My Professional Self

I learned about many important aspects and traits of being a successful person in module 2 of this course. I want to become a person that has drive, discipline, and determination attributes. These attributes are often referred to as the “three Ds” of motivation (Cuseo, 2010). I am excited to excel in these attributes because it will essentially help me with my academic studies and also my future job after graduating. I will become truly motivated to complete tasks and assignments with the right attributes. However, there are some challenges I may face in order to succeed. One challenge I might face is staying disciplined. Sometimes I get distracted and this takes my attention off of the things that are necessary to do. Another challenge I may face is procrastinating. I am usually good at getting assignments done early; however, at times I wait until the last minute to complete things. There are always going to be challenges ahead but I must be ready to embrace them so that I may succeed.

In addition, I plan to overcome these challenges by setting short-term goals each week. Short-term goals will keep me focused and active each week so that I will have the best opportunity for completing all my tasks efficiently. Furthermore, I am going to really focus on setting achievable short-term goals so that I don’t lose focus. “Goals must be realistic and attainable; not out of reach nor too easy to achieve, as they may then become pointless” (Chastain, 2012, p. 1). In the past I would always set long-term goals but then I would start to burn out because I didn’t see big results quick. Instead, I am going to set short-term goals that will give me motivation in order to achieve the long-term goals I want. All in all, this weeks module was very beneficial and I am excited to use the learnings in the future.

References

Chastain, A. (2012, May). SMART goals help you achieve success. Retrieved from http://www.canr.msu.edu/news/smart_goals_help_you_achieve_success

Cuseo, J. (2010). Chapter 2 Goal Setting, Motivation, and Character. In Thriving in the community college and beyond: Strategies for academic success and personal development (pp. 39-62). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Pub.

Online Reading and Note-Taking

I learned many important skills and strategies about online reading and note-taking in this week’s readings. One of the skills that I learned about this week is note-taking while reading online. This skill is something that I need to work on in my studying. The problem that I have with online reading and note-taking is that I read the material but I don’t take notes while doing so. In addition, this causes me to have to go back to the online readings to study for quizzes and exams. This is a problem that I have had over the years and I never really tried to fix it until now. I believe that this problem has occured because of a bad habit that I have been doing for years. Whenever I read documents online I tend to not have any notebook paper or any documents on my computer to take notes with. Furthermore, I have got into the bad habit of not taking notes while reading online and it has affected my studying. So, after reading the material for this week’s discussion I found a solution to my problem. “Therefore, it is to your advantage to take detailed and accurate notes while reading the materials for the first (and possibly only) time” (Watkins, 2004, p. 103). I found that if i take notes while reading the materials online for the first time, then it will ultimately help me when I study for assignments. All in all, I really enjoyed this week’s readings and I learned a lot about online reading and note-taking.

References

Watkins Ryan. (2004). Online Readings: Gaining the Most from What You Read. In G. M. Piskurich (Ed.), Getting the most from online learning: A learner’s guide (pp. 93-110). San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

Time, Task, and Environmental Management

The module 3 readings in this class are very beneficial for me as a student. After reading all the material for this week, I realized that I have a major personal challenge related to my studying environment. I study at home in the living room area and it is one of the busiest locations in my apartment. I usually study in the living room because I can sit on the couch and communicate with my roommates. If I go to my room to work on school, then I feel left out on the conversations. So, I complete all my work in the living room while communicating and interacting. I now understand that my studying location is causing a huge distraction. Furthermore, this is my personal challenge that I need to solve in order to have an efficient working environment.

This issue in my studying happened for a few reasons. The first reason is because I do not want to be left out of the conversations. This is the biggest reason why I study in the living room and it has caused me to be distracted while working on school. Another reason is because the TV is in the living room. So, when my roommates are watching something on TV, I decide to work on school while also watching the movie or show. The last reason is because I have created a bad habit of working on school in the living room. These are the reasons why I have this issue in my studying environment.

The solution to this issue is found in our readings for this week. One of the readings covered the topic of finding a place to study that works. There is a four-step process that helps to identify the places that best fits your preferences and needs. The four steps are brainstorm, assess, experiment, and reflect and adjust (Globokar, 2010). I have completed the first two steps of the process. The two locations that I brainstormed and assessed were the Thompson Library on campus and Panera Bread that is near my apartment. Both of these locations are ideal for my personal needs and preferences. Ultimately, I believe that if I go to these different studying locations, then I will be less distracted and I will get more work done.

References

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)