Learning about reflective journaling made me write more in my blog recently. I think this is a good way not just to practice my writing skills, but to also hone my willpower to do a routine activity. Whenever I write in my blog, I feel like I'm just aimlessly typing away, writing whatever comes first in my thoughts. It's relaxing and also fulfilling; writing gives me a sense of achievement. It would usually be going to the gym but that's not happening recently. It's been more than a month since I last exercised, which sucks. Though at least I'm still able to do my Duolingo everyday and write in my blog twice a week. February will be over soon and perhaps next week I'll reevaluate what has happened this month. This entry would probably be my last for February.
For this entry I'd like to talk about the rate at which I finish my homework. Now that I'm collaborating more with my classmates on coursework assignments, I get to observe how quick some of them are able to accomplish homework. For example, a recent assessment in my Epidemiology class took me two days to finish, working on it for at least two hours for Day 1, and another three hours for Day 2. That's five hours total (or probably more) of working on a simple three-question assignment. My classmate apparently worked on hers for only, I'm surmising, two hours. Another instance, I was working on the introduction section assignment for my Discovery-based paper class. I've worked on the damn assignment for three or four days, whereas my classmates, I think it only took them two days or less to work on the assignment. As for the outcome of both assignments, I got a perfect score on my Epidemiology paper, and I got good comments for my Discover-based paper. This is good and all, but the thing is, I bet some of my classmates also got good scores without having to slave over the assignments like I did! I don't know, I just feel like I'm probably overdoing stuff. And this causes me to feel, to a certain degree, anxiety and fear, which then triggers a restless and sleepless night.
Whenever I submit a requirement, I feel like it needs to be always THOROUGHLY executed. Does thorough mean that it has to be perfect? I don't know, I'm don't think I'm trying to make it perfect. I just want it to be exhaustive or well-researched/well-explained. I guess this is where I'm having difficulty differentiating the perfection and thoroughness. If I'm through about my homework, does it mean that my work is perfect? Or if I'm striving for perfection, does it mean that my work is thorough and exhaustive? Non sequitur.
I feel like my work is never enough, never thorough, that I have this need to do more and exceed expectations. Is this wrong? Is it wrong to go above and beyond of what is required? Perhaps... As the saying goes, Done is better than Perfect. I don't think I'm trying to be perfect, but I just want to be thorough. You know, autograph your work with excellence. I want to make sure that the reader understands what it is I'm explaining in my paper. Nothing wrong with this I guess, I just need to be reminded that there is a particular objective, a boundary, a limit, to the amount of work I put in. It's just like applying tretinoin. All you need is a pea-sized amount for your face, that's it. Increasing the amount does not increase the efficacy of the product.
Maybe this is what I need to think of. Just go a little over of what is expected, not overly beyond of what is expected, just a little. This way, I don't need to slave over and take a lot of time in finishing my assignments. Maybe I need not overthink of coursework assignments. Choose my battles. Do not overthink on coursework assignments, but overthink when I'm designing and writing my publication manuscript or my dissertation. Or not. JUST DO A LITTLE OVER OF WHAT IS EXPECTED, but not to the point of exerting futile effort that results in undesirable feelings of anxiety, fear, and paralysis. Ninety percent out the door is better than 100 percent done on the table.
The question now is, HOW do I do this? How do I break away from over exerting myself? I didn't resort to chatGPT for the answer but rather relied on trusty ol' Google. I found this article by Princeton Review. Apparently, there are a number of people who are also struggling in finishing their homework faster. I notice I'm already doing this through the Pomodoro technique. This technique really helps me in staying focused and working within an allotted time frame. However, sometimes I go beyond the allotted time that I set. Perhaps I just need to be determined (hello willpower) in detaching myself and letting go of not being able to finish an assignment. Tomorrow is another chance for me to work on the assignment anyway. Yeah, I think this is what I should do.
To summarise:
- List only what you can do for that day. Input in Pomofocus.io the tasks I need to do for the day. DO NOT include tasks that need to be done the next day. Only write down tasks needed to be done that day.
- Let go if time is up and move on to the next task. If an assignment is not finished within the specified time duration, LET GO, move on to the next task on the list, and carry over that unfinished assignment in the task list for the next day.
- Devise your game plan accordingly. Accurately estimate the amount of time needed to finish an assignment, and distribute that within the work week, making sure the assignment is submitted on time.
- Ninety percent out the door is better than 100 percent done on the table. How do you know if you've answered enough? If you've answered the question, if you've listed the pros and the cons, and then you go back in reiterating the answer to the question. Your writing should be clear, concise, accurate, and coherent. Do not overcomplicate sentences.
until then,
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