Fifth week everything-due-ness

Isn't that always the way?

From Monday of this week to Wednesday of next, I have/had 5-6 assignments!
Monday: Lit presentation.
Tuesday: German assignment (written and oral components)
Saturday: Methodology presention.
Monday: Lit presentation write-up.
Tuesday: Indonesian Grammar Jounral draft.
Wednesday: ENS essay (still haven't started!).

Not to mention Odyssey and Explorers meetings - how do they always manage to conincide like this?

I hope your due-ness is more spread out, and if not, happy cramming!

"I'll just get a second opinion..."

Fourth week falling behind

This week has the potential to be depressing, or at least stressful. The pressure is building, and you find yourself doing a double-take, asking "Are we really in fourth week already?!" (Particularly when your course has an intensive 10 weeks of classes to allow for a 3 week practicum.)

Some fall behind in their readings and/or assignments (that'd be me).

Others fall behind in their immune system and contract the early-semester cold (Dr. Steff's diagnosis). Ever organised, I got in early on mine, and contracted it in week 2.

Others still fall behind in healthy lifestyle regimes (me again).

Perhaps there are those who fall behind in social matters, too.

Amid all this falling behind, I am reminded that we are all called to run our own race. The important thing is that we finish - not that seven other people are gracefully and athletically racing around the track in front of you while you labour and pant far from the finish line, feeling like a massive unathletic lump (trust me, I know what THAT feels like!).

So my advice this week?
1. Keep at it! Don't give up!
2. Keep a track of the positives along the way - as least you can run in this race!
3. Make sure you don't let the important things in life 'fall behind'...

Third week social pressure

Having made determined resolutions merely one week prior, the first attack on your commitment infiltrates your life insidiously... Social pressure! Oh how tempting to go out for dinner with friends! How tantalising to kick back and watch a movie with your family! What temptation awaits at seemingly every encounter with another person! Your goals may fall by the wayside as these pressures to maintain social contact compete for your attention. You may experience disbelief when surveying how little was achieved in the past week, wondering where all your time went. Social interaction is not in itself bad, in fact it's one of the most important things in life! But how do you deal with it in third week?

Three questions to aid in this situation:

1. What's your priority?
Your underlying priorities in life shape your values, and if your life's not lining up with your values then it's not going to be all that productive, is it? Work out your priorities, and from there decide to what you will commit yourself. Are relationships a priority to you?

2. What's your commitment?
Sometimes in life we find we are committed to things which are not our highest priority - we have to do the other parts of life too so that we are in a position to pursue our priorities. When we are committed to something, it's bad form to break our commitments and abandon our posts, even if it's to run off chasing our 'priorities'. That's why you consider your priorities before your commitments. Once you're in something (for example, study or an event) you should put your best effort in for as long as it is right for you to be there. What commitments have you made?

3. What's the opposite of yes?
NO! How do you say no? Firmly and politely... I'm still learning this one... If you're still struggling, try saying it in a different language! You never know, it might help! :D

Second week determination

The second week for returning students often begins with an idealistic determination: I will do things better this year/semester! I will stay on top of my readings and assignments, eat better, get more sleep and exercise, improve my grades, etc.

Tips to maintain the determination:
1. Set yourself realistic expectations and goals.
2. Reward yourself when you achieve them
3. Grandma's rule: make sure you don't reward yourself until AFTER you've achieved them!
4. Keep perspective.

First week freak-out

Dr. Steff reveals the epidemic of first-week-freak-out:

First-week-freak-out (FWFO) is a condition suffered by many university students on commencement of or return to study of an academic course. [Note, I say academic course with reference to courses requiring text book readings, minimal practical experiences, and large assignments. Students of creative courses, such as the fine arts, are more likely to experience last-week-freak-out, corresponding to their last-minute folio work.] It varies in its degree of severity, from mild daunted sensations to earth-shattering identity crises.

Causes and triggers:
* Reading unit outlines
* Text book readings
* Ambiguous assignment descriptions
* Detailed assignment descriptions
* Word limits
* Assigning tutorial presentation groups

Symptoms:
* Feeling overwhelmed
* Feeling exhausted and/or starving by 10am
* Feelings of confusion regarding assignments
* Depression and/or anxiety
* Feelings of inadequacy
* A tendency to become more emo
* Questioning why you are even in your course
* An inexplicable desire to defer and become a fruit-picker in Queensland

There is hope! What to do:
1. Read your outlines and mark the dates of assignments with the aid of a nerve-friendly substance (eg. chocolate) to cushion the blow.
2. Get organised - develop a triage system to tackle the insurmountable!
3. Remind yourself how glad you are that one day you will have a degree and not be picking fruit in Queensland for a living.
4. Treat yourself right - fix your sleeping schedule, stop eating uni food, exercise if you're able, buy the odd veggiechips.
5. Don't get sucked into the latest time-sucking fad of your uni friendship group - make time for what's really important (it might be the time-sucking fad after all).
6. Find something each day to laugh at.
8. Find a simple way to help someone else, even if it's only holding a door open for someone.
9. Ask yourself: Is this going to matter in ten years? More importantly, is it going to matter in Eternity?
10. Take a deep breath and wait it out until week 2!