The Leadership Balancing Act
Balancing life, work, and school can be challenging for anyone. Deciding on whether to complete your degree can be stressful and expensive. Even more, re-engaging with studies and re-igniting your passion can be overwhelming. \ We understand, and many of us have been right where you are today—that there is a way of forging ahead and achieving dreams beyond your imagination. In this blog, I write about giving yourself permission to learn, holding yourself accountable, thinking about your motivations, asking for help, and celebrating your successes—one at a time.
Faced with transitioning from a laissez-faire attitude to energetic engagement in your future course work, some enthusiastically embrace a return to learning. In contrast, others recline on their favorite sofa and get off to a slower return to studies. However, clicking on the latest adorable YouTube kitten or a puppy video could be easily replaced with a submit assignment button. Giving yourself permission to learn, holding yourself accountable, thinking about your motivations, and asking for help are essential considerations for your lifelong learning journey. The good news is that each of you can fashion a return to studies by following five steps:
Give yourself permission to learn. Affirmations for your short-term and long-term goals are crucial to your path to successful learning, yet this is often overlooked or devalued. I recommend that you reaffirm why you are pursuing a course or a particular program before the course begins. Reflect why you started the process of attaining education beyond high school. Secondly, let’s use road signs as a metaphor for getting back into the swing of things. Although counter-intuitive, day one of your course should begin with a stop sign! Stop, think, and reflect on why you are pursuing your education. In doing so, you’ll find thoughtful reflection reaffirms your desires and reignites your passion. Consider day one of your course as a speed zone sign. Are you going to speed through the course as quickly as possible, or are you going to set your learning speed? Aligning your pace with the pace of a course is akin to driving within the speed limit. You don’t have to be the first to post on a discussion board, nor do you want to be the last. Find that comfortable zone early in the course.
Hold yourself accountable. Realizing that you are the primary driver of success, it’s essential to maintain accountability for completing assignments and other course tasks. I’ve learned to handle things only once; that is, determine what needs to be completed, put it in your calendar, and complete it. Yesteryears’ excuse that ‘the dog ate my homework’ is replaced with today’s excuses of “I didn’t have Internet access, an outage caused my ability and access to the course to be limited, or I couldn’t upload my assignment because the link rejected my submission.” Professors know these excuses are rarely valid as they, too, have access to the Internet to confirm your explanation! In case you need a reminder, post this statement on your refrigerator door: “The longer it takes you to do something, the less time you have to do something.” Budget your time accordingly. I like to recall those long-gone days of learning about fractions in primary school. Remember fractions? There was a lesson well beyond getting the correct answer. The experience extends to life-long learning. Learn to divide your course work into portions by day or week. Instructors appreciate your prompt and timely submission of assignments. You should also set aside another time dedicated to doing your tasks. It’s important not to wait until the due date. Waiting until the last minute may give the wrong impression about your commitment to learning, and it limits your progress in the learning community.
Think about your motivations. What do you already know (or think you know) about creating your learning environment? What support team do you currently have or need to be a successful student? What plans have you made to connect and engage with others in your class? Ask yourself what gets you up in the morning? Do I have a positive learning mindset that I will learn today what I did not know yesterday? Have I positioned my day, week, and month to manage my time effectively? It’s also vital to identify extrinsic factors that can support or detract from your learning. Family, friends, and pets can go a long way to assisting you and can also easily detract from your education. I want to let people know that I appreciate their support and often send out gentle reminders that I welcome and value their encouragement. Once you understand what motivates you, then it’s easy to surround yourself with others who will be supportive of your goals.
Ask for help. The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone in your educational goals. It’s essential to create a support network of classmates and instructors. Throughout my teaching in the USA, Australia, and Vietnam, I’ve seen that the fabric of learning is created one thread at a time. You are one thread among thousands; and, every thread is vital to creating a beautiful design. Also, don’t be afraid—help is just a click away! Sure, some students become anxious reaching out for help, and I understand that. The good news is that instructors overwhelming prefer hearing directly to from you, learning how they can help you, and working with you to chart a course of success. All of us want to grow, to pursue our dreams, and share our learning communities. So, before it’s too late to deal with things, reach out for help. Waiting until near the end of the course to engage will leave you disappointed and possibly reduce your plans for success.
Celebrate your successes. How often have you completed a course and then immediately moved on to the next course? We get into a transactional mindset; yet, forget to celebrate, even in the smallest way, our accomplishment. Learning to practice a mindful appreciation of your more modest achievements leads to greater success.
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About Dr. Rick Arrowood
Dr. Rick Arrowood has taught in undergraduate and graduate education for three decades, held high-level leadership positions in nonprofit organizations and published numerous articles and research studies. He has given keynote speeches and presented on various subjects of nonprofit management and leadership in the USA, Australia, China, Russia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, and the Netherlands (The Hague). His academic areas include nonprofit management, law, global leadership, human resource management, and financial management. He holds several professional certifications in cultural competency, intercultural effectiveness, and leadership practices. He attained a Juris Doctor from Massachusetts School of Law, North Andover, Massachusetts, and a Doctor of Law and Policy from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Previously, former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick credited him as a change agent in leading a grassroots effort to attain a legislative mandate providing the first-ever pioneering state-wide registry later replicated nationwide for individuals living with Lou Gehrig’s disease overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Division.
