Personal Blogs

I thought I would be updating this blog every time I studied. My plan was for it to be a record of how studying was going and also the places I have ventured out to. My intention has been to study in a different location each week. I try and study somewhere other than home because I am great at procrastinating - especially when there are million chores I could do at home rather than sitting down and cracking on with studying. Not that I find it boring I just try and find any distraction. 

It still feels like a novelty for me to open up my laptop outside of home and I really do want to make the most of the nice weather before it all goes south for winter - then who knows where I will take to studying, maybe a tour of coffee shops and libraries across the south of England!?

I haven't really been able to visit many different locations as one thing or another has got in the way so far, so mostly its been the local park where I sit at the same picnic bench, until today where I walked around and found a different one in the middle of a community orchard. That sounds quite impressive but there are about six apple trees.

I did venture further a couple of weeks ago to sit alongside the coast, where a bird with an overly long beak distracted me - it turns out it was an oyster catcher. I still got the studying done mind you. So far so good. I'm reaching the end of the first block and my first marked assignment went well, the grade was satisfactory as far as I'm concerned.

Meanwhile here's the view from a couple of weeks ago:

Here is the view for today:

I'm in the local library today. The weathers been lovely but probably too hot for me to spend the amount of hours I need to studying. I began to fall behind over the last few weeks with my first assignment to write the timing wasn't brilliant.

The reasons for that are good though. I landed a new job and left my last one two weeks ago, I start my new job this week. So I have had a good deal of time in between to catch up with studying and yet that hasn't really happened. Perhaps I have just had too much time on my hands!

In truth I could have got on top of the study first but I also knew there was a lot of other bits that I just wouldn't get the time to do if I didn't take advantage of my unexpected employment break - plus I had a pre-planned holiday also arranged during these weeks. I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours studying during the holiday too.

So while I am technically still behind I am working to get back on track and I'm not overly concerned. My old work hours meant that I was always starting each week of study at the end of the week as the only free time I had was towards the end of the week. My new job and new hours have flipped that around.

Ideally by next week I will get myself ahead of schedule and into a good new routine.

The view for today:

So I am now a few weeks into my Access module and the one thing I have struggled with is the one thing that I had previously thought was a given. Finding somewhere to study. I have at home a table, a laptop, a supply of hot and cold drinks and snacks - what more could I need?

Well it turns out what I actually need is less. I've always been a great procrastinator and it turns out that being at home just enables that too much. Even when I have the house to myself and nothing else to do, with all chores and tasks caught up with I manage to find some way of delaying sitting down and firing up the laptop.

I have been able to go to a local library on a couple of occasions and faired better on the whole but that is a short train journey away from home and I am somewhat even more restricted in the times that I am able to go there so its not going to be the only solution to the problem.

The one spot I have been able to concentrate a little more is in my back garden, even when a mouse made an appearance - on that occasion the neighbours cat came and gave chase so that I could keep studying. But sometimes even being in my garden is still a bit close to the procrastinating temptations of home.

So with the weather getting a little better (for now) I have dared to go out into the world and I'm currently sat on a picnic bench in a local park, despite the fact there are a thousand dog walkers going by I have been able to concentrate better, so perhaps my study space will be anywhere but home? Perhaps next week when I resume studying I will go to a different park or maybe even the beach and enjoy a different view to go alongside my study?

Before you say it, yes writing this could count as procrastinating when I should be studying but as it goes I've just done 90 minutes and I'm taking a quick study break while I share this view.

The view for today:

NB: Selecting a table in the middle of a meadow during No Mow May probably won't turn out to be the smartest choice.