I just finished an entire difficult textbook with (virtually) all the problems, on my own. I think that might be a first for me. The textbook is Art of Problem Solving Introduction to Algebra. I know that finally completing introductory algebra many years out of high school doesn’t sound like a big deal for most LW members, but for me it was a big and difficult step.
Working through this textbook took me about seven months, with a few scheduled breaks and a longer break for my third child being born.
Final grade (= average grade for all the chapters, using a grading system I made up): 93.7 out of 114.8 possible.
A big thank you to zedzed for offering to impose artificial deadlines on me for each chapter, and for giving me occasional help and advice. I would definitely not have been able to do it otherwise. Everybody please upvote zedzed’s confirmation below for helping out a fellow LWer.
If anybody else would like someone to set up a system of artificial deadlines for them then please PM me. For me at least such a system seems to be the best anti-akrasia tool I’ve ever found, short of having real deadlines.
Took survey. Didn’t answer all the questions because I suspend judgment on a lot of issues and there was no “I have no idea” option. Some questions did have an “I don’t have a strong opinion” option, but I felt a lot more of them should also have that option.