I Procrastinate and So Can You!

Why don't I check my email before class?

Because I would have nothing to do during class.

Yes thats right, while in class I do not pay attention. Instead I choose to surf the internet. However I have to be strategic about it. I can't just look at all the interesting news articles and all of my emails at the start of class, I will die of boredom before the end of the lecture. Also, I never, ever, check anything on the internet before the lecture starts.

This allows me to maximize my time where I am not paying attention and it makes lectures like 'Comparative Politics of the Geo-Politcal North' bearable. Now, if you are reading this and are wondering how you can structure your lecture like I do, wonder no longer.

What you need to do is go to a news network website, I prefer BBC but you can use whatever works for you, and look at all of the headlines and ration them out for the rest of the class. I will usually look at my first article at this point. I also combine the BBC with sports websites (i.e. TSN, NHL.com, NFL Network, etc.) but this is not for everyone. Now you are free to open up gmail and see if anyone has sent you mail. If you haven't got any read an old one so you can waste time. Now read your second article, check facebook, tune into the lecture to make sure you haven't missed news of a test or a paper and then read article number three. If you have a second email account, check it now. It is very important that you do not skim any of the news articles or emails. You must devote your hole attention to every word so that you can use up the most time.

Also, it is a rare treat that whomever is sitting in front of you is watching a movie on their computer or ipod, take advantage of this. Do not rely on this, however, as your only time wasting method. Be prepared to last o full lecture on the internet alone.

It is possible that you will be too hasty in your procrastination and will run out of things to do. This is a tough one. You can't just reread an article because that is as boring as the lecture you are trying to avoid. So, you have two choices, either you pay attention to the lecture or you facebook stalk your friends or their friends. This has risks however. The biggest one being that everyone around you who looks at your screen, and they all are, will think you are a very big creep but if you are okay with that then go right ahead and stalk your friends girl friend whom you have never meet.

I hope this strategy will revolutionize your lectures the way it has for me. If you are of the opinion that I am paying for my schooling and therefore should pay attention and take effective notes I would love it if you kept you comments to yourself.

p.s. Writing a blog on wasting time is a very good way to waste time :)

p.p.s I want to throw a shout out to Rachel S who is suffering through Comparative Politics with me