“It’s Wednesday my dudes…”~ that bloke on Vine

The end of this month sees the completion of the first full year of my degree. At this rate I’ll be done in 7 years, I’d like to pick up the pace a bit but realistically I know it’s not going to happen. And that’s fine. It’s all about the journey. So I’ve been told!

I feel like I’ve been plodding on, still getting used to it all and that I’ve not got a lot to say about the first year. It’s almost like I’m waiting for everything to fully kick in. I haven’t made full use of the resources or been active on the forums.

But I do have some thoughts, not sure quite how to present them – are they “Things I have Learnt” or “Things You Should Know Before You Start”? Either way here goes.

Life Will Get In The Way

About enrolment time, I decided to take some annual leave. Get a couple of weeks to concentrate on my first project, learn the ropes of the college portal, chat to some fellow students. But then I got Covid. So I spent a few weeks feeling like I’d been run over by a bus. Nearly a year later I have just about got my sense of taste and smell back – I still can’t smell my perfume or eat peppers though…..wtf?! The knock on effect with energy levels lasts ages. No matter how organised you are something will always crop up. It’s said a lot but it’s true… there’s never a perfect time to start so just crack on.

You Will Spend More Money Than You Think

It’s inevitable so prepare to budget. This is dependant on the type of degree you do but I think there will always be something to buy. I don’t receive physical copies of my course material, that was scrapped during the first lockdown. Everything I need is online but I like a manual, so I printed some stuff out. Ink is expensive! While I try to use recycled textiles as much as I can there are still a few trips to the local craft/sewing shops that I hadn’t planned on. I’m encouraged to go to exhibitions and galleries as often as I can. It’s not feasible to be out and about all the time but I do what I can and do a lot of virtual visits….the pandemic did see an upswing in those.

Be Extra Kind To Yourself

Especially if you have a family/job. I don’t care how organised you are, if you work and/or live with other people, those hours you set aside for studying will get interrupted at some point. You may have a sh!tty day at work and just want to watch crap on the TV all night. It’s ok to do that. I have a flexible schedule written out on my beloved sticky notes for the purpose of moving study slots around on my calendar.

Don’t Feel Pressure To Use All The Resources Straight Away

When I enrolled I was given a list of resources to make use of. I will get round to using them all over time but so far I’ve only used one of them – my learning log, a blog on WordPress for my tutor to read. I was also given access to Zoom, Microsoft teams, Padlet, Vimeo, several online library services, and a booklet on the Harvard referencing system which seemed as hard to read as the beginning of a fantasy novel where it’s all names and bloodlines and clans! All good resources, I will incorporate the ones I like but they’re not all necessary in the first few months. I have never been told off for not using any of them. It’s daunting to start an online course and the first reaction is one of doing everything that is suggested straight away. Take your time.

Study Sprints Are a Lifesaver!

Jane Espenson is a TV writer (Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica) that I follow on Twitter and although I don’t write I loved it when she did her writing sprints. She’d tweet when it was happening, and there would be a collective hour of work and people would compare notes at the end of the hour in her comments. It’s like the Pomodoro technique where you focus on a task and set a timer in order to maximise concentration. I tried this one night when my sister came round for a study night and it was very effective. You don’t need a study partner, I’ve done them on my own and they can help rein in the distractions!

Prepare to Feel a Bit Stupid

Especially if you’ve been out of education for a while. It’s quite frustrating but very common to have to read a paragraph several times till you fully take it all in. Once I was halfway through a project and realised I’d read the brief wrong and had to change everything I was doing!

It’s such a steep learning curve in so many ways to start studying again and mine is a creative/hands on degree. Not a huge amount of reading and essay writing. Any tips/advice is always welcome in the comments!

Lainey x