18 months into my MBA and I've just hit a wall

[CMOTDibbler]

I don't know what it is with me tbh. All the modules where it was learning stuff I was fine - stressed, time pressed, but got it all done.
Now I'm on the preparing for the dissertation writing bit - research methods, literature review (handed that assignment in this morning though I'm not convinced) , and I am just finding no enthusiasm for it at all. I just need to get this done so I can finish in the summer, but now it just seems like a slog and I procrastinate terribly about getting things done.
Any words of wisdom?

Disable your mumsnet account

Block anything and everything you are using to distract you. Take laptop, go sit in the uni library. Do it all very 'Old Skool'. Get your head in the right place.

Your Diss should be the most enjoyable part of the MBA. A topic you chose, a question you are interested in etc.

I really, really feel for you OP. I had that wall when I was doing my MA and PhD. It was awful. All I can say is push through it. You will regret giving up but never ever regret pushing through.

I found focusmate really, really helpful and still use it all the time. It matches you with somebody to work with online. You put the hours you want to work into a calendar and you are matched with someone. You can filter who you work with eg. I work with women only and you can join groups so that the algorithm learns what kind of people you want to work with. There will almost certainly be an MBA group. You can choose 25, 50 or 75 minute sessions. It's free if you do under a certain number of sessions a week and really good value if you pay, just £5 per month. I am not connected to the company in any way, just telling you about it as it was crucial to helping me finish my MA and phD.

www.focusmate.com

Good luck!

I absolutely hit that wall with my MSc, I got to my dissertation and I was just so over it by that point and tbh my dissertation was probably not as good as it would have been if I did it earlier in the course.

No words of wisdom I'm afraid, I just had to push through and remind myself of how much work would be wasted if I didn't push through

@Gigglechop ha, its my entire sanity! But maybe I need to find a blocker
@SamphiretheTervosaurReturneth the problem is I have no uni library to go to (well, I'd have to drive 4 hours to it), and as I work very FT I am always working on it at weekends and evenings which has plenty of family distraction as well as my own.
@JustWhattheDoctorOrdered I will look at focusmate, sounds really interesting.

I think the problem is that I'm not actually writing the dissertation yet, these are the two modules to teach you the research skills but there are assignments to submit as part of them so its very defined tasks before you've really talked to anyone about your dissertation topic. When writing my dissertation I do plan to have a couple of weekends away at the Gladstone library so I can get on with it without constant interruptions to let the dogs out, take ds to training, listen to DH and so on

I've also hit a wall with my diss. The only thing I have found useful is to do a hard bit, then an easy bit than a hard bit. It's very time-consuming and not a good use of time.

Ooh it’s on my list to go to the Gladstone library. It looks like a dream! I also worked at the local council library and local uni library (not mine but close to home)

I used to have so many problems carving out study time at home. DH and DCs constantly wandered in and out asking me things and I rarely had uninterrupted hours to work. I had to get really angry about it in the end. I moved my study area totally away from family space and insisted I worked in the bedroom and that I would not answer the door for any reason or answer queries etc. that’s also why focusmate works really well because you can tell family that the session is booked and if/when they walk into the room they can see someone else there which inhibits them from chatting.

I teach at university and I honestly find that students with children are the most motivated though. I think you learn to be organised and make the most of your time. It’s hard but so, so worth it. Keep going!

I highly recommend the farm shop on the hawarden Estate for meals if you do go to Gladstone library

Not helpful for your dissertation I know, but the brownies are worth it i promise!

@ConfusedNT that isn't helping me sell the idea to DH that I will be able to just stay in and write. Though a walk for cake to clear the mind sounds very sensible.
@katem39 that sounds like a good strategy for motivation, so I'll remember that.
Thanks for the support, I'm just disheartened by the lack of support at home and work on this. My boss when I first asked for funding was all over it, but unfortunately my current boss I think is frankly a bit threatened by it. Although there is no particular reason why I am doing this to myself progression wise, but some interest and input into my dissertation topic would be nice. Everyone else I know in the company who is doing an MBA has their topic suggested by their manager

That sounds tough, OP. My manager didn't support me either. Certainly makes it harder.

