Are you finding everything is taking longer than expected to learn

[Goinggrey00]

Thanks to those who got this subgroup started.

I'm wondering how others are doing at the end of your first few weeks.

I'm doing a Masters and tonight at the end of week 3 I'm kind of surprised how much longer it's taking for me to study. The topic is one I'm familiar with so that's not the issue. It's just taking me longer than I expected to get everything done.

My brain is tired tonight. I will be studying tomorrow too and hoping to recharge on Sunday for another week ahead....

There’s quite a lot to unpick here …

Don’t know if your course is mostly online or in person - but both give cause for exhaustion after the first adrenalin rush of starting a new venture. I recall being completely exhausted by the commute to my institution - before the day had even started. But if I’d had to prepare everything and interact with tutors and fellow students online I’d have been in tears with technological complications. So there’s that.

Secondly, you’re almost certainly more diligent than you were as an undergraduate, and more concerned about getting everything right and covering all bases. Add this to the newness.

And there’s a reason why this board has the word ‘mature’ in its title. Think how much more there is in your head now than there may have been in past years - responsibilities, disappointments, weltschmerz, health concerns, entrenched relationship worries, self-consciousness in relation to the circle of people who might be taking an interest in your progress … Not all of these might apply to you - but these things leave less room in your brain for academic assignments.

Try not to worry about it. Adjust your working routine to leave more time for individual pieces of work, and accept that it will take a while for you to begin to live up to your own expectations.

I completely agree. I seemed to fly through my undergrad but this is taking so much more of my energy.

I am finding there's so much reading and I just can't seem to get into the headspace at home. So I've been trying to read in Starbucks or the uni library here and there which is helping, but I constantly feel like I'm not doing enough. The first deadlines are looming already.

I found it took me a while to figure out how to effectively take notes and organise my thoughts - it's 25 years since my undergrad. In my first module I annotated online but in the second I started taking handwritten notes and found it "sunk in" much better and I was able to cross refer sources more intuitively.

Also, in my second module I resurrected a few "hacks" from undergrad days if short of time (which in undergrad days was entirely self-inflicted- sadly, not so much now):

• Books - Intro, conclusion and a couple of key chapters only
• Articles- Intro and conclusion only.

This approach actually got me a better mark- possibly as I got a more comprehensive overview and didn't get sidetracked by unnecessary detail.

I also started keeping a spreadsheet of all the articles I've read that summarised the main point that the author was making. Then, when writing assessments I can quickly summarise the key arguments and schools of thought. The word count on my assessments is really tight so I need to be really concise. eg X argues that energy transitions will occur when y happens. However, Z counters that other factors such as a, b and c are more important. I conclude that [insert brilliant original thought here].

Lastly, read with the assignment in mind (assuming they give the question well in advance).

HTH

@Insert1x20p that's SUCH a good idea about the intro and conclusion! I feel so overwhelmed at how much I need to read so I'm going to do this. Thanks

Thank you @EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues I think you summef everything up in one wonderful post.

@Insert1x20p I like your nickname. Do you have any tips for reading chapters? I read that reading the first sentence in each paragraph can help and also not to read the book like a novel. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

@Insert1x20p I loved yiiru tip about the Excel file and keeping a ref of articles you'd read too.

@MeredithMae Glad to have some company and know I'm not alone. Hope you can find a way to read at home?

I started a Masters last year and it's a totally different kettle of fish to my undergrad.

I did my undergrad in the early 90s - no internet, no smartphones, no Netflix! No family responsibilities and kids and really all I had to worry about was studying and my Saturday job in Debenhams. Now though, studying is just one of about a thousand things I have to think about and the juggling gets tiring.

I also think at Masters level you're on your own a lot more and if you're out of the swing of studying it can take a while to get back into it.

Do you have any tips for reading chapters? I read that reading the first sentence in each paragraph can help and also not to read the book like a novel.

Sadly not as I don't really have to read books- there are the notes for the course each week which is about 30 pages of A4 and then a number of articles or papers, with the occasional bit of multimedia thrown in.

When im reading, as its all on the computer now i highlight parts I think are important. It makes me stop and consider should the information be highlighted then it is easier to remember. At the end i just do a quick summary in a word doc but that helps me focus.

I've been picking out chapters I think will help and read it online, highlighting as I go. I make notes in OneNote too in bullets.

Yes but I love it.

I’m a second year UG (part time - this is the second half of my second year!) and I’m finding this year a lot easier. Last year I couldn’t learn a bloody thing without spending hours and hours on it - I blame online learning and my old brain not being able to get on board with it.

I’d forgotten the learning element of undergrad degrees … There’s no way on earth I could process all the material I was expected to find, read, learn and reproduce in my first degree.

So do you have more face to face interaction this year, ObnoxiousFeminist, or is it just that you’ve acclimatised?

Back to normal, thankfully.