PANIC–OR NOT?

This week is for summer sprinters. You’re heading into the final week or two of the term, and some of you may find yourselves under the gun with more to get done than you may feel possible to accomplish. 

It can happen, especially if this is a first go at the fast-paced intersession courses. Here’s how to deal:

• Accept that the feelings of anxiety are normal. 
• Use the mental hygiene tools that have worked for you in the past—breathing, stretching, taking secure thoughts. Even in the worst-case scenario, you will be able to come out on the other side—a make-up course, an extra term, a different program . . . 
• Then take a planful approach for how to deal with this particular course.

OK, that’s how to deal with the discomfort. But what exactly do I mean by a planful approach to the course? Moving toward an objective decision-making process means you will:

List your alternatives

They usually boil down to (a) doing nothing and taking a low, low grade, (b) dropping the course, (c) settling for the best pass you can realistically get, or (d) applying for an extension.

Assess these alternatives

The first choice, doing nothing, means no further reading here, nothing to see. See me to help you avoid this scenario in the future.

If, however, you have moved into salvage mode, assessing the remaining alternatives means

• listing each requirement you still need to meet (double check the syllabus),
• estimating how much time each requirement will need,
• scheduling (in pencil) the estimated times on your calendar, while
• reducing—but maintaining—physical and mental hygiene in your schedule.

Make a  realistic choice

At this point, you will have the information you need to make an objective decision rather than a panic or default choice. 

If you cannot get all the work done before the deadlines, you might consider getting the work done that counts most heavily on the grade (see the syllabus) and leaving out the lighter-weighted work. This means that your grade will be lower than if all the work were done, but you will have increased your chance of passing.

Take the long view here: Is a B or a C or a D adequate to keep you in your program? Check with an objective advisor here if perfectionism or catastrophizing hampers your objectivity.

Now you decide: drop, salvage, or ask for an extension. Accept that you are making the best decision given the information that you have, even if hindsight later contradicts you.

About asking for an extension: If you are going to do this, do it as soon as possible. Be prepared to be refused. To increase your chances that your request will be granted, go in with a plan for getting the work done: the itemizing and scheduling that you will have done will show you are serious about meeting requirements. If, of course, your reasons for being behind are extenuating circumstances, briefly explain the circumstance, but show that you have a plan.

Work your plan

If you have decided to salvage with or without an extension, you will need to use the techniques I have discussed in other blogs—and any other techniques that work for you—to the max.

If you decide to drop the course, begin contingency planning that considers your program, academic plans, and career plans.

Take the long view

Worst case: You try and get an F. The long view recognizes that your life is not dictated by a single grade. I have not read one obituary that says “Jax got a C- in third-year organic chemistry.” The long view is to see what academic alternatives are available to you, and to target them while planning how to avoid being under the gun again.

Best case: You surprise yourself and get an A+. The long view is to reflect on how you got into a pickle, and what you can do to avoid getting into the same pickle again.

How I can help

My work as an academic strategist is to help with the salvage process as well as to provide students with the skills that can keep them from getting into salvage situations. Connect with me here to wrap up the summer sprint and to plan for September: [email protected]  

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.