A Couple Tips on Perseverance

Guess what! College can be tough, whether you are working on the side or not. Stressful? Absolutely! Time consuming? You know it! So here is a little bit of a reminder to myself as much as you. In order to complete your classes successfully you need to be able to maintain a positive outlook and devote consistent time to the work.

I’ve got an intense case of senioritis right now and am plain old tired! But I’m going to keep going. Over the years I have learned to make my goal the completion of the quarter. Don’t focus on the entire four year program, since that is way too overwhelming. By focusing on one quarter at a time, you can celebrate the little victories along the way. Consider each successful quarter a mini graduation and celebrate with your friends. “It’s baby steps Bob… baby steps to the door… baby steps to the elevator.” I sure hope you’ve seen What About Bob, but if not I’m sure you get the point.

Perseverance requires that you put in the time and the effort. So I’ve got two tips for you. First, you should set aside specific times for homework throughout the week. Whether you set up a lot of small segments or a couple large chunks of time is up to you and your personal learning style. I would suggest that you find a place that is quite and free of distractions. I know a coffee shop sounds like a whole lot more fun, but most people (including myself) don’t get as much work done in there as they would in a quite environment. This doesn’t have to be somewhere as boring as the library; you can always find a nice quiet corner of the local park, as long as the weather is nice enough.

My second tip is prioritizing your work. This simply means taking the assignments that are worth the most points, due first, or will take the longest and focus on them first. Also, if you are running out of time, don’t kill yourself over the reading. If you’re stressed and hurried, you probably won’t absorb those chapters on Shakespeare anyway. You’ll get good at this prioritizing thing with practice. After a while you will notice what teachers are looking for and it will get a whole lot easier. I’ve got one teacher that covers everything so thoroughly in his lecture notes that I don’t even bother with the text book reading.

These tips should help you in the successful completion of each individual quarter. Now take it one step at a time, and don’t stress, because you can do it!