Schoolwork Challenge

[Elfwing]

I have a very poor history with schoolwork. As someone who deals with anxiety and depression which is especially severe when it comes to schoolwork (I have often dealt with panic attacks in the past the moment I pick up a pen), my homeschooling has been very, very neglected this year. I'm studying part time, doing 6 units a year, with a total of 22 assignments to complete.

And yet, I've completely neglected my work. I've procrastinated, I've worried, I've put off. And I have a deadline approaching.

If I want to do my HSC next year -- that's the final exams to graduate high school in Australia -- I need to get all those assignments done, marked and have myself enrolled by the end of October.

I have 6 assignments handed in so far. Out of 22. I started in April.

It is now September.

Yeah.

Over the next month and a half I intend to bulldoze through my coursework as best as I can, inspired by Steve's college experiences. If he can do something that difficult, surely I can. I want the coursework complete by October 20th, which will give me ten more days to fill in the relevant paperwork. That's 16 assignments in just over 40 days. (OhgodohgodOHGOD.)

If I don't have it all done by then, if I'm not enrolled and unable to do the HSC next year, I get to explain to my parents why I have, yet again, failed epicly at school. Given how many epic failures I have made regarding education already, I really don't want to do this.

So I'm doing a last-ditch attempt, bringing out the big guns and hoping I can bulldoze through it all in a month and a half without turning myself into a wreck. Heck, if I turn into a wreck it doesn't matter as long as it gets done. So I'm posting here, every single day, with my progress. I'm utilising tips I've seen Steve share regarding his college experience. I'm aiming for passes, not for good grades.

I'm here for encouragement, for solid kicks up the backside, and implore people to share any tips they might have.

Here goes nothing.

[Elfwing]

DAY ONE
(Today is the 6th, meaning I need to hand in one assignment every 2.75 days. Sheeeeeeet.)

Anxiety level: low-medium. Far better than normal. Yay for the enthusiasm honeymoon!

SPANISH: 6/8 (1 not handed in, which means 7 complete.)
HISTORY: 0/7 (1 in progress.)
BUSINESS STUDIES: 0/7

I procrastinated for weeks because the last assessment for Spanish was an oral assignment. That, combined with the fact I'd been struggling more and more with Spanish, meant I felt very anxious and ended up procrastinating, losing valuable time. I could kick myself for it but what's done is done.

Today I had two sessions, one of 50 mins and another of 45 mins. For the first session I went through the material in my workbook, then I took a 25 min break.

For the first 15 mins I used visualising. I imagined being at the end of October, having all my assignments completed and being able to enjoy a few months off until I started next year's work. I imagined telling everyone about my accomplishment. Whenever I imagined completing an assignment every few days, however, my anxiety spiked so I stayed away from that and focused on imagining what it would be like to have completed the work.

During that exercise I had the idea to put up this forum thread, so I did.

Then I got to work for 45 mins and got to work on the actual assignment. I realised that a lot of the information in the workbook wasn't even touched on in the assignment -- pages of information would be reduced to a "True or false?" question worth a single mark -- so I skipped a lot of pages and focused on what was relevant in the assignment. I managed to complete almost 66% of the assignment in that time.

Normally I would stop for the day now. In fact if I could afford to, I would, because I'm terrified of burning out -- I KNOW I will burn out -- and I need to pace myself. But I can't afford to.

I'm so worried about the burnout phase. It happens with every project -- there's an enthusiasm honeymoon at the beginning, where it's all new and shiny and a significant chunk of work is done, and then there's the crash. And the crash is the complete opposite, and it takes several times as long before it levels out. I want to make the most of this enthusiasm honeymoon but I'm scared that the harder I work now, the worse the crash will be.

So far the anxiety levels are fine, as long as I don't think about how I'm going to complete assignments regularly and focus on what I'm working on now. No panic attacks yet.

Right now as a kind of compromise I'm going to play a game for an hour, then do some more visualising, and then get back to work. Maybe I can even finish the assignment today!

ETA: Almost completed the assignment except for one last 600 word answer I need to complete. Tomorrow, because it's almost time for bed and I'm quite tired.

I had an unexpected moment with my Dad in the kitchen where he asked after my schoolwork. He rarely does because I'm usually feeling really guilty for not doing it, and anxious, but this morning we actually had a discussion about what I'd learned regarding archaeology.

[Clint Cora]

My article and video on college study skills will be of help.

[Elfwing]

Thanks for the link, Clint! It's a great help!

--

Have discovered that I have two months extra to get my assignments done. WHEW. That's a huge burden off my shoulders. Still going to keep posting here, though.

Have submitted two assignments in the last week. Feeling a bit burned out, but let's keep going strong.

[pianoperformer]

I know how hard it can be. I'm not very good with school work, either. In my case, I'm in college so it's a bit more challenging.

Make sure you don't get burned out. If you get tired, take a decent break and do something you enjoy.

[sk8joyful]

Hi Elfwing,

As a former Homeschooling mom, may I ask you:

Well, for one, how Free... are you? in choosing your studies

Too, how personally involved with your learning... are your parents?

Also, do you have siblings?, or other Homeschooling peers? to share your learning adventures...

I'm asking, as I served as Originator of & active participant in a Homeschooling-program
in which we had at one point 70 kids loving learning.
Many of whom easily graduated college with honors during their teens

Since you are every bit as genius as they, would you Elfwing like to know how?

[Elfwing]

Thanks, Piano! I'm taking it carefully and steadily and resisting the urge to tear ahead. (Well, relatively.)

Sk8 - Depends, are you selling me something?

Seriously, though, I get to choose the courses if they're available. I'm always picking what looks most interesting, because it's difficult to make a course I actually am interested in, alas. My parents aren't involved in my learning at all. My dad asks how it's coming every few months, and that is it. I prefer it this way, actually, I get very twitchy if I feel like someone's looking over my shoulder (whether literally or not).

No homeschooling friends. My brother goes to school and he's in year 12 next term. (Senior year.) He'll graduate before I do because I'm a part-timer.


---

Finished my essay and sent that in! Whew. Today I'll format another completed assignment and turn that one in.