Developing a work ethic AKA getting my pathetic self in gear

[Turtle]

Once again I'm calling on the CG and OO communities, you've been there for me before, and now I need you guys again.

I have a problem, and sadly I'm being serious about this.  I have no work ethic, or any sort of willpower to work towards my greater good.

Finals week for this semester has made me realize how pathetic I am.  As of right now, I have 1 3D animation and 2 paintings due on Wednesday next week, 1 3 page report due on Monday.

All I got done the last two days I had completely free was to sketch in the lines for one of my paintings, and that alone took a lot of willpower on my part.  What's worse is that I was already on academic probation, if I mess this up even a little I'll get booted out of college.  It's been this way for much of my life.

Not only that, my entire life is kinda of failure.  Still at home at 23 and looking to stay that way for another year at least.  My art career has gone no where because despite being able to animate, my drawing skill is below mediocre (not practicing at all).  Did I also mention I'm in debt?

I have been working, so I'm not all bad, but the store I last worked at closed due to rent increase right after everyone had hired for the holidays.  I've also got one good semester's worth of animation and several good drawings and stories from my life, but overall it's not much and none of it is more recent than a semester ago.

Sometimes I just sit in my chair not doing anything, even when I know there's something I need to do.  It's like I'm afraid to do it and I just can't will myself to even start.  I think I'm depressed, and I've always said to myself that I could work through it, but now I'm considering asking for meds if it'll help.  Anyway, I don't know what kind of deep rooted (or shallow) psychological problems I have, but I just don't have the time for it.

So I'm throwing my pathetic ass to the masses for whatever help or abuse I need to get myself in gear.  I still want to reach my goal of becoming an animator/illustrator, and I definitely don't want to become one of those people that never do something with their lives.

[mb737]

Sounds like you have my problem, procrastination mixed with laziness.  The less you have to do the less you do, if that makes sense.

  What works for me is to make an un-schedule.  I don't set dates and times, but I set things up in advance for when I get around to actually doing the task.  For example, bill paying - I always put my bills in the same place on the table with pens, checks, stamps, etc. also right there.  Then when I decide to pay bills at the spur of the moment it's all right there for me to go at it instead of trying to find all the extras I need.

  It's not so much about being organized than prepared.  You know you have to do stuff, but you don't want to do it right now, so get set up for when you'll want to do it later!

  Grocery lists are another good example.  When I go to the store I don't have to try to rember what I need because in my kitchen there is a pen and paper right where I can immediately write down things I've run out of.  Then all I have to do (when I get around to going to the store) is grab the list and I'm ready to shop.

  Turn yourself into a Boy Scout.  Be Prepared.

  So instead of being a borderline OCD patient (which is probably my other recourse) I plan ahead bit by bit and when I'm ready to do something I can't blow it off because I have to do all this other stuff first so that I can do what I originally intended.

[Bulletpig]

A great medicine you should try is one that Dennis Leary talked about:

"Shut the !@#$ UP"

Which basically means get off your lazy ass and do what needs to be done.

I'm not trying to be an ass but from your post it sounds like to me that you really need to growup and get off your lazy ass.  Your 23 not 12.

Nobody enjoys work/school/life all the time and we all have to do stuff that we do not want to do.


Pig

[Kevin Grey]

It took me a little while in college to figure out the proper "method" for me.

First- make sure the material you are studying actually engages you.  I majored in Electrical Engineering for over two years and didn't enjoy it all.  Going to classes, studying, everything was a chore and I was completely unmotivated.  It got so bad one semester I came close to losing my Navy scholarship.  Then, one day in my junior year, my dad asked me "So are you really enjoying your major?"  When I told him I didn't but felt an obligation to carry through he shocked me by suggesting I look into changing my major to a field I was interested in.  A little bit of research and help from my college counselors showed that I could change my major to Industrial and Systems Engineering, a field I was much more interested in, and still graduate in five years.

The difference was night and day.  All of a sudden I really enjoyed going to class, studying, projects- the works.  

