Assignment 3
Reflect: Seeing Our Data Selves
Procrastination is a consequence of a scattered mind, or so I surmise. Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle had a word for procrastination called Akrasia. Akrasia* is a state of acting against one’s better judgment due to one of many reasons: lack of self-control being one. I was procrastinating with the topic of procrastination in mind, in which I pulled a Tim Urban. I, like many, have a less than strange relationship with procrastination such that, a lack of self-efficacy, abundance of self-doubt is a slow death to my perceived potential-self. I decided to make a data model for my bad habit, that being: procrastination.
I started with an intention. My intention is “I want to complete assignment three because the assignment is due on Feb 25.” Surely, my intention is framed as an objective such that, the objective is to complete the assignment before Feb 25. (Did I just write a tautology? Yikes.) While attempting to complete my assignment, I was distracted; I texted my friends about my anxiety around procrastinating, then I googled “why procrastinate?” then I started listening to a podcast on procrastination by Tim Ferris. The duration of this procrastination dread, I felt distracted and unmotivated. Hence, my data model has a field where I can input my intention, and I can figure out whether I felt focused, distracted, motivated, or unmotivated; prompted by the next question on whether I procrastinated today. I was uncertain of the structure or whether the content was sensical, except subjectively, I made sense of it. And that is why I decided to make a chart like this:
When the form is submitted.
The output model is as follows:
Line represents focused.
sketch.fill(255, 129, 55);
sketch.line(-50,0, data.focused*5, data.focused*5)
Triangle represents distracted.
sketch.fill(125, 233, 174);
sketch.triangle(30, 75, 58, 20, 86, 75, data.distracted*5, data.distracted*5)
Square represents motivated.
sketch.fill(246, 94, 93);
sketch.square(30,0, data.motivated*5, data.motivated*5)
Ellipse represents unmotivated.
sketch.fill(179, 207, 250);
sketch.ellipse(50,0, data.unmotivated*5, data.unmotivated*5)
Yellow background represents that I did not procrastinate today.
Pink background represents that I procrastinated today.
(I apologize; I don’t know how to rid myself of the test visuals.)
The visuals look abstract. I wouldn’t say that I fully comprehend what is what, or rather what the data represents, perhaps more often than not, the output would be rather abstract without presupposing what each color and shape represents. This assignment prepared me for a topic that I haven’t given much thought to until now: procrastination. Because even in this example, the trend didn’t reveal what I procrastinate on, granted it is about feelings. I imagine people procrastinate to do things they have a propensity toward or perhaps, other reasons. But still, for instance Tim Urban procrastinated with his music endeavors and wrote what is now, Wait But Why? Isn’t that impressive? I somehow hypothesize that I can use my procrastination to figure out what my inclinations are. For instance, I enjoy reading Brainpickings, New Yorker (not the news section, sorry) and listening to New Yorker Fiction, Hidden Brain, Philosophize This, Modern Love. I spend hours texting my friends articles I find, gifs and comics etc etc. They’re all my interests. I believe these nonsensical interests can be combined to form a sensical project. I just need to figure out how these all relate. I think it is important to figure out flow states. And I can track something along the lines of procastination in order to find what I procastinate on and why, and whether I can find my inclination. But I’m not positive yet because I enjoy topics of “tenderness” and “deadpan” to track.
Learning experience is:
A. Get more comfortable with code. I was sticking to what I know rather than being curious, which is unfortunate because I am, if not many things, for the most part, curious.
B. If I am going to procrastinate, please either don’t or do so effectively. Think Tim Urban.
C. If I want to proceed with the topic of procrastination. Can I break it down more? Also, I prefer to track procrastination with my voice.
*Greeks make everything seem more legit.
