Cutting Class

Cutting class is an event every student looks forward to doing. I have to admit, I never did it when I was younger. I was always afraid of getting caught, either by school officials or my mom.

Well, I have joined the thousands of class cutters out there. I blew off my Friday night class this week. I had a family emergency earlier in the week which led to an emotional roller coaster, work was extremly busy and the 61 grown up "kids" I work with all decided to through a tantrum at various times. I was exhausted and just didn't feel like driving up to school. Luckily the class is an on-line/classroom course and attendance at every in-class meeting is not mandatory. Still, I wonder what I missed with questions and answers being exchanged. I know I missed the expanation of next weeks homework, which is a two to three page paper. The writing isn't a problem, it is the research I am afraid of.

Oh well! I guess the saying "crime never pays" is really true.

I am off to start my research,

Wish me Luck!

Intro to Online

Well, I started my accelerated Hybrid course tonight. I have never taken an online course before so I thought starting out with a Hybrid would be a good way to evaluate if I have what it takes to complete a full online course. This course combines face to face classroom learning with online learning. The course requires 4 or 5 mandatory in classroom sessions. The other sessions are optional in classroom attendance and mandatory online participation. I think the hardest part of this course for me is going to be the posting on line. Because it is an accelerated course, it will be completed in 10 weeks. Therefore a "normal" week consists of five days. This means Saturday may not be the first day of the week (as class is on Friday) but could be the fifth day of the week. My time management skills are going to be severly tested.

Other than that, the course sounds very interesting and has the potential to be fun. The best part is, it fulfills my Phys Ed requirement for my Associates at MCCC, but also fulfills the culture requirement at Albright, if I decide to continue my Bachelor's through them. Always looking for ways to gain the credits in less time.

Well, wish me luck.

Happy Learning

Back to School

Well Spring break is over and our chaotic schedules start once again.

I hope you have given some thought to taking a summer course. There are many to choose from at MCCC and the option to go at night is a great advantage. Although the two sessions a week are long, they afford the option of completing a course without disrupting a daytime work schedule.

My next dilemna is whether I am going to take an accelerated History class. It starts June 13 and runs through Aug 15th or so. I have two hesitations; the first is I will miss one class (in a ten week course, this is alot of time to miss) and be out of town for a full week, putting my classwork and homework behind. The second hesitation is that for about four weeks, the history course will run concurrent with my math class. I am concerned the schedule will be grueling. It all comes down to how determined I am to complete my degree before the end of 2009.

I will keep you posted as to my decision.


Welcome back and happy studying

Spring Break !!!!

A week to get caught up on normal, day to day chores without the worry and stress of getting homework done in between. I don't know about you, but I am ready for a little ease in my schedule.


However, just because Spring break is upon us, thoughts of summer courses are still lurking in the background. If you are like me, and you are looking to get your degree as soon as possible, summer classes are a great way to gain the extra credits.

If you have taken an accelerated class, a summer course isn't much different. In six weeks, you can be 3 credits and another course closer to that coveted diploma. As you destress from the first 7 weeks of classes and homework, think about continuing through the summer, or at least one session. And here's another advantage, by continuing classes over the summer, you are less likely to disrupt your already established routine and your time management will continue to improve.


So have a great week, and don't forget to stop to smell the roses!!!

Course Selection

Now that I have started on my trek to attaining my Associates degree, the need to complete the required courses is very strong.

I have to make a decision on an accelerated class that starts on March 23; but in addition to that I am trying to figure out the best schedule for the summer sessions. I have the opportunity to take an accelerated History class that begins June 9 and continues through August 15, but I also need to take a math course in summer session two. That would mean the two classes would overlap for about a month.

Unfortunately I can't take any courses during the first summer session because of a national gymnastics competition I attend with my daughter.





But thats ok, it is an important event and it is the culmination of her competition year.

Any way, I have to solve my dilemna before Monday, when I am going to register for the math course. Good thing there are weekends, huh?

Have a great weekend!

There's not enough time to do it all

Is there really such a thing as true, successful Time Management?

