Reflection- First week back and moving forward

Sometimes, one of the best things to do when trying to complete an assignment or task, is stop working. It may sound counterintuitive, but it really makes an immense difference. I have utilized this strategy throughout my life whether it be for academics, sports, extracurriculars, or work. I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that my frustration builds and then I get paralyzed, unable to make any meaningful progress. This past week I spent a lot of time working on an assignment only to discover that I had done it wrong and needed to redo it. The best thing I could do in the moment was to step away and pick it back up the next day. I also made sure to contact my instructor to get clarification and insight into the assignment itself. Doing those two things, taking a break and seeking clarification from an expert, helped me see success and create a product that I am proud of, despite my setbacks. I realize that these things will occur and if I continue handling them in this way I truly believe that I will continue to see success throughout my graduate program.

One of my biggest flaws is my perfectionist nature. Don’t get me wrong, this can be a great quality, but I torture myself with it. Everything that I do I overanalyze and plan out trying to create the best product possible. The problem is, I waste so much time and typically, the time added does not make a huge difference in the quality of my work. There are times when this is appropriate but overall, I need to change how I approach assignments moving forward in my master’s program. If I continue doing what I am doing I will get academic fatigue and my motivation will get reduced, especially with a child on the way and having to get another job soon. In order to make my situation better I need to stop worrying about every individual detail and focus on chunking assignments into more manageable and reasonable tasks. I also need to make sure that I am confident in my work. After completing it and making corrections I do not need to correct it and change it five more times when it does not need that.

Moving forward, there are strategies that I plan to employ in order to ensure the greatest probability of success as a graduate student. These are based primarily around project planning and time management. Whenever I get a new task, I need to sit down and chunk it into smaller pieces that are more manageable. I then need to start working on these chunked portions earlier in the week. That way, any setbacks, obstacles, or distractions are not as big of liabilities that could threaten the completion or quality of my work. Also, I am going to make sure that I work in a distraction free environment incorporating the Pomodoro technique more regularly. This technique ensures that I am focused for a certain amount of time but take occasional, guaranteed short breaks in order to reduce burnout. As a graduate student, there are some sacrifices that are required. While I know that it is important, for me especially, to take time for myself away from working I need to make sure that I do not take too much time. This may involve reducing the amount of time I spend on social media, or my phone in general, as well as video games. I have already reduced the amount of video games I play but my phone is a distraction that I need to eliminate in order to more fully engage myself in a class in order to fulfill all requirement to the best of my ability.