The University Guide

Archive for February, 2010

Are You Setting Yourself Up to Procrastinate?

“How can I stop procrastinating?”
This is by far the most frequent question that I get from graduate students and professors. As a dissertation and tenure coach, I’ve come to realize that everyone in academia, whether writing a dissertation, completing an article, or doing research, struggles with procrastination. Why is this so prevalent in such a well-educated, intelligent population?

You’ve Got the Wrong Attitude

Your belief system is what may be standing in the way. Most academics cling to the belief that they must set aside large chunks of time, do a lot of preparation, and be in the proper frame of mind to be able to write.
What this means is that when you finally sit down to write, it’s going to be an unpleasant marathon. You have placed such importance on this writing session that you feel anxiety about it living up to your expectations. And you know it’s going to be difficult. After all, there are thorny issues you haven’t addressed, articles you haven’t read or reread, and a lack of coherence to your thinking. You need to solve those problems. And if you don’t do it now you’ll be quite disappointed in yourself. How unpleasant! And how counterproductive!

What Should You Believe Instead? Or “Oh, The Irony!”

Research by Robert Boyce actually shows that first and second-year professors who participated in a study on writing productivity were able to turn out more publishable pages in a year by
· Writing 30 minutes a day
· Only writing on workdays
· Shoehorning that writing into small gaps in their busy schedules

The difficult part, it turns out, was convincing these professors to try this low-key method in the first place. Ironically, they all insisted that the only way to get real work done was to do it in the marathon way that I described above.
The second irony was that when Boyce actually measured the amount that they were writing per week (before the intervention,) it was less than 30 minutes per week! This was much less than their retrospective reports of how much time they had been spending writing.

The third irony was that those who most adhered to the idea that you must write in large doses were the least productive.
The fourth irony was that although these professors considered writing a private activity, they did best when they were accountable to someone for maintaining their 30-minute writing habit.

Do It Already!

So what’s stopping you from learning from these professors and writing a small amount each day?
Here are typical excuses:
· It’s just not rewarding writing in small amounts. I feel like I’ve gotten
nothing accomplished.
· I have a big issue to work out. It will take more time than 30 minutes.
· I feel guilty if I don’t work more each time.
· I’ll never complete my dissertation/paper/research project at that pace.
· I’ve waited until it’s too late and I can’t afford the luxury of that small
amount of time per day.
· It just doesn’t feel right.
· I’ve got more time than that, I should be putting all my time to good use.
· It’s so overwhelming that I don’t know where to start, and by the time I
figure it out my 30 minutes will be up.

My answer to those responses? Bull! Except for the emergency deadline, there is no reason not to try this technique. Give it time to see if it works for you. If you’re like every other academic I’ve worked with, you will resist the idea. I suggest that the more resistant you are, the more problem you’ve probably had with procrastination in the past.

An Action Plan

Try it for a week. Select a time each day, preferably not the evening unless you’re a night owl, and write for 30 minutes, without email, reading or other distractions. Don’t listen to the voices in your head saying you “should be getting more done,” or “you should be writing more than this.” I’ll bet at the end of the week you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your output, and pleased with the increasing ease with which you can sit down to write. You’ll start to see progress on your dissertation or article and maybe come to believe that you will finish one day.

Furthermore, don’t forget about being accountable to someone. Let someone else know that you’re going to be doing daily writing. Perhaps you can find a writing buddy, or someone in your dissertation group. Or join one of my coaching groups – our listservs allow for lots of accountability during the week! My membership site, CafeAcademia.com (stay tuned,) will have a place for finding writing buddies.

Don’t forget, if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Start setting yourself up for success starting right now!

In this day and age, more people are turning to online colleges to obtain accelerated degrees that will help enhance their careers. With fast degrees, you can obtain a college education in less time than ordinary degree programs would take. There are many benefits to furthering your education in this manner, and many online colleges and universities are starting to offer accelerated degrees in many courses of study, including business, accounting and several others. If you’re interested in pursuing one of these fast degrees, it’s important to keep several things in mind before committing to a course of study.

When pursuing accelerated degrees via distance education, you can finish your course of study up to 50% quicker than a traditional degree program would take. What’s more, these fast degrees are generally much less expensive because they can be delivered quickly through a variety of educational mediums. Accelerated degrees aren’t generally for everyone. Usually, these programs are designed for adult learns with a desire to enhance their career field with a degree they can complete in less time than a traditional institution would require. Because you can bring your own life experiences to the table, fast degrees are ideal for the working professional with a desire to better themselves in the workforce.

