gives in order to try and stop procrastinating. I know from experience that some of them do help, so this makes it even more credible in my opinion. Some of the things I agreed with the author is that it is very easy to get distracted with the noises or other things going on around us as we are trying to get certain things done. I also agree with his statement and advice of turning off the things that distract us like the television, instant menssanger, facebook or anything else around us that causes "rex" to take over. I believe that his targeted audience is for a broad group of people that have problems with procrastination like myself. The writers purpose is to try and educate and show that there are many people out there with the same problem. He is trying to show why some of us do procrastinate by stating and giving logical examples as well as giving us a couple of things we can try to help us listen to "albert" instead of "rex" when it comes to getting things done on time. He persuaded me to believe that he does have some knowledge of this subject and that there are things that we can do to help us with procrastination, but I don't believe he entirely knows how to completly help stop procrastination for good.
ReplyDeleteJessica,
DeleteI agree, the author did give some helpful tools, but was a far cry from giving substantial advice on how to stop procrastinating. I did have to shut off my TV in order to stay focused while reading the article. It is easy to get distracted, but at the same time, the "Albert" part of my brain took over.
I agree that the author does not know how to stop procrastination for good, however that's also currently an impossibility. In the reading you'll notice that the authors talk about the reptilian brain and how it's evolved over millions of years, and how it drives our most basic instincts. Without these, we as humans would have died off many years ago, probably prior to humanity even being a thing. We cannot solve procrastination, we can simply find ways to encourage action in ourselves.
DeleteJessica,
DeleteI agree with you about the writers credibility, and his methods of dealing with procrastinating and distractions. I too have used some of these methods in my own life, and have seen how they can help. I don't think we can ever stop procrastination for good. The key is, to be able to limit it to a minimum.
I found this article to be credible, in part, because of the scientific approach. Also, the article repeated ideas that I have heard before. I agree with the idea that reducing distractions can be very helpful for most people. I also like and agree with the concept of reward and punishment. I do, however, disagree that logic will not work. I feel that many people are best motivated when given logical reasons to proceed. I think his answers were too absolute and did not address the fact that people are motivated in very different ways. The simplistic manner in which the blog is written and the graphics used suggest the target audience is people between middle school and young adult. The writers intent is, I believe, to help people identify the causes of procrastination and provide some helpful tools. I am partially persuaded by his post. I believe it is helpful but he fails to address some other causes of procrastination such as fear of failure. This post may lead some to believe that all procrastination is laziness and the desire to give in to pleasure only.
ReplyDeleteMerri,
DeleteI could not agree more with your analysis on the post. I, too, believe that logic can work, especially for strong minded people. I am a very logical thinker in almost a Spock sort of way. That can also be a weakness on my part. Although I did not think of it at the time I read the article, you are right in the assumption that people can be led to believe that procrastination is the same as laziness which I am sure most of us know is not the case. Thank you for your post!
Merri, I agree with you that reducing distractions is very helpful. Also I think you are correct by saying that people are motivated in different ways and I am glad you pointed out that the article seems to point out laziness as the only cause of procrastination, which I did not see it at the time of reading the article.
DeleteI have to disagree with your statement about being able to use logic. With so many different human beings with different ways of doing things, it is possible that some would be capable of being logical with their reptilian self, however for most it does not work. Look into what motivates many. For myself, it's punishment avoidance. It's easy to look at it as "I need to complete my homework," and say that's logic, but is it really? For what reason do you need to complete your work? Motivation is in everything you do.
Deletethe author did fail to address procrastination as in fear of failure, but he did write in a way that shows us that when we procrastinate, we give into pleasure. i believe that when someone is afraid, they always try to find something that would make them feel good. so i think that we procrastinate because we really just don't want to do, we just want to play and have fun.
DeleteMerri,
DeleteI liked that you pointed out his disbelief in logic as an answer or the fact the fear was left out. My youngest child runs on negativity and fear. There are many times a day he puts of doing his school work, making statements such as, "Why bother doing it? I am just gonna get an F anyways!"