I also changed my work ethic- I treated college like a job.  I didn't try to get late morning or afternoon classes to sleep in.  Instead I got up every morning between 6 and 7 am and started "work" which was either attending classes or studying.  I wouldn't let myself have any leisure time until my "work" for the day was done.  Some days that meant by 3pm I could relax the rest of the day but other times it was 2am before I stopped for the day.  

Also important- keeping busy. My worst semester was when I only took 12 credit hours.  Since I had so few credit hours I wasn't in the habit of working so it was that much more painful for me when I tried.  Once I took 18 hours or more I was so busy that it really helped me focus on my studies.

The end result- I was Dean's List my last 2.5 years of college with a nearly 4.0 average.

[ravenvii]

I agree with two points in this thread.

First: GET BUSY! I'm exactly the same way when I'm not busy. I waste days and days just doing absolutely nothing. But when I am busy... I get busy.

Second, major in something you enjoy. I didn't realize how important this is before.When I first went to college, I went to a technical college and majored in business management. And I hated all the classes I had. I HATED math, and hated all the technical classes I took. Honestly, I realized I was in the wrong place. It got so bad that I flunked not one but TWO classes. I had time to withdraw though, so my GPA was spared, thank god. But after that, I transferred to another, more conventional liberal arts college, and am now majoring in philosophy. And loving it. The classes actually engage me, and I actually want to take part in the discussions.

Think about it, if you hate your current major, what makes you think you'll like your job?

[Floyd Walker]

I'll second Raven - find something you like... you'll motivate yourself.
A couple of similar situations have occurred/are occurring in my family.
First, my wife was in retail management (over 2 or 3 jobs) for countless years, and was getting to the point that she was pleading (literally!) " Don't make me go to work today". Well - she got an invite from a relative to come work at a local doctor's office as a medical assistant (OJT, plus the doctor would send her to any needed classes for certifications). She's been there over 5 years now, and I can count on one hand minus the thumb, the number of times that she hasn't felt like going in. She even feels guilty when she can't go in to work due to illness! :shock: Looks like she found HER niche. Heh.
Now, I myself am to the point she was at 5 years ago... basically burned out, only going to work because of the paycheck, and loathing every minute that I have to put in. My job situation is different, however. I've been at my job going on 15 years (local law enforcement, assigned to corrections) and, being a govt. job, the pay and bennies aren't bad. The worst thing about the job isn't the job itself, but the enviroment - the backstabbing, having the boss (county Sheriff) literally cuss everyone out when everyone is sworn in again after he's re-elected, contract negotiations that NEVER have run less that 6 months - usually 8 to 10 -  and always end up going to an arbitrator (over only a 1 or 2 percent raise - and our county is one of the richest ones in Ohio), sheesh - I could go on for pages. The only reason I've stayed even this long is that I've been unable to put away enough funds to keep afloat until my retirement cash-out would come in (about 3 months). The oportunity has finally presented itself that I'll be able to bail out before the end of '05, and cursed be he that stands between me and the door when that time comes! I haven't decided yet just what line of work I'll go into yet, but finances will allow me a little leeway - at least for a year or so - to find something. It isn't very often that a person gets the chance for a fresh start in life, and I'm counting myself lucky that this happened while I'm still young enough to partake.
To conclude this long-winded post...
Don't force yourself into something you don't really like, hoping that you'll grow into it - you'll just be miserable, and left wondering what you could have done with all the time you wasted finding that fact out. Sure, doing what you like to do is fun, but when you are forced to do it, it becomes a chore. Take a step back and look at the "big picture"... sometimes you'll see that there's another - more pleasant - path that you can take.
Hope you can make some sense of my ramblings, Turtle.  

[jonsauce]

I'm one of those people who does well when I have alot to do and does about nothing when there isn't much going on.  
My first three years of college I was working 20 hours a week and taking 14-17 credits a semester.  I was flying along with a 3.6 GPA which isn't to bad.
Well one day my boss said that they didn't need me anymore and I decided that since I was in my last year of school I should just concentrate on school instead of getting another job.  Big mistake!  I started failing half of my classes and now I am in my 5th year of school.

For whatever reason I do great when I have a job but I can't bring myself to do school if its the only thing going on in my life.