Cat Purrson (05-10-2022),Excalibur (01-24-2023),Kisses (12-24-2023),Menine (02-12-2023),♥ pillowfighter ♥ (08-07-2022),(05-10-2022),Zenitsu (08-08-2022) Sephora
Howdy y’all!
Looking for your tried and true tips, tricks and suggestions for how to stay on track, disciplined and/or motivated for post secondary classes that are online only!
I started uni recently, and I am doing my program 100% online as I also work full time. My schooling will compliment my career, but I’m worried I’m going to struggle trying to balance my work and school load.
I have all of my discussions, assignments due dates and exams marked out in my calendar. But what I am already struggling with is how to make sure I’m able to keep up with my learning and to devote my time between my 4 classes.
Help ya girl out
Cat Purrson (05-10-2022),Excalibur (01-24-2023),Kisses (12-24-2023),Menine (02-12-2023),♥ pillowfighter ♥ (08-07-2022),(05-10-2022),Zenitsu (08-08-2022) Sephora
Tons of experience with this. I did a post bacc for about 3 yrs and then my masters all while working full and part time respectively. You need to find what works best with you so take my advice with a grain of salt because the only person who knows you best is you. I cant focus for shit during long periods of time so I learned to do everything in chunks. Read a page or 2, take a 5 min break, read another 2 pages, take a break and so on. I used to be that person that waited last minute to do everything but that was not gonna fly with my work schedule and i could not afford to fail any of my classes. I took 5 courses and worked full time and volunteered every saturday morning as a teacher and managed to pull off a 4.0 for 4 quarters straight. I dont know what subject you are learning, but if the material overlaps great, use it as a 1 up to get ahead on other classes. most importantly, take time to create non negotiables for yourself, things you NEED to do maintain a healthy mental state, physical state, relax, whatever it is, if its running, playing neo for 30-1hr or whatever. mine was dodgeball (healthy projection of frustration and anger haha but in good fun haha) but you know try to Keep yourself accountable,its ok to lose track here and then but make dont over do it and punish yourself for it. Its highly stressful yes, but be good to yourself in the end.
my schedule ran 9-5 and right after id go to a local starbucks/coffeeshop for a few hours because I wasnt a person who studied at home. I would I try my best to separate my work and leave my apartment to be only for rest and food. Thats amazing you are being proactive to put things in your calendar so thats awesome!
some others thing to think about is, i worked best in groups so if you are like me, reach out to your classmates via zoom/canvas/discord or whatever portal you have for your classes to create study groups. They can also help in keeping each other accountable too and even share quiz answers or what not. feel free to contact me if you are on a pre-med track or just for any advice i have a ton of resources and stuff to help out.
Last edited by housez; 05-11-2022 at 09:18 PM.
Kisses (12-24-2023)
Thank you for some great insight!
I work full time, similar to 9-5 but my hours a little more flexible, so some days are earlier. I do agree that I think I would study better outside of my house, as there are a lot of distractions at home. We use Canvas, and we have a group project coming up. I have started to keep in touch with a classmate over text/email. I am doing early childhood education, so a lot of this I already know or will be expanding knowledge on in school, as I do work in the field already!
Great points on making sure you block out time for non-negotiables. I am so bad for not taking enough time for my own rest or mental health.
Kisses (12-24-2023)
Yes! its super super important. I am part of MiMentor if you want to check it out and we sometimes have seminars on how to handle stress/work load etc from time to time. If I see any I'll pm you the flyer. And yaasss groups are amazing just because yall share and know the struggle.
Kisses (12-24-2023)
I just came here to update that I finished my first semester! My GPA is likely to be at least 3.5 once final grades come in.
I definitely struggled with staying on track at times, so I let adhd procrastination get to me. But I perform well under pressure so I easily made up for it 😅
DarkSkies (08-07-2022),goodnightmoon (08-07-2022),Kisses (12-24-2023),♥ pillowfighter ♥ (08-07-2022),sugarbee (08-08-2022)
Cinnamoroll (08-07-2022),Kisses (12-24-2023)
Hey! I'm in the same boat, working full time while also attending an online master's program, which i'm attempting to finish in two semesters quicker than recommended. I feel you entirely.
