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Future IB students, or IB1 students- On all-nighters and procrastination


CkyBlue

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Agree completely. Procrastination is a huge problem, especially with the IB because there's so much to do that you don't know where to start and so end up doing nothing. And it may seem cool that you leave something to the day before the deadline and still manage to get a good grade, but it wasn't very smart to do.

I think getting started is the biggest problem people have, once they do, they get their work done well. And all-nighters aren't smart. You won't end up concentrating the next day and will miss out on all the advice given in lessons.

My advice for procrastinators? Admit that it's a problem. Find out what makes you procrastinate and try and give it up for a while. E.g. if its Facebook/spending time on a website - block the website for a while. Then, PLAN/RECORD. Record every hour of the day and what you accomplished. Even if you did nothing but procrastinate, write that down. That's a very good way of figuring out how much time you waste + how much time you could save instead.

Also, don't listen to other procrastinators. "He hasn't done it so it's okay if I don't do it yet either" is just not a good attitude.

A little determination can go a long way. And don't forget to reward yourself with free time after that. :)

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I really like the idea behind this topic, personally speaking I have struggled with procrastination for the last 3 years of my life.

Now, its the last 4 days of summer, and I still havent finished all my homework before school starts. However, recently I've been making a change. A few days ago, I finished analyzing the data for my extended essay. 2-3 days ago, I finished getting my back to school shopping done (urgh.) and finished organizing the notes that I needed for this year, which included thankfully discovering my economics notes that I thought I had thrown out (phew) and getting rid of what I didn't need. Then, yesterday, I finally started getting together my notes for my summer TOK assignment and I started reading the book I needed to read for English (Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies). Today, I plan to finish my TOK assignment.

Its true, I still do procrastinate, but I'm hopefully starting to get over some bad habits.

However, one thing I'd like to point out, is that in order to have a really fulfilling life...you need some procrastination, even if its considered "useless"

I mean, the definition of useless procrastination depends on each person. As you said, you can procrastinate by doing something useful. I'd imagine this involves doing something such as, watching the Discovery Channel, or watching a TED talk, or something similarly informative. However, I think it really depends on what you do that others may not see as "useful". For example, all of my close friends know that I love watching TV. It may seem like a waste of time, which is true, because it usually is. However, if I had never watched the TV show House, I never would have realized that being a doctor is something I want to truly become (Yes, I know that the show glamorizes the career, I'm aware of that. I like it because of all the ethical issues commonly associated with the career, and the state of mind you need in order to work as a doctor). Furthermore, when I procrastinate by watching something funny, or reading a comic, its good stuff for a sense of humor and the imagination.

True, it can be really bad for you, but I think that people sometimes need to truly reflect on what they learn, even from the smallest of things.

However, I do think that procrastination should be cut down....a LOT, in my case.

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I really like the idea behind this topic, personally speaking I have struggled with procrastination for the last 3 years of my life.

Now, its the last 4 days of summer, and I still havent finished all my homework before school starts. However, recently I've been making a change. A few days ago, I finished analyzing the data for my extended essay. 2-3 days ago, I finished getting my back to school shopping done (urgh.) and finished organizing the notes that I needed for this year, which included thankfully discovering my economics notes that I thought I had thrown out (phew) and getting rid of what I didn't need. Then, yesterday, I finally started getting together my notes for my summer TOK assignment and I started reading the book I needed to read for English (Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies). Today, I plan to finish my TOK assignment.

Its true, I still do procrastinate, but I'm hopefully starting to get over some bad habits.

However, one thing I'd like to point out, is that in order to have a really fulfilling life...you need some procrastination, even if its considered "useless"

I mean, the definition of useless procrastination depends on each person. As you said, you can procrastinate by doing something useful. I'd imagine this involves doing something such as, watching the Discovery Channel, or watching a TED talk, or something similarly informative. However, I think it really depends on what you do that others may not see as "useful". For example, all of my close friends know that I love watching TV. It may seem like a waste of time, which is true, because it usually is. However, if I had never watched the TV show House, I never would have realized that being a doctor is something I want to truly become (Yes, I know that the show glamorizes the career, I'm aware of that. I like it because of all the ethical issues commonly associated with the career, and the state of mind you need in order to work as a doctor). Furthermore, when I procrastinate by watching something funny, or reading a comic, its good stuff for a sense of humor and the imagination.

