Due Dates

     I decided to take 3 summer classes this summer semester because I wanted to be able to graduate with a minor in economics. The first two summer classes gave me due dates several times a week and they were due at a specific time during the day. When I got the e-mail and syllabus for this class, Motivation, I noticed that ALL work was due by the end of the semester. I silently cheered a bit knowing I was not going to spend several days a week attached to my computer. It was nice knowing that I did not have to hand in something weekly and if I was in the mood to procrastinate, I could. When reading the lecture about incentives, I came across the slide about procrastination. It had me thinking how fitting it was to have an "end” due date for all the work in a class that is called “motivation”. 
    According to the slides, procrastination refers to a delay in the goal-directed behavior despite knowing that one will be worse off as a result. In the beginning of the semester when I noticed how awesome it would be to slack off each week, I realized that it felt like a “test” to me. I felt like I was being tested on my ability to stay motivated in a class that was all about motivation. This gave me both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for this class. I was intrinsically motivated due to my own pleasure of doing well in the class and the pleasure of my hard work paying off and extrinsically motivated by the grades I received and also the dates the professor saw me complete my work. It’s a silly thought that I assumed based on the syllabus, but it is working for me. I have set goals each week that I hope to complete my summer work by and if something comes up, I try not to let it put me too far in the hole and be far behind in my work. I like to believe I do not procrastinate too much, however, this was a nice test of my ability to stay motivated and focus on external and internal goals. This is the first time I’ve had a class that had all the homework, quizzes, discussions, and papers due all by the end of the semester. 
    Now, 10 or so days left of the class, I feel like many others may have procrastinated all semester and have not even opened Endurance yet. They are probably rushing to get any grade at all for the mid-term and final. I felt like I have paced myself appropriately and my grades will hopefully reflect my hard work at staying motivated this entire semester.  It's funny to me how I continued to stay motivated throughout this course so I could show the professor that I was not a procrastinator. This class has also shown me my external and internal motivations for specific things in my life.