As an older adult student, I have had a lifetime of experience when it comes to time, task, and environment management. I think I do a decent job now, but that has not always been the case. You see, I suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Growing up I always thought I was lazy, stupid and unorganized. I was always waiting until the last moment to turn in papers, which meant I turned in my first drafts instead of well-planned and thought-out work. (“I work better under pressure,” I told myself.) I never kept a calendar. (“It’s all in my head,” I rationalized.) I didn’t understand why (it seemed) no one else had the same problems I had.
As I got older, it only got worse. My friends complained because I always ran late, showed up to potlucks with store-bought, not homemade food (or no food at all), and always sent birthday cards several weeks after the special day (if ever). When I started my career, I had to work long hours, getting little sleep, just to keep up. I was a mess. I never used my free time wisely. A simple task like looking up an address online could lead to hours of distraction, making me fall behind even more. Or, at home, when I should be doing laundry or cleaning my house, I would think, “I’ll just play one more level of this video game.” That could lead to an all-nighter. (“But I just leveled up and have new tools. I can’t quit now! I’m on a roll.”) It was only through working with a therapist that I developed strategies, much like those discussed in this week’s reading, that I was able to, for the most part, get my life in order. Still, every day is a challenge.
All of the strategies to help students get organized in Globokar’s (2010) Introduction to Online Learning: A Guide for Students are useful, but one of the strategies that really hits home for me is “Where to Find the Space” (pp. 6-13). The author writes, “Some people work quite well at home…Others may find it difficult to concentrate at home and prefer to go elsewhere to study” (Globokar, 2010, p. 6). Because of my ADD, I know I have to limit distractions. Believe it or not I do better in really noisy environments, because I have an easier time “tuning out” the background noise. Conversely, if I am in a room where music is playing, for instance, I focus on the music, instead of my studies. Of, if I am in a quiet place and a couple of people start carrying on a conversation near me, my concentration is diverted to the conversation. To combat those situations, I invested in a white noise machine years ago. The white noise machine helps me maintain focus, instead of allowing me to eavesdrop on everyone around me. I know once I go home at the end of the day, television, video games, and facebook are way too tempting, so I do better by working in my office after everyone else has gone home. A busy restaurant with WiFi also works well.
More great advice this week comes from Allison Leach’s “Time Management Tips for Non-Traditional Students.” I find that by following her plan to “Gather Information, Plan Ahead, Create a Study Schedule, Make Lists, Develop a System, and Be Realistic,” (Leach, 2016), I can stay organized.
The key to success is finding what works for you. Don’t assume just because your friends or family do things one way that you have to do the same.
Sources:
Globokar, J. L. (2010). 3 Getting Organized. In Introduction to Online Learning: A Guide for Students. (pp. 29-44). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Leach, A. (n.d.). Time Management Tips for Non-Traditional Students. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://spsblog.cofc.edu/blog/6-time- management-tips- for-non- traditional-students