True, it can be really bad for you, but I think that people sometimes need to truly reflect on what they learn, even from the smallest of things.

However, I do think that procrastination should be cut down....a LOT, in my case.

As IB Survival's catchphrase is, "Helpful Procrastination." I'm sure a lot of us, by being on here, are procrastinating. But it is "helpful". So yes I understand and agree with your point. Too much procrastination though, is dangerous. A little bit is okay, it all depends on what you do.

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Loving how people need me, even if it is useless or they are trying to manage me.

:rolleyes:

Well, this is my opinion: Procrastinating is kind of a moment when you want to rest from all this IB stress but then the situation gets out of control and you start loosing the game with it, wasting time you're never going to get back. I mean, for real... Procrastination is not that bad when you know how to do it, when to do it, and how long is it going to last. The problem is when time starts passing by and you don't even realize it. I remember when I was creating my account for IBS, the only thing I was thinking of was procrastination and POP there comes my username. However, everyone should consider that they can't be robots working all day long, I know you're resting during night but you also need some active rest during the day.

... I am not saying that you should definetely procrastinate everytime the opportunity shows up but you should work work work and when you're kind of tired, take 10-30 minutes to relax, do all of this "healthy procrastination" (If you know how to control it) and then start working again. It has worked for me and oh well, I do accept I've had my uncontrollable thirst of procrastination but I can't do anything about it but a stopwatch which kinda informs me when I have to stop. :D

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  • 1 year later...

Can someone advice me? I just got my grade 11 report cards and they are terrible, I normally never fall below 80, 75 at max, but my last one had maths hl and chem hl in the 50s. I just got my wake-up call and i am really pulling all nighters ever since then, but do you think it is enough so that I can score well in IB and finish all my IAs? are there any suggestions that may help me?

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First of all, pulling all nighters is definitely not the way to go. Just read above for all the negative effects of constantly doing so! Simply put, if you want to score well in the IB, you have to put in the effort. You need to be determined to make a change. Obviously what you're doing right now isn't working.

It's good that you are least acknowledging the problem and trying to solve it. :) I think that's the first step! The next is to do your IAs. Just don't procrastinate. Just do them. If you don't do them well, you're just letting yourself down because it will hinder your overall IB score. Think about it this way: IAs are the way to get the top scores. Unlike the final exam papers, you don't have a time limit on your IAs. You can spend hours to ensure you're filling all the criteria (yep - read the criteria for your IAs and exams before doing them! In fact, read the entire syllabus). For certain subject IAs it would also be a good idea to take advantage of your teacher - they are there to help support you, to check if your research question is good, to let you know if you're doing it completely wrong and to let you know how to do well in your IA!

Next for exams, I see the key to being well in a four part process. The key is really to a) understanding the content, b) learning/memorising the content, c) doing practice questions and d) doing past papers in timed exam conditions. Again, I will stress the importance of reading the syllabus, to make sure you're actually learning what you need to know! Content-wise, the syllabus might not be as helpful for English say, but it is practically essential for a subject like Chemistry!

Your scores in the 50s right now, if they are percentages, are probably sitting you at a Grade 4 level, I think.. just making an educated guess there. I don't know how the rest of your subjects are going, but even when assuming you're getting Grade 7s for every other subject and the full bonus points…. if Maths HL and Chem HL are both Grade 4s.. you will have already lost 6 points (total 39!)

If you really want to score well, it is entirely possible, and entirely up to you! :)My suggestions would simply be to pay attention in class so that you learn the content you need to, do your homework so you're revising the content, ask your teacher if you have any questions or don't understand something, do the IAs as well as you can, get some decent sleep, and prepare well for exams by learning the content and doing past papers and practice questions! I hope this helps! I think that if you put in your best effort, you can easily succeed at the IB! :D

However, bear in mind my jugement is a little biased since I don't know what you consider scoring well in the IB. For me, a good score would be 40+, while other IB students are ecstatic to get 35+. :)

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I don't have the conscience to procrastinate. I can't play video games or watch series knowing I should be working on an assignment. :S

Guys, it's a much better feeling to get done with something, and then relax! :D

Agreed! My mum said the same thing to me and I 100% agreed with her too!

...Then I just went on Youtube for a bit, and well, forgot...for a longer bit. Next thing I know, my EE is due in two days. *sigh*

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