@CMOTDibbler you’ve just described my boss situation. I’m only on term 2 of a 2 year masters and my boss was made redundant as 2 teams combine and new boss is completely pissed off I’m on the course, feels there’s no need or space for leadership skills in the team and originally felt previous boss signed me up to spite her. Previous boss actually agreed in writing 11 months beforehand and secured funding and had hoped to get the role as the boss herself rather than redundancy so not at all about spite. New boss has been instructed by exec team she has to honour it but regularly tells me the rest of the team feel hard done by (They’re all junior with one exception and I’ve been in the organisation for many years more than any of them so career development entirely appropriate).

anyway, to your wall… I’ve been advised to work in 30 minute spurts and finish midway through a sentence as it’s easier to pick it up. I tend to actually work in hour spurts so you find what fits you. When it’s hard, just do something even if you later review and edit the lot, it’s more than a blank page.

one of my first assignments was way out of my comfort zone but I looked at the marking criteria and wrote to that. I looked at the blank page and said to myself, I just need to achieve something so by the end of the day the page is not blank.

keep pushing in steps and don’t look at the finish line as that’s too daunting right now.

Hi @CMOTDibbler

how are things going? I’ve just found your thread after searching for info about the OU MBA, which I am hoping to start in May.

I hope you don’t mind me asking you a couple of questions?
how many hours a week does it really take, in your experience? I have a full time job but this is part of that so I will have maybe one day a week in work time to do it. Is that enough?
Did you get books? On the website it isn’t clear - suggests a combination of types of resources, but I am keen on paper copies - just often find it easier to process the information/ review it.
and lastly, are there any non- OU books that have been really useful? I won’t start till May, but I have no business background so am keen to do some preliminary reading!

many thanks and I hope you’ve clambered over that brick wall now!

Hi @GreenLeavesRustling after this thread I actually decided to take this module slot off so that I would have a break until March, and feel so much better - its pretty relentless on the MBA course I'm doing with only 1 2 week break a year, so you normally hand in the last assignment of a module the day the next module drops and I think that combined with a very full on job it had all got too much.
How long does it take? I'd say I normally spend 15-20 hours a week on it, and I never feel like its enough tbh as there is so much reading around needed - but this may also be an artefact of the course I'm on which is light on lectures, heavy on self directed study for the assignments.
I buy Kindle books as its easier for me to carry round, but you can get all the common MBA books on ebay way cheaper (though check editions carefully). We have a set text per module and then you have to read certain chapters each week and sometimes do the case studies from the book.
I like the Harvard business review audio books as general listening, they are pretty engaging and a good jump off point for reading more or thinking about different issues

Good luck! Its a big decision, and overall I have really enjoyed it

Thanks so much for your reply! I am doing the MBA - is that the same as you? I had hoped I could manage it on 10 hours a week - do you think that is over optimistic? Yikes maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew!
I don’t have a business background but have got a PhD - years since I have done any proper ‘study’ though. I will be doing it alongside a full time job, though I should be able to devote maybe 7 hours of work time a week to it.

I am going to have to get super organised, aren’t I!? I’m going to take note of the tips above, but anything additional that you wish you had known I would be grateful to hear!

what is the residential like?

I'm not studying through the OU, mines North Wales business school, so no residential and yours might have a different schedule as to how study schedules work.
I do think 10 hours is optimistic, though so much depends on how fast a reader you are - I'm fast so can knock out the set book reading on one evening, do my lectures the next, extra reading that is set the next, some papers, and then the rest of the weeks work is doing any weekly tasks and preparing for the next assignment (every 3 weeks).
Juggling is the word. My 16 year old is now able to have a spirited discussion on marketing as he has my audio books inflicted on him in the car, and I'll study sitting in the car while waiting for him to do weekday evening sports training, or listen to a book while walking the dogs. I save academic papers to my Kindle so I can do my notes on them anywhere as well.

If you want a focus mate, I will happily accompany you to the Gladstone library.

sorry, not helpful. But use it as a target point maybe?

Oh my masters I just finished was with the North Wales Business School. I actually think part of the way they set it up was what contributed to me feeling burnt out at the end. I think taking a module break is a good idea, I actually wish I had done that before my last module.

Just popping back into this thread to say I tried focusmate for the first time today and found it really useful, thanks for the tip @JustWhattheDoctorOrdered