I always thought I was pretty efficient at getting important tasks done. Between being a mom, running kids all over the place, managing a household, ensuring bills are paid, food is stocked , meals are prepared, chores are completed and working outside the home, keeping things on a schedule is important. Establishing a list of priority items is crucial. However, even with a priority list, inevitably, important items on "the list" sometimes got pushed aside and not completed.

I work in a pretty intense job where my daily responsibilities can change at the drop of a pin. The need to be able to complete scheduled tasks as well as assignments that are given at the last minute and needed ten minutes ago is very important. It requires the ability to manage everyday responsiblities with the addition of what I call "emergency minutes" - time set aside for the "this needs to be done yesterday" situation. I always thought I handled this well, then I went back to school. Managing time has now become a task that I am having difficulty completing.

This week I had a complete and total meltdown. Between the pressure of getting caught up with my Accounting class and managing homework from my other two classes and taking over the managing responsibilities of another Division, I found I just couldn't complete one more request or assignment. I literally blew up at a sergeant and told my Lieutenant he could do his own research. Not exactly a good career move, but I did feel better. And after my meltdown, I was able to refocus and reaarange my schedule to get the task accomplished. I even managed to get some homework done.

So here is my advice: Accept that you are not going to be able to do everything for everyone all the time. Make a list everyday of priority items that must be completed. Include any school work you have, or your kids have, as well. Both of these are tasks you have to complete and are just as important, or maybe more important, than doing the wash or scrubbing the floors. Start at the top of your list and complete as much as you can, but understand you will run into problems that push your timeframe back. Just accept it. You can't change it or prevent it, so just accept it.

I would dearly love to attend a Stephen Covey seminar on time management, however, I need the "time" to do it. Here is a site I found that gives some advice and tips on managing time.

Happy Schooling

http://www.amanet.org/resources/time-management.htm

Go to the bottom of the page and click on Articles & Research
Under Article Title, click on the title
"Managing Your Time When You Don't Have the Time"

Barry J. Izak gives some pretty sound advice in the synopsis.

Time Management

Is there really such a thing as true, successful Time Management?





I always thought I was pretty efficient at getting important tasks done. Between being a mom, running kids all over the place, managing a household, ensuring bills are paid, food is stocked , meals are prepared, chores are completed and working outside the home, keeping things on a schedule is important. Establishing a list of priority items is crucial. However, even with a priority list, inevitably, important items on "the list" sometimes got pushed aside and not completed.

I work in a pretty intense job where my daily responsibilities can change at the drop of a pin. The need to be able to complete scheduled tasks as well as assignments that are given at the last minute and needed ten minutes ago is very important. It requires the ability to manage everyday responsiblities with the addition of what I call "emergency minutes" - time set aside for the "this needs to be done yesterday" situation. I always thought I handled this well, then I went back to school. Managing time has now become a task that I am having difficulty completing.

This week I had a complete and total meltdown. Between the pressure of getting caught up with my Accounting class and managing homework from my other two classes and taking over the managing responsibilities of another Division, I found I just couldn't complete one more request or assignment. I literally blew up at a sergeant and told my Lieutenant he could do his own research. Not exactly a good career move, but I did feel better. And after my meltdown, I was able to refocus and reaarange my schedule to get the task accomplished. I even managed to get some homework done.

So here is my advice: Accept that you are not going to be able to do everything for everyone all the time. Make a list everyday of priority items that must be completed. Include any school work you have, or your kids have, as well. Both of these are tasks you have to complete and are just as important, or maybe more important, than doing the wash or scrubbing the floors. Start at the top of your list and complete as much as you can, but understand you will run into problems that push your timeframe back. Just accept it. You can't change it or prevent it, so just accept it.

I would dearly love to attend a Stephen Covey seminar on time management, however, I need the "time" to do it. Here is a site I found that gives some advice and tips on managing time.

Happy Schooling

http://www.amanet.org/resources/time-management.htm

Go to the bottom of the page and click on Articles & Research
Under Article Title, click on the title
"Managing Your Time When You Don't Have the Time"

Barry J. Izak gives some pretty sound advice in the synopsis.