School now, Facebook later

Holy week was a welcomed hiatus from my academic activities, but also a stern reminder that the trimester was coming to a close. Only two weeks remained the day classes resumed and I had yet to write two very large and important papers looming on my to-do list (one on the 2007 student Movement in Venezuela and the other on 21st Century Socialism). After being out of school for one year and a half I had apparently lost the important skill of pacing myself and acquired the dangerous habit of procrastination. Studying abroad certainly has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, the different culture, language, and political perspectives have all enriched my academic experience here. However, the general distractions of living in a foreign country (e.g., the temptation to explore ), and especially in a laid-back Caribbean culture where “taking it easy” and “partying” are national pastimes, does little to correct my lack of motivation to start a 20 page paper. Aware of being caught in this less than propitious environment for academic accomplishment and recognizing that time was not on my side, I set out to beat the system. My first step was to lay down some ground rules that would make these papers my number one priority for the next two weeks. Up until this time I had been intentional about balancing energy for friends here, friends/family back home, school, travel, extracurricular activities, internship, and personal time all while trying to stay healthy and happy. Balance is hard to come by and almost always something gets neglected. To make up for the neglect, my mantra for the next two weeks was: Work hard now, Rest later; Study now, Sleep later; Write now, Travel later; School now, Facebook later. I sought to eliminate all the distractions and temptations that lurk around my kitchen table where I set up my lap top. I assumed an unusual sleep schedule, often napping during the afternoons and working at night when no one could invite me out for a coffee, or convince me to catch a movie. Needless to say, my strategy was successful and the papers were turned in on time. While I wasn’t sure it was possible, I am capable of high levels of productivity here. This experience has inspired me to develop a disciplined routine for this trimester that will allow me to follow the Venezuelan news more closely, write more regularly in my blog, keep in touch with friends and family, study, travel, read outside of class, study Portuguese and live the moment. So far I’ve been faithful to this syncopated rhythm, which has helped me feel more settled, grounded, productive, and priority oriented.