Alright. Second week down. First couple exams this week in addition to make up classes. This week was another full week. But I did it, I did well on my exams, I don’t have any missing assignments, we’re getting the internet system figured out. I think the positives of this week override the negatives, the stresses. I must admit, I had a few anxiety break downs; but what I quickly realized was, I’M NOT ALONE! Every corner I turned Tuesday morning, I heard another person telling their friend about their break down! At that moment I took a GIANT breathe, obviously not because these people were also having anxiety but because I wasn’t alone in how I felt. I’ve said this 100 times in the last two weeks. “This program is difficult, it should be difficult! We are taking care of lives, of human lives. I would be more concerned if it wasn’t difficult.” So, what do we do about it being difficult? We adjust.
This past weekend I probably studied for exams, and finished homework assignments for approximately 12 hours. From Saturday to Monday. I was trying to get as far on homework as I possibly could.
Organize and Set Yourself up for Success
One thing I do to help myself and organize myself is finish as many assignments (especially ones that don’t take a long period of time to complete) as I possibly can, more importantly I do it at the very beginning of the semester. I don’t know about anyone else but when I start to come up on the end of the semester a lot of assignments are due, I’m trying to study for finals, and let’s be honest at this point of the semester I am beat. I’m physically and more understandably, I’m mentally exhausted. I just studied almost everyday for the last 16ish weeks.
So, I help myself out for later in the semester. I am more able and willing to study even when mentally, I’m ready to throw in the towel. I do better on finals because it’s the only thing on my plate.
Alright, that was my speal about getting stuff done early and honestly that could go for just about anything in life. Easier said than done, right? Yes, BUT one at a time makes everything easier. That’s all I know I can do. I can multi task, yes, however I can only complete one assignment at a time.
So, I put them in order of urgency just as I would if I was a nurse in a hospital setting. My primary urgency is anything that is due the next day. My secondary urgency is anything that is due that week. Finally, my third urgency is assignments that are due the next week and then the following week and so on and so forth. Then, I could break it down even further and look at which ones are going to be difficult and time consuming and which ones I can knock out quickly. The ones I can get done fast I will finish first then work on the longer ones. TIME MANAGEMENT, boom!
This is my study station. I like to spread out. I put just about everything in front of me so I can see it and grab it if I have a hot train of thought going. This looks like I just threw a bunch of stuff on my bed but I know where everything is and I know what I need to get done. My agenda is one thing that is right next to me.
It’s almost as if I have two agendas in one. I write down the daily assignments and such that my teachers mention. Then, I have my list on the right that has what I need to have done for each class that week. I have had nightmares about forgetting assignments or exams or being late and missing an exam. Other type A people, especially nursing students know exactly what I’m talking about. Well, this has stopped those nightmares.
If It Takes 5 Minutes…
A wise man once told me, “If you’re afraid of forgetting something, write it down. Save yourself even the slightest amount of stress just by writing it down.” Simple right? But, I did it just last night. I had a great idea for my blog today and for the life of me I can’t remember what it was. So, instead of taking the time to even type it in my phone I forgot it and now I’m beating myself up for it. I don’t need any/or want anymore stress so why didn’t I take that wise man’s advice? I was being just a little bit lazy. It would have taken me 1 minute max to type it in a note. This is something that I too have to continue to work on. Good rule of thumb: if it takes less than 5 minutes to get it done, just do it and get it done. You’ll spend more time thinking about how it needs to get done then the time the task actually takes.
Wedding Planning
Amongst all the chaos I made time for myself to finish up our Save the Dates. To make my life easier I bought clear address labels that I can place right onto the Save the Date postcard. I decided on postcards for our Save the Dates. This way I dont have to worry about or pay the money for envelopes, or take the time to write out everyone’s address. In addition to not having to spend the time hand writing the addresses, I have all of the adresses saved for the Wedding invitations and Thank You cards. I’ll just have to print them out. I am all about making things less difficult and less stressful.
Making My Nursing Life 