The thing that makes the author creditable is the epithet behind his name, the fact that he seems to know what he is talking about, and what he says seems to be true. Part of the post that I agree with is that he is right about most of it, but the one thing that stands out is that it really doesn’t matter how far we as a race has evolved, we will always go back to the basics, to our primitive instincts when it comes to something we don’t want to do. I disagree with the part that he said to force a start. Forcing a start usually works out, but many times forcing a start that I’m usually not ready for leads to more problems. The author’s audience is a broader group of people that knows that they procrastinate, but don’t know why. The author’s purpose is to make people understand why they procrastinate in simple terms. I’ve always procrastinated, but I can never explain why I do it. Now, being able to visualize it, I understand more of why I do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the "going back to basics" part. We often times will revert to what we've learned or been taught. Take the military for example. They completely change your natural response to many situations to better suit military needs. This can be very helpful at times when those trained skills are helpful, but as many vets have learned, merging back into a society where everyone is not a potential combatant, is hard.
DeleteChei,
DeleteVery well put about the authors audience. I also see and understand the instincts behind procrastinating much better now. This passage brought a whole new way to look at work ethic.
The author is credible because it shows a great deal of work and thought put into the answer, not simply a quick "because I said so" type answer. The part regarding distractions was great since it is common for myself and many of my friends to become distracted if something else in available. In my youth this was called ADD and was treated with ritalin, nowadays it seems that we've come to better understand what exactly is causing us to act in the way that we do. The target audience, people who want to better manage their time, is at least going to understand procrastination better and may even be able to garner a few tricks and tips from this. It really seems that the response seeks to let you understand why we procrastinate and how to fix it, which was at the core of the initial question. Though very well written and informative, I don't know that I'm persuaded. It's helpful and informative, however even after having read it, I still find myself only being motivated by avoiding punishment.
ReplyDeleteRobert,
DeleteI completely agree with you on the part that people can become distracted by something else. Also agree that the article is trying to show how to fix procrastination by giving some good tips.
Robert,
Deletei also agree about the distractions, as i am a victim of this too. I also agree that this was good information.
punishment is a good motivator and you are right about the post being informative. i don't think the author really knows how to stop it, but maybe by us understanding more of why we procrastinate. then we might be able to cut down on it. back in my day, ADD didn't really exist, it was more like why aren't you getting it done? or am i willing to take the consequence if i don't get it done? then we just blow it off.
DeleteRobert,
DeleteI totally agree with you about the Vets having trouble getting reacclamated to society. My boyfriend and my father both have that problem, even now, years later.
I believe the source is credible, because what the writer is suggesting are things that I experience everday. I agree that,If I have distracting or more interesting things going on around me, when I am trying to complete or start a task, my mind will easily tune into what seems like more entertaining things. THe audience he is targeting would be, people looking to be more diligent with their works, and also people looking to make an unenjoyable task become habit, like getting into a solid gym routine. The first month of going to the gym is the toughest because of the wear and tear on your body, but once your in the routine, your mind actually enjoys it. The purpose here is to explain to the audience a methodical way to beating procrastinating, I also feel he gives the reader a sense of- your not alone here which makes it a little more easy to grasp. The post is very convincing because it correlates so well with how we can overcome procrastination, in a way that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteunejoyable task become habits, i never really thought of it that way. i used to have a gym routine, but once i got out of it; it's really hard to get started again. i too feel that the author wrote this in a way that says you're not alone in this.
DeleteI also agree with the un enjoyable habits and beating procrastination.Mind over matter, or pretending to enjoy the un enjoyable is the hardest part.
DeleteI agree with the writers purpose to inform his readers about procrastination. The examples/ tips and scientific explanation are what made this source credible. The target audience is people that are not great at getting into a routine; an example used was the gym. Ultimately this post did actually intrigue me to disciple that inner Rex in my brain and his humorous / informative and relative style made it a bit easier to understand.
ReplyDelete