My goal for this assignment was to spend less time anxiously over-researching study abroad programs! For context, I am studying abroad in Madrid in Spring, but I’m not sure if I should study abroad again in Fall Quarter. I want to experience as much time abroad as I can on Stanford’s dime, but I am nervous about the social and logistical implications of spending 9 months away from Stanford. I keep going back and forth about it in my head, often turning to sites like Reddit in hopes of finding the answer. This process frequently leads to several hours spent anxiously scrolling through internet content rather than actually living my life!
Throughout the two days that I attempted to measure my behavior, I became hyperaware of what I was doing. Because I knew I would document every time I went down a study abroad rabbit hole, I didn’t indulge in that behavior at all. I resorted to documenting the times that I simply thought about intensely researching study abroad so that I would have something to write in my notes. This assignment demonstrated that I am pretty disciplined when I know I’m going to be called out for my unhealthy habits. However, I could have gotten more information regarding what causes my behavior if perhaps someone else documented what I was doing. Maybe if a friend watched me all day, documenting my behavior but not telling me the exact behavior they were checking for, I would have behaved the way that I normally do.
