Settling In and Keeping Up

Hello everybody!

Now that the first full week of classes has come to a close I hope you’re all adjusted and ready for the rest of the semester!

Now’s when the classes start to get serious and your time management skills are required to come out in full force to pull off the balancing act of assignments-juggling.

I’ve always found that self-motivation is absolutely key to staying on top of everything you need to do. Professors hand out a syllabus to let you in on what you’ve got to do and know throughout the next few months, but it’s all up to you to actually get it done. In an online-only class where you might never see the professor in person, making sure you are up-to-date on assignments is especially imperative. Read your syllabus regularly!

The real problem with self-motivation is finding what motivates you properly. A huge majority of study-tip articles I’ve read say things like “study for 30 minutes then watch TV/get on the internet/etc. for 30 minutes and repeat” or “reward yourself after studying by going out with friends.” Personally, I’ve never been able to stick to that. Maybe my problem is that I have yet to find a TV show that lasts exactly 30 minutes and wind up getting hooked on it for longer than intended, and if I’ve got plans with friends later, I tend to focus on that instead of the task at hand.

If those methods work for you, great! Stick with it. If they don’t, you have to find different motivation. Maybe your motivation is not wasting the money you’re spending to attend these classes, or maybe after each paragraph you write in an essay you’ll let yourself eat some food you’ve got with you. Knitting, folding origami, running a lap around a track, or baking cookies might be the motivator for you. I’ve personally found that setting small goals with a quantitative reward works as a better motivator than a random allotment of time that is way easier to break.

My point is, find your motivation and focus on it as you work throughout the semester. Make time for fun, but know when you need to be serious about academics as well. Do everything you can and work with what you have and everything will turn out just fine. 🙂