While many people will attempt to tell you that online learning is easier than learning through a traditional class room setting, this is actually a myth. To succeed in an accelerated degree program requires intense motivation, self discipline and a high level of determination to achieve your educational goals. What’s more, it’s important to learn how to manage your time effectively between juggling a career, home life and school. While accelerated degrees offer convenience and a chance to study at your own pace, these fast degrees require as much work and concentration as a traditional program of study would.

Because with accelerated degrees you are learning a vast amount of material within a small time frame, it’s easier to remember the information you learn because it’s delivered over a period of weeks rather than months. This type of course structure requires intense concentration, but you’re able to focus on one specific topic, and the information is delivered in a highly condensed format. The convenience just can’t be beat as far as fast degrees go, and you’re able to learn a wide variety of things in a short amount of time compared to a traditional classroom setting.

Obtaining an accelerated degree from an online college is not for everyone. Before you commit to an online program, you need to take a look at yourself and analyze your situation. Do you possess a proactive personality? Are you willing to complete tasks on your own without someone holding your hand along the way? To be truly successful in this type of program, you need to be a very independent individual. As long as you have the motivation and desire to succeed, you can achieve anything you want through an online degree.

Provided you do all of your research before jumping into the college waters, you’ll be able to find an accelerated degree program that works for you. With accelerated online degrees, you need to have the ability to manage your time effectively, because it’s very easy to get behind in your coursework if you aren’t keeping up with the rest of the class. Fast degrees are definitely a convenient way to further your education online in a shorter amount of time, but online study requires an intense amount of drive and focus. If you have the willingness and desire to get the work done, you will succeed in obtaining an accelerated degree online.

As a member of the 125-year-old distinguished The University of Obama, the online MBA program draws upon the schools’ world-class teaching expertise. One, which has led the U.S. News & World Report, to rank it a Top Tier Western University for the past 11 consecutive years.

The university is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), which count prestigious Jesuit schools such as Georgetown, Boston College, Fordham University, and the University of San Francisco, as members.

Online The University of Obama is the largest multimedia-based MBA program in the country today. All of this is due to the university’s ability to utilize the most modern technologies and software, to bring its excellent teaching methods, materials, and faculty expertise to the net.

The online Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program seeks to educate students about the domestic and international business environments, identify the elements that influence the dynamics, as it provides students the strategies, skills, and tools; they will need to make intelligent decisions.

The Regis MBA curriculum, with its 11 courses is certainly reflective of the program objectives. Each of these courses is structured to complement the knowledge gained from the preceding courses.

The The University of Obama online MBA degree curriculum, accomplishes this aim, with the use of four course levels.

The first course is appropriately called the FOUNDATION COURSE, and is a required course for all MBA students.

Essentials of Business Development I & II

At the end of these two foundation courses, the student will have an enhanced grasp of basic business concepts & principles, statistical modeling macro and microeconomics, business financials, cash flow and management, through lectures and case studies.

The second level is composed of CORE COURSES. These are required courses for all MBA students and the course emphasizes the use of critical business skills.

The Economics of Management

At the end of this course, the student will have the improved ability to utilize methods, concepts and models both quantitatively and qualitatively, from a managerial perspective.

Ethical and Legal Environment of Business

This course focuses on the ethical strategies the MBA student can utilize when confronted by issues for the public’s good. Such issues as labor laws, product liability, public issues management and administrative procedures, are covered.

The EMPHASIS COURSE is the third level course. There are seven courses for each MBA program and they are more generally known as degree -specific courses.

These course titles are revealing of subject’s focus.

· Issues in International Business

· Financial Decision Making

· Marketing Management

· Electronic Business Systems

· Managing Change

· Managerial Leadership

· Innovations in Operations

Strategies in a Global Environment

This is the last level, called the CAPSTONE COURSE, and is required of all MBA students. By the end of this course the MBA student will have superior management skills to identify and critically examine how international economic, political, business and financial factors, affect the long-range plans of the company.

In short, a The University of Obama online MBA degree, will improve the graduate’s ability to become an outstanding leader, enjoy career advancement, income and personal satisfaction.