What Did You Do Instead of Being Productive?

[PsychHopeful2020]

I just can't drag myself away from graduate school content and yet I don't seem to be doing anything productive. With the hopes that I'm not alone, I thought I'd share my list with you guys and you might appreciate it. 

Things I have done instead of being productive:

- Read the class list for my top choice program and reacted as though it was my actual schedule - "That class will be awesome, but this one will kind of suck"

- Priced out a gym membership near my top choice program

- Created a Quizlet to memorize every random, tiny part of the brain??? I mean, bizarre use of mental power right now but okay, I do have a strong background in neuroscience and want to make sure it stays that way...

- Obsessively read the 43 page thread about my top choice city - a city I already live near and have lived in

- Mentally prepared for absurdly cruel interview questions, like "can you explain why your only publication is overall very uninteresting?" or "you don't strike me as someone who can handle this program. how are you planning to combat this?"

- Watched high school seniors reacting to their college decisions on youtube because I just need my fix of that excited energy

What about you? What have you been doing that, in all honesty, is doing nothing to help you?

 

 

[feralgrad]

I combed through the the MFA program results to estimate the absolute earliest I could expect a decision. Turns out it's late January, which I already knew!

[PsychHopeful2020]

On 1/6/2020 at 4:01 PM, feralgrad said:

I combed through the the MFA program results to estimate the absolute earliest I could expect a decision. Turns out it's late January, which I already knew!

I've been in that mood - the earliest for any of my programs is this week!

[feralgrad]

3 hours ago, PsychHopeful2020 said:

I've been in that mood - the earliest for any of my programs is this week!

I have to wait two more weeks for an outside chance that I'll get a decision. The wait for MFA programs is killer!

At any rate, I hope that you get a quick answer!

[AnachronisticPoet]

Began applying to teaching jobs in case I don't get into a PhD

Started watching old seasons of America's Next Top Model (I know...)

Refresh GradCafe a thousand times

Refresh my email a thousand times

Add another source to my thesis outline

Finish a crossword

[Titus Flavius]

On 1/3/2020 at 5:41 AM, PsychHopeful2020 said:

What Did You Do Instead of Being Productive?

I decided to apply to graduate school.

[PsychHopeful2020]

I did a 1000-piece puzzle while listening to scary story podcasts. But my first-author paper was officially accepted for publication today!!!

[hatecoffee0h0h]

I work two jobs and a revolution is currently sweeping over my country but that hasn't distracted me enough. So:

- I'm watching Gilmore Girls for the millionth time

- I'm browsing through Zillow to do an estimate on the rent cost I'd have to do in each town/city I've applied to. I've also bookmarked listings I really liked. 

- I've started obsessively watching DIY YouTubers to get a sense of how I want to furnish/DIY my imaginary studio/1 bedroom. 

- I've obsessively read threads about two of my top choice towns/cities and found mass google docs basically advising about how to live in these said towns/cities while on a limited income. 

.... that's me: pathetic, party of one! 

[studious_kirby]

On 1/28/2020 at 5:48 AM, hatecoffee0h0h said:

- I've obsessively read threads about two of my top choice towns/cities and found mass google docs basically advising about how to live in these said towns/cities while on a limited income. 

ooh, please share! links to these gdocs

[GradSchoolGrad]

I posted on this forum. Great fun, but not the most productive (at least for me personally)

[muchstress]

Every time I have a big deadline a new playlist mysteriously appears on my Spotify account...

[thejellybean]

I just jello.

[ChuletaLover718]

My Pinterest board looks amazing.

I've also managed to start organizing my iPhoto and iTunes. 

I also have been chasing my puppy. 

Very productive stuff. 

[pkgts]

8 consecutive hours of apex legends

[copdeb]

I listened to a podcast which was about productivity and the topic was ADHD.....I felt related to some of the symptoms so I expended all day making online test to see if I have a Attention disorder....80% of them recommended me that I should see a specialist

[Cogni]

I usually listen to music and relax, waste time on stupid Internet sites, eat n times a day... wash the floor, go shopping, draw, read a book - I just hate the feeling of productivity, all in all I'm not a robot! I want to feel life. I can make myself concentrate and not long ago I found it good to study/work like a machine for hours, but... it didn't give me any fulfillment and my results were not so good as I expected. So now I prefer to be a living person with weaknesses, It's OK

[Jacko-Dark]

Doing a PhD is not productive in my opinion.

[Yorgo]

Back fifteen years ago when I was doing my PhD, checking and re-checking your email was all the rage. Then FB became really big and it took procrastination to a whole different level.