#13. Graduate!

Forgive the grainy photo. I found this gem on Facebook

Missed you again yesterday! Homework is a beast these days. For those of you who don't know, I am about two years away from completing my Master's degree. I'm working at it one class at a time, while working full time. It is absolutely a struggle, but in two years, graduate school life for B and I will be over! ...it still seems so far away. 

When I think about it, though, I could say this of all of the goals I put on my list. It seems that there is so much to learn and to do. It can be easy to get discouraged or to slack off. This blog may just have been the kick in the pants that I needed to start working toward these goals. About four years ago (maybe five?), I remember having a conversation with my friend Bri. We were talking about her engagement at the time and my excitement to move on to that stage of my relationship with B (which happened a year later). What she said back then was so wise that I still think of it these days. She said that she is learning to be content and enjoy every stage of her life.

I guess that spoke to me mostly because I was eager to skip ahead to the good stuff. I wanted to be married with children and a career (Bri and I were interns at the time) as I'm sure most girls dream about in college. However, rushing through life is definitely not the way to go. If I go through this program and only learn the things noted in my textbook, I will have failed. I want to be the type of person who learns as much as she can from situations and circumstances. I want more than just knowledge. I want to gain wisdom. 

One of the skills I hope to develop during this stage of life is better time management. This would be a huge improvement in many aspects of my life. For one, I'd be able to post on this blog more frequently! I need to get better at staying focused and tackling the task at hand, rather than putting it off. I need this skill in a bad way when it comes to homework. It's easy for me to get distracted by tv, housework, and glancing at my dreamy husband on the other end of the couch. ;) That one was for you, Babe. 

But, looking at B won't get me through the program, sadly enough. I heard of this rule called the twenty-five minute rule. You commit to 25 minutes straight of work and then take a five minute break. It's supposed to increase productivity. I think I will give that a try today and see how it goes. I can move a load of laundry or grab a snack or just streeeetch in the five minute break. This might actually be good. 

What about you? Do you have any tricks to help manage your time? I'd be happy to take some suggestions!