Here's what works for me:
1. Isolating myself - on my "dedicated school time" my phone is put away (on loud, my partner has a unique ringtone so i know if it's him calling), and all distractions are eliminated. No tv. I use neopets on a specific browser and i close that browser entirely. I also sit at a specific spot - a desk - instead of the couch or bed, which i clear before working.
2. Focus music. I have used one playlist on spotify for ANY TIME i do anything school-related. I feel like I've low-key Pavlovian conditioned myself to get into school mode when this playlist comes on. For me, it's the "all-nighter" playlist on spotify. everyone's different. no lyrics to think about though haha.
3. Make a schedule. Everyone differs in how they like to approach tasks. I ALWAYS start with my hardest/most complicated/lengthiest course. Why? Because I for me, I'd rather use my best/geared-up focus time at the beginning to tackle what will take me the longest, so that I'm not struggling at the last minute and turning in subpar work. In budgeting, it's called the avalanche effect (paying off largest debt first and working down to smallest), though some work better via snowball effect (smallest debt aka easiest assignment first and working your way to hardest). HOWEVER- i find that I'd rather be doing an assignment i'm knowledgeable about and more comfortable with at 11pm when i'm tired and have worked 2394 days in a row than one that makes my brain hurt.
4. Sometimes, I leave. I have to get out of the house when i'm feeling foggy. Sometimes that means going to my favorite quiet coffee shop in the corner and plugging in my headphones to the aforementioned playlist. Sometimes that means i need a 20 minute walk. sometimes it's putting things away for the entire evening, because i'm getting nowhere. where i'm at in my depression cycle depends on what kind of break i need at that time.
5. Fuck the house/chores*. I talked with my therapist about this at length because a messy house stresses me out. Laundry will be there to fold and IS NOT on a schedule. you know what is on a schedule? your assignments. yes- it's easier to work with a clear space. but you have to triage your tasks, and honestly, folding clothes is less of a priority than your 30% weighted paper. (*i'd like to note that, after me ignoring the house/half-assing cleaning for long enough, my partner picked up my slack and now does 90% of the housework. i am hashtag blessed and thankful. but therefore please take this pointer with a grain of salt coming from my end)
6. Enjoy it. Try to remember WHY you're doing this and don't get too caught up in the tiny details. Make what you're learning applicable to your life, your job, and your future, because hey- might as well! it makes learning the concepts so much easier when you can apply them in various ways.
7. ENJOY YOURSELF. Let yourself take breaks. Your mental health HAS to come before everything or you will not succeed. Self care is more important. If you have to call out with a fake migraine one day, do it. If you have to take a zero day, do it. TAKE CARE OF YOU!
best of luck to you! you'll kill it, it just takes some learning/adapting. there are only 24 hours in a day and there's only so much you can do with them, so learning to work smarter/not harder is crucial.
- - - Updated - - -
I realized that my advice was a little too late!!! I'm so glad to hear that! Congratulations on your first semester!!!
Cinnamoroll (08-07-2022),Kisses (12-24-2023)
Congratulations Cinna!! You're having a good start you can do it! Pressure sometimes gets the best out of us.
You can also try to schedule little things everyday so you don't feel very stressed later.
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Cinnamoroll (08-07-2022),Kisses (12-24-2023)
Cinnamoroll (08-14-2022),Kisses (12-24-2023)
I forgot to update this!
Semester one: I finished with a GPA of 3.77 and made dean’s list!
Semester two: just ended, and my GPA is somewhere around 3.75 I think? I’ll find out in a few days!
It’s been a BUSY school year so far but I’ve somehow managed to keep it together?!
My biggest caveat is ADHD procrastination. I learn all of the material but don’t start assignments til shortly before they’re due. Yet somehow I still nearly ace all of them? Magic, I tell ya.
DarkSkies (12-19-2022),goodnightmoon (01-24-2023),Kisses (12-24-2023),Lyrichord (12-19-2022),(12-19-2022) Sephora