No more excuses!

jenny3549

I'm posting this in the hope that by telling the wider world (ie you guys) I will not be able to shirk anymore.

I have just ended up taking 6 months off. Aaargh! I was on such a roll having started level 3 last Feb and completing it by August and then doing PTX by Christmas but then all my good intentions and will power went out of the window.

It started so innocently, a little well-deserved break for Christmas and I'd start again in the New Year....

Then I decided it was really time to sort out my study as it was silly to be in the dining room when I had the perfect room upstairs, I'd only need to lay a floor and paint the walls.... it wouldn't take long and I'd definitely start in Feb....

Then a relative had a breakdown and wound up in my spare room for two months - very distracting and it felt rude to study....

Just as this gets sorted in April, my kitchen floor collapsed! Left with 8 foot drop and very nervous cats.... builders in to fix it but it turns out that half the old units have to come out, which then promptly fall apart.....

Oh well, have promised self a proper kitchen for the last ten years so gird my loins and get on with that, of course all the shopping, measuring, paint samples takes up time and by the time May rolls around and the builders come back I still haven't picked up a book....

Surprise, surprise - kitchen is supposed to take 10 days but ends up taking nearly 4 weeks. Tell myself can't possibly study with all the noise and dust so more or less relocate to the pub for a month.....

But that's it. There are no more excuses. Have decided that enough is enough. Spent all day yesterday with the Financial Statements book, bought nice new pens and will do my best to crack on. I cannot let anything (even an arm falling off) get in the way now.

Onwards, ever onwards........

anniebabe

I am slipping into the putting it off till tmoz routine, havent looked at a book since June I know its not as long as you, but I just cant find it in myself to study at the moment, ever mind back to college in September and then the chaos will begin, lol, good luck with your studys.

pirate

anything but study but eventually we have to "Eat that Frog"

Rinske

It sounds like you had some reasons to put them off, but glad you are picking it up again now.

Don't be too harsh on not having studied for a bit, but look forward to learning new things again now that you picked it up again.

After a bit of a break, I now start studying again tonight and I must admit that just the idea of having to get back into it and actually get myself going again after work is painful. It also didn't help I only slept about 3 hours last night (and a few of the nights before that as well), but I don't want to put it off any longer.

Did you get yourself some proper rewards? As in chocolate for after 2 hours of studying or something similar?

College helps as a motivator, but if you plan to do it in homestudy, you might want to find some other motivational reasons. Think about how good you will feel, once you finish it!

jenny3549

Thanks Guys!

Rewards sound like a good idea Rinske. I am doing homestudy so need that extra bit of motivation. Unfortunately I can't use chocolate as I'm also on a strict diet at the same time (I must be a masochist!). I had thought about recording all the tv programmes that I want to watch so I have no excuse not to study til a certain time after work and can then watch them as a reward.

It's either that or a glass (or two) of wine, but then I have the calorie problem with that also. Why oh why does wine have to be fattening, it's just not fair!

Rinske

Rewards help, but they also help keep up your concentration (the added sugar).

I would recommend non- alcoholic rewards for sure, maybe you can have strawberries or other sweet fruit that you really like instead? The TV programs help as well, but as they are afterwards, they are also a motivator into slacking (I almost got there, I'll give up now), while if you motivate yourself with something to eat/ drink that you like for each hour that you studied, you keep going in order to get more rewards.

Purely personal experience though, I'm just really bad in taking a break to watch something and then actually going back into it, but if I got something I really want to watch, I tend to give up studying earlier, so that I can watch it. While at the same time, I don't seem to be able to study, without something to snack on next to me, preferrably sweet, so chocolate works, but grapes or some berries work as well for those evenings I want to be healthy! (I am so glad that I don't have to follow a diet, and my work outs tend to make up for a lot of the chocolate I eat, just want to see if I can keep them up, while studying again)

I'm sure you can find something that works though!