How Not to Cram

My usual school M.O. is to wait until the very last minute before a class/assignment/test is due, cram like crazy, and get an A.

So far, for MCU, this has been working for me. However, they recently changed their financial policies, and my procrastination (I am a CHAMPION procrastinator!) has made it so I am really pressed for finishing my classes before I would have to purchase another year extension. They allow up to 5 years to complete the Associates Degree, which by anyone's figuring should be more than enough. But.... they give you 1 year from the date of enrollment to finish each class. Doing two classes at a time and taking a year to finish does NOT get you done in five years. So the new policy is that you have to pay by the month unless you're going to buy all your classes ahead of time.

I wasn't as far behind as I thought, and if I do three classes per "trimester" (cute, huh?)then I am on track for finishing in mid-September of 2008. I do eventually want to complete the Bachelor's program, but I want to take the NARM by 2008, not wait until 2010 which is when the BS program would get me there.

So, all this background is to say, I now have a class where my "wait till the last minute and cram" strategy has come back to bite me in the butt. My Prenatal Care class is due on November 10th. Usually, most of the classes I can complete an entire section of the syllabus in a day, easily. Not this class. I spent 7.5 hours on one section, and that doesn't include the 10 handouts and protocols I have to write. I have not left myself much time. The next section is nearly twice as long, with another 10 handouts and protocols. Then there is a final section, about half as long, with 4 handouts and protocols. All this due by next Friday. Eep!

So, my butt is numb from sitting in a chair at my laptop (chair for 4 hours, birth ball for 3.5) while I type and type and research, and look and puzzle.

Being the perfectionist that I am, anything less than an A is simply not acceptable. I have a perfect 4.0 right now, and I don't want to spoil it.

This is what I'm good at, this singular, intensive focus when the goal line is getting close, but it also means my kids are running around like wild animals, my ankles are swollen from sitting so long, and I am very grumpy from lack of rest.

I know I'll get it done. Paying for an extension is not an option!

I resolve hereforth to DO MY CLASSES ON TIME and to use the Excel spreadsheet PreacherMan made for me to track assignments and due dates to finish on time.