It comes to something when before you can move out of bed, it needs 4 co-codamol and 20 mils of Oramorph to kick in. Not cornflakes and coffee, but painkillers and coffee, Jesus wept.
So I'm registered on the module Y033, and not having studied as such in 31 years, I'm very excited, yet at the same time have feelings of dread, possibly because of my Schooling days, and exams. 1989 was the first year for GCSE's, and they weren't pretty exam results to be sure.
So why am I doing this? Well, hum, at 28 I had a total breakdown, and the DWP slapped a not permitted to work order on my file, at 34 I became wheelchair bound, and to top it off I had a rare cancer that needed some cutting edge scientific genetic work to cure, but through all of these things I've felt useless, and I'm fed up of feeling useless, so a return to academia, to finally put everything all behind me, at 47. I like to do graphic work and fly drones, build websites, but it's not enough, my brain feels like it's rotting, and that just won't do, visa vi, Y033 before embarking on q67, a 6 year Batchelors Degree.
So yes, excited, but bloody nervous as hell, anyone else feeling like that?
Trev.
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Hi Trev,
I'm not exactly a beginner with OU (see my profile
), so I don't usually get that sense of excitement now at the start of each new module 
.
But the important thing is that you enjoy your studies. That's what will keep you going through the years. But at the same time treat it as a job. Try to work on a fairly set (but still flexible) timetable and give yourself days off. Personally, I try not to do any OU at weekends. Then they are always there as contingency time, just in case..
Try to stay slightly ahead of the course schedule to allow for the unexpected, but not so far ahead that you are not getting the most out of the tutorials etc. A couple of weeks is good.
Reward yourself after each assignment is submitted. Don't wait for the result. Just submitting it is a milestone to be celebrated. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Mine used to be coffee and cake at a local café. Now it's tea and biscuits at home
Make a visible progress chart that you mark up in after each week. Again nothing fancy needed. A sheet of A4 with a line per week with the relevant info for the week: deadlines, unit to be read, tutorial time. And a nice checkbox per week that you can colour in. Keep the chart on a wall by your usual workstation, or at the front of your A4 folder of important module documents. It's not the same doing it on the computer. There's something special about doing it by hand.
Make the most of your tutor's help. They are there to help, not to trip you up. Use the module forums. Avoid outside sources and social media unless advised otherwise by the module team. Some of the external groups are the blind leading the blind
If you focus on the course materials and help, it's usually better.
There's so much more that I could write, But in the end it all comes down to:
OU study is a marathon, not a sprint: so pace yourself and enjoy the run
Good luck
Jan
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Sorry,
That was insensitive of me to refer to running.
But the principle holds
. It's a marathon, so pace yourself and enjoy the journey.
Jan