Measuring Me #2 (Andrew Franks)

by Andrew Franks | Posted on

Bad Habit:

 

The behavior that I want to focus on for this assignment is my tendency to procrastinate hard assignments by task-switching mid-assignment to an “easier” or “lower stress” assignment. For example, while working on a hard PSET, I often stop working to be productive in other ways: plan a hike for the next day, send my parents photos from my camera roll, and work on an “easier” assignment. The result makes me feel productive in the short term and I often feel great during the act. However, this behavior leaves me with many unfinished “hard” assignments. Therefore, as my day/few days go on, I progressively have harder and harder assignments lingering to work on, which is frustrating and stressful.

 

Study Plan

From 1/12, 1/13, and 1/15, I measured my behavior during the first wave of assignments for my quarter. Over the course of these three days, I aimed to notice trends in how I prioritize work. I documented work by making a list of when I sat down to do work, what the class was, how long I worked for, and my level of focus/productivity during that block of time. Everytime I switched tasks or became distracted by a sub-task, I would be sure to document that. However, during this process, I made sure to try to be as authentic as possible and opt into task switching when it felt natural, so as not to skew my results.

Behavior Log:

1/12:

    • Work Block 1 – 11:00-12:15
      • Topic: CS247B
      • Assignment(s): 
        • Ethics reading and responses
      • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination
        • Looked into hiking options in Big Sur for long weekend
        • Texted my friend about going for a TJs run later that night
        • Responded to emails regarding summer internship
      • Productivity Reflection: 8/10
        • It was early in the morning and I wanted to get a strong start to my day. I moved through the work quite quickly, but the initial assignment task took longer than anticipated due to my breaks
  • Work Block 2 – 1:30-4:00
      • Topic: CS108
      • Assignment(s):
        • Introduction to Java reading and notetaking
      • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination:
        • Looked back into hiking options for Big Sur
        • Called a friend for 5 mins to discuss two Big Sur hikes
        • Checked texts and texted friends x5
        • Scrolled through instagram x4
      • Productivity Reflection: 6/10
        • I kept on losing steam and motivation on this assignment. Dense content led to continued burn out.
  • Work Block 3 – 5:30-8:00
    • Topic: CS108
    • Assignment(s):
      • Introduction to Java Reading and notetaking
    • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination:
      • Looked back into hiking options for Big Sur
      • Went for a run halfway through 
      • Checked texts and texted friends x1
      • Scrolled through instagram x2
      • Cooked pasta quickly to eat while I worked
    • Productivity Reflection: 6/10
      • I kept on losing steam and motivation on this assignment. Dense content led to continued burn out. Eventually I went for a quick 30 minute run to help reenergize me.

 

1/13:

    • Work Block 1 – 12:00-1:15
      • Topic: CS108
      • Assignment(s):
        • Homework 1
      • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination:
        • Read the assignment spec and then did my sketchnotes alternatively
      • Productivity Reflection: 5/10
        • While I got good work done during that block, I had sat down to begin what I knew would be a time consuming task and immediately opted to do a more pleasurable, engaging task. Sketchnotes are more dynamic and engaging than coding.
  • Work Block 2 – 4:30-5:50
      • Topic CS108
      • Assignment(s):
        • Homework 1, function 1
      • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination
        • Checked texts x3
        • Finialized hike ideas for Big Sur
      • Productivity Reflection: 9/10
        • I was quite focused and motivated, especially after stopping work earlier in the day.
  • Work Block 3 – 6:00 – 7:00
    • Topic CS108
    • Assignment(s):
      • Homework 1, function 2
    • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination
      • Checked texts x2
      • Checked ESPN to follow live games x5 (this is a quick break)
    • Productivity Reflection 9/10
      • I again was quite focused and motivated

 

1/15:

  • Work Block 1 – 10:00 – 11:45
      • Topic CS108
      • Assignment(s):
        • Homework 1, function 3
      • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination
        • Checked instagram x4
        • Scrolled on TikTok 
        • Texted a few friends
        • Uploaded Big Sur photos to google drive and scrolled through photos
      • Productivity Reflection 8/10
        • Got the work I needed to get done finished, but not as quickly as I would have hoped.
  • Work Block 2: 12:00-12:30
      • Topic SymSys245
      • Assignment(s):
        • Initial reading
      • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination
        • Checked texts x3
      • Productivity Reflection 9/10
        • Quickly finished work
  • Work Block 3 – 3:30-5:00
      • Topic CS247 
      • Assignment(s):
        • Screener Meeting
      • Sub-task Switching/Procrastination
        • None
      • Productivity Reflection 10/10
        • We were focused and got a lot of our work done
  • Work Block 4 – 7:00-9:45
    • Topic CS108
    • Assignment(s):
      • Homework 1, function 4
    • Sub-Task Switching/Procrastination
      • Went for a run during it
      • Checked texts x3
      • Facetimed a friend 
      • Made a partiful for an upcoming event 
      • Sent an email x3
    • Productivity Reflection 7/10:
      • While I did a lot during this time period, at least 30% of time was on unrelated tasks

 

Model 1:

 

Model 2:

I created two models. First I created a habit ecosystem circle to diagram how different factors in my life interact with each other in the context of doing homework. I color coordinated the diagram to include three classes of elements in the diagram. (1) Blue items are my work actions (working on an assignment, finding/completing small subtasks), (2) red items are my feelings about work (i.e. feeling anxious/stressed, desire to be productive, feeling burnt out), and (3) green items are my distractions (i.e. checking texts, checking ESPN, planning events). As seen in the diagram, working on an assignment generally leads to feeling burned out/bored, which leads to finding small subtasks or checking social media. All of these feed back into negative behaviors (anxiety, stress) that lead me to feel unproductive, and then feed back into working on the assignment at hand. However, as time goes on, these only become more intense. 

 

For the second model, I created a feedback loop to hone in on the connections I identified above. Getting work done positively impacts my sense of progress and motivation, which then helps me focus on hard assignments. However, focusing on hard assignments negatively impacts my work and focus, which is also negatively impacted by feeling bored and socially isolated, as well as incoming texts. As this level of focus deteriorates, it leads to a desire to be reinvigorated through smaller tasks or distractions.

 

Analysis:

Ultimately, this was very helpful. By noticing my habits and patterns I immediately identified a set of behavior interventions I could engage in. First, I often use social media/texting during work to provide a sense of connectedness. However, if I more proactively plan social time around work (before, co-working, or after), that may help me engage in social-seeking activities during work. Ultimately, I found that most of the texting I do during work is mostly just out of boredom and not really essential.

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