Quick updates for those interested.
I got married. I got promoted. I still have an army of children and to many animals. I have a grandchild. He calls me GiGi, because at 38, I am too young to be called Granny. This is mildly disappointing, ,but my sister is only a couple years younger than I and her oldest child is 5, while my youngest child is 12. Pretty sure I'm on the upswing here. I have applied to be a foster parent. I bought a house, with a ton of room and even though I do not have any desire to ever birth another child, I still have a lot of love and home to give.
Oh...and I finally decided to go back to school. In 4 years, barring any catastrophe's, I will have my Bachelors degree in Psychology and Communication.
My first assignment? An essay on time management.....and yes, this is exactly as funny as it sounds.
Here are the objectives:
Write: With
a minimum of 250 words and in complete sentences, respond to
the following questions:
·
Explain your results of the “How Good is Your Time Management
Quiz.” Were you surprised, why or why not? Of the five areas of time management
that were addressed in the quiz, which area do you feel is your biggest
strength? Why? In which two areas could you implement strategies to more successfully
manage your time?
·
Describe your plan for how you will incorporate school into your
daily responsibilities. What things in your life may interfere with the time
you need to study? What measures will you take that will allow you to devote
the necessary time to your coursework without risking burnout?
·
Online learning lends itself to procrastination, even for the
most prepared student. Review the resources for avoiding procrastination. Share three time
management tips that will help you avoid procrastination and improve your time
management. You can use tips listed from the resources above or share your own
successful time management tips for a total of three.
Here is my response:
I was quite surprised to see the time management quiz
reflect I am proficient in time management skills. Nowhere in my life shows my
absolute lack of time management more than the current condition of my
house! In my professional life, I know
what I’m doing, and work to make sure my day runs on schedule. Once I arrive
home though, it’s a whole new ball game. For example, I went grocery shopping
today after work, forgetting I needed to come home and clean before I brought
the groceries home. My daughter and I walked into the house with $200 worth of
groceries, and nowhere to put them. One of the cats threw up in the living
room, and the idiot dog tipped over a litter box. There are tufts of dog hair
floating about, because he’s blowing his winter coat, and I am sitting at the
kitchen table typing this paper, so I don’t forget to do it.
One of my greatest strengths, according to the quiz, is goal
setting and prioritization. Again, in my professional life, I excel at this. I
know what needs to be done, what is most important, and what can wait a little
bit to finish. In my personal life, I clearly am failing in this respect. In
the scheme of things, getting the groceries purchased, and put away took
priority over the cleaning, because my kids still need to eat. That said, I
really need to get the mess cleaned and done before bed.
Unsurprisingly, the quiz indicated I am frequently
interrupted, and may struggle a bit with procrastination. Sadly, this is not
something I was unaware of. For instance, in the writing of this I have moved
the kitten off my keyboard no less than 7 times, answered my youngest
daughter’s question about her rabbits, and had my oldest daughter call and ask
to submit my information for a foster care background check for an emergency
placement. Again though, school is a
priority. The mess isn’t going anywhere and will be there when I am finished
with my work for the day, as will the rabbits, and hopefully, the foster child
will be here in the next few days. (After I clean my house, of course!)
As I move forward in
this exciting yet terrifying adventure of further education, I will be making
some changes in the way my house runs. I will no longer be the only one solely
responsible for the general upkeep of our home-my children will have chores
they will be required to complete to obtain their allowance. Currently, they
area only responsible for their animal care, and personal belongings. This is
going to have to change. I want to lie and say I can do it all, but I only have
two hands – I can only juggle so many balls in the air. I will have time set
aside in my evening to work solely on school work and will have my phone shut
off except for emergencies. At work I
have a bullet point list of things that must be done every day, things that are
done weekly, and things that are done monthly. There is no reason I cannot
implement the same type of routine at home.
Ideally, I will have this list complete and implemented before the end
of the general orientation class. I will
continue to work in my kitchen, for a couple of reasons. First, I do not have a
desk in my bedroom and I write a lot of notes- sitting on the bed is not
conducive to legible handwriting! Second, I want my kids to SEE me working
towards a better education for myself, and a better future for them. It’s
important for them to see school work is not a chore, it’s a requirement, and
as such MUST be completed daily. With
that in mind, I also cannot allow it to take over our lives. I want to succeed
at this, and I want to finish what I’ve started. I will continue to keep Friday
and Sunday evenings school free zones.
We travel a lot, and when we aren’t traveling, we are spending time
together, or with friends. We are an avid gaming family and host weekly
Dungeons and Dragons games. I want to
make sure we continue doing so. Finally, I will remind myself no journey comes
without cost, but the adventure and journey I am undertaking is worth so much
more than the nap.
Pretty sure it falls under the " to fucking much information for any sane person to have" category.
Welcome to my life.
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