When Procrastination Meets Dissertation

In the wake of handing in final projects, David Johnson tells us how he successfully put off work for as long as possible…

‘Procrastination’: truly the buzz-word of thousands of students’ engagement with essays. On any given day of the holiday’s one only needs to browse their Facebook news-feed to discover dozens of status updates detailing innovative modes of wasting time, through whatever means necessary in order to avoid working on essays.

The recent Easter break was no exception; in fact it was even more of an issue than usual, because these weren’t just typical run-of-the-mill essays, they were dissertations, thus requiring more time, more research and more effort than a typical essay. It seems only fitting that they also require more procrastination.

I had backed myself into something of a corner when it came to writing my own dissertation, because I was determined to enjoy half of my Easter break as I would any holiday, and also to finish writing it before returning to uni. This meant that I had two weeks to write the whole thing.

Ultimately I was successful in this endeavour, but I would have to say that on balance more time was spent tip-toeing around putting in solid hours of work. Essentially, I would occasionally take a moment out of valuable procrastination time to work on the dissertation.

Image Credit: geekwire.com

Having spent the last three years mastering the art of procrastination, I was determined to feel that my cunningly wasted time wouldn’t feel like a waste in retrospect. Therefore I was creative with my chosen activities.

First of all, I borrowed my sister’s DVD of the first season of The Walking Dead, which I got through in less than a day; there were only six episodes after all! I immediately borrowed the second season, which provided a much greater challenge at 13 episodes long, killing twice the time the first season had. Then, out of determination to avoid any spoilers, I sought out the third season (16 episodes this time!) and made my way through that. At the back of my mind there were occasional thoughts of something important that I really had to get done.

Having caught up on The Walking Dead, I also had my favourite TV series to think about, which just so happened to start its third season during the break. I’m referring to Game of Thrones (you may have heard of it…) for which I decided to write a weekly blog for each episode. At least I was getting some writing done!

There is only so much time that can be dedicated to television, and so I expanded my creative horizons into music. I am a songwriter, and have been working on my abilities throughout my degree. All of my songs have been written on a guitar, but because this was a special occasion I decided to convert a song I had written to the piano. I am not a pianist by any stretch of the imagination, but I know enough basic notes to create simple tunes. It didn’t take too long to convert my song to a different instrument, but I took time out of every day to practice it.

In spite of all these delays I managed to get my dissertation finished, in fact I handed it in a week early to avoid all of the stress of printer malfunctions, computers freezing and losing all of my work, or lengthy queues at the hand-in desk. Ironically despite wasting so much time, I ended up with nearly a week of free time on my hands at the end of it all!

David Johnson

Check out David’s blog for more of his insights here: http://davidjohnsonreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

How are you procrastinating? Let us know in the comments below!

8 Dissertation Pets To Help You Stay Sane

Dissertations are evil things. With word counts swimming before tired third-year eyes as they gulp back their third Earl Grey of the day, Exeposé has decided it’s time to focus on the upsides to dissertation angst.

We’ve all noticed the abnormally high levels of facebook activity in dissertation students, but what hasn’t been heralded is the high number of cute animals being featured.

Taking inspiration from University of Aberdeen’s infamous stress-relief program (hint: it involves puppies), we’ve compiled the best pet photos littering facebook to give you a pile of adorable to relax into.

 

1. The Cartoon Kittens

Credit: Antonia Ash-Ranger

As we all know, it’s actually quite annoying when you’re trying to write but all your kittens want to do is watch The Lion King. But what you lose in essay progress is more than made up for in watching Simba inspire kittens to greatness.

2. The Apres Lion King Cat

“Everything the light touches is our kingdom”                                                 Image credit: Tom Payne

Third-year English student, Tom Payne, was lucky enough to see the results of Lion King inspiration on his cat. Though tragically his cat is not able to sing (in tune), he has been enthusiastically surveying his dominion with a Mufasa-worthy level of kingship.

3. The Physics Lab-rador*

(*she’s actually a Cocker Spaniel)

Image credit: Sophie Wo

While we at Exeposé don’t condone using your pets to do your revision notes for you, we can’t deny how cute they look while doing it. Third-year Physics student, Sophie Wo, can definitely expect paw-some exam results…

Having a mental capacity bigger than the entirety of your species’ can be exhausting. Image credit: Sophie Wo

4. The Tap Cat

Image credit: Alexandra Grainger

Getting enough liquids during your dissertation slog is definitely important and Alexandra Grainger’s cat has got the right idea. Not only is situating yourself in the kitchen great for easily reachable snacks, but why not go the whole way and just sit in the sink all day? It’s also, we hear, a good way to ensure personal hygiene.

5. The Pavarotti Pup

Image credit: Jamie Lock

The middle of dissertation period is not the best time to have your dogs decide it’s time they begin their music career. However, third-year English student, Sophie Lock, has selflessly put aside all work commitments to manage them on the road to stardom. She did seem a little doubtful though saying: “Minnie’s always been very talented, we’re trying to start a double act but Alfie is struggling to read the music.”

Poor Alfie struggles to read the music. Image credit: Jamie Lock

6. The Stalker Cat

Image credit: Katherine Hyland

When Classics MA student, Katherine Hyland, strolled casually home in late March, she couldn’t have known that a cat would enter her life. Though one may like to think of dissertation pets as wholly benevolent creatures, Kat’s tale of being stalked by a cat shows how pets can simply see dissertation season as an opportunity for free food and comfy deskspace. While it is possible that the cat was confused by Kat’s name, don’t be caught out in the same way – stay safe and stay feline aware.

7. The St. Luke’s Library Cat

Image credit: Dora Ash Sakula

We know what you must be asking: what can I do to alleviate my stress if I don’t own a pet? Simple – head to St. Luke’s Library and hang out with its cat often called ‘Luke’ (yeah, we have no idea why either). Said to be a wonderful confidant and a good laugh by all, the cat is a great way to distract from work woes. But stay cool – no one wants to look desperate when making friends with a cat.

A calming presence                            Image credit: Lyddy Jones

8. The Animated Alligator

Image credit: Kate Gray

Another alternative to actually owning a pet, is drawing yourself one. Third-year Classics student, Kate Gray, went for the obvious choice of a Sherlock Holmes alligator as her cuddly companion. While we do applaud her admirable punning ability, we are a little worried about her. We hope you are okay, Kate.

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Have you taken any great dissertation pet photos? Let us know, along with any general ‘squee-ing’, in the comments below…

Olivia Luder, Site Manager, and Harriet Wigmore