It's April 11th. According to every handy dandy little syllabus thingy I have for each of my classes, that leaves me roughly three weeks of school. Yeah. Eeek. Three weeks to learn new material, study old material, take five finals, turn in one paper (worth approximately 1/3 of my grade in that class), turn in one last statistics project, and so on. Oh, and the other small obstacle between me and finishing another successful semester: another 100+ pages of Math 103. That's algebra. Nothing smarty-pantsy like calculus, just algebra. And I'm stuck in it. It's like that stuff you get stuck on your tennishoes should you go walking through a field inhabited by livestock. Yeah, the good stuff. So here I am mired in that stuff, and the only thing that really will get my out of it is hard work. Diligent, focused, consistent progress.
My intelligence will only be *so* helpful here. As in, not much.
Complicating matters, my job didn't consult me before reducing their staff--which means I have been dragged into play there a day more a week than desired.
So what's a "studious" guy gonna do when allotted time decreases, work load increases, and the doubters multiply? Buckle down and show 'em what I've got, that's what.
When you realize you're in a tight spot, your first response shouldn't be to either ignore it or run away. Difficulties are rarely escapable. Even if they come upon you in a different dress later in life, they will reappear some day. I guarantee it. That's what so many students fail to grasp about college: college isn't just about doing homework, studying, getting (or not getting) good grades, partying, girls/guys (whatever your preference); college is about learning skillsets which TRANSFER to "real life." How to juggle many pressing demands and unexpected complications. It's about learning to appreciate the challenge, learning to grow from adversity. An interesting, worthwhile life consists of a lot of surprises and challenge. The opposite of surprise and challenge is...boring. And we all know just how boring boring is.
So, when you're in a tight spot, opt for a new approach: a plan. Break down the problem. Coldly. Impersonally. Objectively. Maybe it's all your fault you're in the tight spot, don't address it. You're in the tight spot, there's no time for blaming--yourself or anyone or anything else.
Once you've identified all facets of the problem, construct a point by point solution.
Then take action.
For example: I have three weeks (roughly) to finish Math 103. It's a self-paced course, which has been part of the problem--but that's irrelevant. All that matters is that I MUST finish this course in order to keep my math plan on track (Math 105, first half of summer; Math 160, second half of summer; Math 181, fall).
So, given three weeks what remains to be done before completion of the course?
Two cumulative tests, three mastery tests, and a final. Roughly 100 pages of material to learn. Break down that even further. Take cumulative test B on monday, April 14th, mastery 05 on April 16th, mastery 06 on April 18th, take cumulative test C on monday, April 21st. Then take mastery 07 on April 23rd. Plan to review a chapter a day for the next week and then take the final May 1st.
Granted, this is just all details to you, but to me it's necessary to get a grip on what actually has to happen in order to complete my goal. This plan is aggressive, but not undoable. That's another thing a "wise man" keeps in mind: what is doable. If your plan isn't doable, you must adopt a plan which is. No plan can salvage an impossible goal. If I were facing a week left with the same amount of math to do, that would put me in the position of creating a different plan--one which admits, objectively, that there's no way I could finish the course in time. Make sure you remember the distinction.
My intelligence will only be *so* helpful here. As in, not much.
Complicating matters, my job didn't consult me before reducing their staff--which means I have been dragged into play there a day more a week than desired.
So what's a "studious" guy gonna do when allotted time decreases, work load increases, and the doubters multiply? Buckle down and show 'em what I've got, that's what.
When you realize you're in a tight spot, your first response shouldn't be to either ignore it or run away. Difficulties are rarely escapable. Even if they come upon you in a different dress later in life, they will reappear some day. I guarantee it. That's what so many students fail to grasp about college: college isn't just about doing homework, studying, getting (or not getting) good grades, partying, girls/guys (whatever your preference); college is about learning skillsets which TRANSFER to "real life." How to juggle many pressing demands and unexpected complications. It's about learning to appreciate the challenge, learning to grow from adversity. An interesting, worthwhile life consists of a lot of surprises and challenge. The opposite of surprise and challenge is...boring. And we all know just how boring boring is.
So, when you're in a tight spot, opt for a new approach: a plan. Break down the problem. Coldly. Impersonally. Objectively. Maybe it's all your fault you're in the tight spot, don't address it. You're in the tight spot, there's no time for blaming--yourself or anyone or anything else.
Once you've identified all facets of the problem, construct a point by point solution.
Then take action.
For example: I have three weeks (roughly) to finish Math 103. It's a self-paced course, which has been part of the problem--but that's irrelevant. All that matters is that I MUST finish this course in order to keep my math plan on track (Math 105, first half of summer; Math 160, second half of summer; Math 181, fall).
So, given three weeks what remains to be done before completion of the course?
Two cumulative tests, three mastery tests, and a final. Roughly 100 pages of material to learn. Break down that even further. Take cumulative test B on monday, April 14th, mastery 05 on April 16th, mastery 06 on April 18th, take cumulative test C on monday, April 21st. Then take mastery 07 on April 23rd. Plan to review a chapter a day for the next week and then take the final May 1st.
Granted, this is just all details to you, but to me it's necessary to get a grip on what actually has to happen in order to complete my goal. This plan is aggressive, but not undoable. That's another thing a "wise man" keeps in mind: what is doable. If your plan isn't doable, you must adopt a plan which is. No plan can salvage an impossible goal. If I were facing a week left with the same amount of math to do, that would put me in the position of creating a different plan--one which admits, objectively, that there's no way I could finish the course in time. Make sure you remember the distinction.
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