REGROUP. REGAIN CONTROL.

/in /by

Back from reading week and of course you are refreshed, recharged, got all caught up, everything done . . . “Steve you’re kidding me! I didn’t get anything done and I’m so far behind that I’ll never catch up!”

I hear that. Sometimes not quite that extreme, but the disappointment about what didn’t get done during reading week, the self-blame, and the fear are pretty common, especially among frosh who have just finished their first reading week with no external structure. If this is you, this blog is especially for you.

First–most of us have been there. It’s human. We’ve been used to having teachers and parents prioritize and put structure in place for us. Now that’s on us, and maybe we didn’t do that so much during reading week, or the first half of the term.

Second, it is probably not as dire as you think. Even if it is, most probably your term is salvageable.

How do we tackle what we fear is impossible? Note two key words in the paragraph before last: prioritize and structure.

Are you with me?

Then take a breath, get your notes and your syllabus ready, and spend 30 to 60 minutes prioritizing what needs to be done to gain the grade.

Checklist for Prioritizing:

  • Check your standing in each course. Make sure you have got credit for all work completed. Calculate your grade to date as best you can.
  • Do you need to flag a course for a stay-or-drop decision?  Assume that you will salvage all courses, but flag any with a D- or F grade to date.
  • Check the syllabus to make sure you have not overlooked an assignment or a second midterm.
  • Mark the assignments that are going to take the most time or are most critical, e.g., a second midterm, a paper with 30% of the mark, the group project. These are your priorities.
  • Note: Class attendance, labs and seminars continue to be priorities, or you’ll end up robbing Peter to pay Paul.
  • Mark the deadlines for all requirements.

Is that a little scary? Scary is a little normal!

Take a breath, stretch.

That takes care of what you need to get done. To get it done, you design your own structure.

Checklist for Structuring:

Calendars and time management are the key to designing a manageable structure. Here we go:

  • Pencil in your commitments and the deadlines you noted while prioritizing. 
  • Now take your highest priority or most challenging or earliest commitment, and parse it into its tasks. 
  • Estimate the time for each task. Add contingency time to your estimates.
  • Do the same for your second priority. And your third. And the rest.
  • Now chunk what you’re going to get done in the next two weeks.

Build your structure in two-week chunks:

  • Schedule in the elements you identified that you want to get done in the next two weeks.
  • Treat the weeks like a week at work–routine is your friend. If you don’t have class until noon, rather than sleeping in, pencil in and tackle one of your priority tasks.
  • Each week, chunk ahead for the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye on the deadlines as they approach.
  • Have one chunk each day that is just for you. It may be brief, but it is where you ground yourself. 

Allow for Being Human:

You will find that sometimes not all goes as planned.

  • Endorse yourself for having a plan. Each day adjust the plan.
  • You are planning to get a lot done in a little time. You may well end up pulling a later night than is ideal, or shorter exercise time. 
  • Enlist help from family or roommates to share chores.
  • Build in efficiency where you can–fast food bought ahead of time can be fast and healthy.
  • Get your friends on the same track if you can; if you can’t, then let them know you’re in salvage mode and will celebrate when you’re caught up.
  • A study buddy can be a check-in person to keep you both on track.

Is this fun? Likely not! It’s housework. Shovelling the walk. We do it for the result, to get where we want to go. So reinforce yourself after each step. The stretch. The short break–a walk across the room and back. A long sip of tea.

And back at it.

Summary:

The key to salvage planning: Prioritize. Structure. Schedule. Allow for being human. Endorse at every step.

And back at it!

Connect with me to plot and keep on track with your salvage plan: [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.