Having read other classmates postings, I am left wondering how many classmates are completing assignments ahead of time, especially as the Ennis Hub Plan assignment is still going. Either they are magical or their time management skills are excellent. I imagine it’s the latter.
I have a timetable of assignments posted up in my room so I am well aware of what needs done and when it is due. However, I tend to dedicate an awful lot of time to one assignment. The team projects seem to take up the most time and I find myself dedicating all my time to them, and nothing else. Also, I find it difficult to concentrate on other assignments if one is still pending.
So how is everyone else doing it?
I realise I have to set myself timescales, goals and deadlines, and stick to them rigidly, even if team projects demand otherwise. Also, I’m guessing, it is not possible to devote ‘deep learning’ to all projects. Sometimes, you just need to get it done, especially as we are working within very limited timeframes.
Examples of some books and magazine articles on the subject are: "Time Is Money, So Use It Productively" (Taylor & Mackenzie, 1986), "Put Time on Your Side" (Emanuel, 1982), and "How To Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" (Lakein, 1973).
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ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat Maresa. At the moment I haven't much of a life outside of college and a few external commitments! I'd agree that time management is essential but I'd also have to say that motivation is key. I seem to wrap myself up in assignments when I see others taking more of an objective stance, stepping back to look at them and simply doing the best job they can without becoming embroiled in them. As you said "Sometimes, you just need to get it done". The surface learning approach is a must at some stages, especially in this MA!
ReplyDeleteThis was in my email inbox. It somehow got deleted, and I'm not sure why. Shane wondered where it was, so I'll paste it in:
ReplyDeleteI always make a big push for it as I near the end of a course. Also, I tend not to let one project consume me (the one project that will consume me however will be the summer one). I was the editor/writer in the EHP website project, but there simply wasn't enough work in it for it to take up all my time.
I got the podcast done last weekend because I was eager to play around with Audacity. Once I downloaded Audacity, I just tinkered around with it and realised I could get the podcast done pretty quickly. So I did it over Saturday night and Sunday morning, one part at a time. It was easy to write the script, as it concerned a topic I'm very interested in.
Once that was done on Sunday at around noon, I found that I was ahead of schedule (in the sense that I had expected to be podcasting until Sunday night) and had a few hours to play around with. So I reluctantly said I'd start reading for Essay 2. I found a few articles that genuinely interested me, and before I knew it I had a few ideas about what I could write about. So I hurriedly jotted them down and then chilled before bed.
The next day (Monday) I had to conduct my interview in Bray. I was back down to UL by 7pm and, after chatting for an hour or two, started the essay, writing about 1000 words by midnight. Then home.
The next day was EHP website day. I was given a draft of the content, and the team had a general confab about various issues. I edited and entered and rewritten the content it by maybe 6pm, by which time I was sick of it. So I relaxed on Boards.ie for a few hours before making a late start on the essay again and getting another 1000 words done.
Wednesday and Thursday were divided between the website and the essay, with a great deal of faffing around as well. When I was bored of the website, I went back to the essay, and then vice versa intermittently, spending about an hour at most on either one at any one time. I just dipped back and forth between the two, with a lot of web surfing and chatting in between (possibly with you and Mr Carrigan, if I remember correctly!).
I signed off on both the website and the essay last night and took today off, bar a blog post and this comment, which I enjoy doing anyway. I'll take tomorrow off too and I'll dive into the interview report on Sunday, giving myself two days to do it. This will involve a lot of chatting, surfing and general idleness between short but intense bursts of writing. Always the way with me unfortunately. I can rarely just sit down and do a college assignment with sustained focus. If I could, I think I'd have my summer project done by now :P
My big concern is Flash. Believe me, I'll need AGES to get my head around it, so I want to clear the decks asap so I can tinker around with it on and off for a fortnight and submit a passable project.
Also, I am starting to apply for jobs. That's what's really driving me at present: the hope of shortly earning a salary!!