I’m no stranger to classwork. I’m also no stranger to “going back to school”… but this time is a bit different. I’m three semesters deep into my DNP program and this semester I’m taking two classes. Doctoral level classes are no joke. You spend a great deal of time just on a single task, problem, or assignment.
Ain’t nobooooody got time for ‘dat. Know whatta mean?? No seriously, there is sometimes just not enough hours in the day. I’m still working my full-time job and I’m having to rethink how I approach my assignments.
I used to be the student that would just sit down for a large chunk of time and crank out an assignment. Unfortunately I don’t have that kind of time during any day of the week. So I’m finding myself in unfamiliar territory. I have to read, write, learn and process information in small bits and bytes. I have to read snippets of information and then leave the rest for the next day. I’m usually one for maximizing my short term memory. Once I research and read a topic I usually dive right into the task related to the subject… but now I have to delay my actions.
An assignment is now taking me days to research and complete. Instead of cranking out 4hrs of work in once sitting, I’m spreading it out the work over several days.
It’s quite the adjustment. Because now I’m forced to take better notes and leave breadcrumbs for me to pick up the next time I dive back into a task or assignment from the previous sitting. It’s doable… it’s just taking me a little bit to get used to.
-Sean
Sean P Dent 