Beginnings

Sometimes I feel as if my freshman self was more zealous and carefree when heading into a project.
Lately it feels like I've become more cautious and curious about making something good. I tell people that it's all in the process and that you shouldn't worry about making a good "x", especially if it's your first. But perhaps I'm not practicing what I preach.

I think I can attribute this to energy and freshness. During my freshman year, everything was spectacularly new and different. I was in a new environment and adjusting to this new concept known as "STAC" and "Bold Optimism." Knowing myself, I get bored quite easily and unless I find a reason to continue working on something, I abandon it. But I also think it's important to see things through till the end because producing work and getting things done is what will count in the end.

That being said, I do feel like a reason why I've partially lost that "gung ho" drive is because I've become comfortable. High school no longer offers me anything new and I need change in order to thrive. I'm twiddling my thumbs and waiting to go to college already where the people are different and the challenges are worth while. Or maybe I'm making excuses. Not sure.

Now on the topic of what keeps me from starting something....

I have preoccupations (also colloquially known as distractions) and a routine that usually sets me up to work. When I'm at home, I have to clear my table, make myself a cup of tea, check Facebook, close Facebook and then get comfortable. It's only then that I usually am able to sit down and get going on a project like writing a paper.

Some tricks that I use to get myself started is to set up things the night before so that the next day, I'm more motivated to work on it. For example, if I'm set to work on a paper (this is my example at the current moment because well, I'm in the midst of writing my "do or die" PiG paper), I'll open all the documents I'll need the night before so that the next time I sit down in front of my computer to work, I'll dive right into it.