PROCRASTINATORS over here. Brand new thread for October.

[winnybella]

How was everyone's summer?

So...after having sniffed our new lovely course books, did anyone start yet on actually reading them?

This year I'm doing A215 Creative Writing and A300 20th C. Literature. Full time, then. And I'm supposed to go back to work within next few weeks After having procrastinated terribly last year and barely scraping by I am somewhat erm, well, I'm rather panicking about managing it all this year.

Let's start moaning about our first assignments!

Hi winny.

I'm doing DD306 Living political ideas. A bit scary as it's my first 3rd year module.

I got an email a couple of days ago saying that there was a low student numbers for my module and my tutor is in Ireland! I'm in Yorkshire, so it seems doubtful that there will be many tutorials.

I'm weak, I need tutorials

Keep meaning to make a start, but that's a big fat no so far.

Hello there :) I'm going back to studying (graduated 4 years ago, had child etc.) and am getting really nervous now, I am an arch-procrastinator in all areas of life so just hoping I'm going to pull my finger out and do ok.

Am studying E807 (level 3) - eek!

Prolesworth you are obliged to hang around and give me tips!

Sorry you forker, hello to you too.

Welcome forker

Hello schroeder and Proles! Yeah, I thought you won't be able to stay away, Proles

I have read the Cherry Orchard and half a chapter in the coursebook so far. I am sooo submitting my TMA01 early!

Oh, and DD started proper nursery this week (was in a playgroup before). It's an adaptation week so I stay with her til Thurs when she stays there by herself It means I'll have more time to study, well, at least til I'll find a job.

Blimey winny, have you turned over a new leaf and if so, what's your secret?!

Sorry about the withdrawn messages btw - it's nothing sinister, just decided to have all my past posts deleted.

You ok, Proles?

Hmm, we'll have to wait and see whether my resolve will hold, but I think it's because the past year was so shitty in so many ways, and a lot of it was because of me not tackling things head on. And DD's going to the nursery full time and I'll (hopefully) will be able to get a job and start feeling like myself again. I love this child so much, but, Jesus, 2.5 years of broken nights, tantrums, breastfeeding, playing with blocks...

How's your writing going?

I need to join your group, I've got an ema to finish by next week (600 of 2500 words done), an exam for a different course on the 17th and my new course starts next week. I've not really enjoyed my last couple of courses k203 working for health, bloody awful, k342 enhancing the patient experience, ok but really boring, far too much social policy for me.
My new course is sk277 human biology and I can't wait for that.
But instead of getting ema done I keep faffing about wasting time even though I know the sooner I get it done the better my life will be. Anyway I'll stop moaning now! Nice to meet you guys
X

Curly Get off mumsnet now and do that assignment!

I too am faffing about installing a million bits of software just to make my module dvds bloody run, stupid 'puters.

i've got an exam on 14 october. bought lots of mini post it notes, cards, different coloured pens etc with an aim of making lovely mind maps etc for revision but am having much more fun collecting things that may be useful for revision rather than actually revising!

Oh, god, I'm the same. Have exam in just under 2 weeks and I'm "organising" my revision material; printing and sorting stuff but not actually doing anything

Hello fellow procrastinators!

Arf at an October procrastination thread starting in September - bit keen aren't you Winny?

I'm doing A215 creative writing and AA316 The 19th Century novel this year.

I'd like to say that true to form, I'm behind with the reading already

Good luck everyone - esp. those with exams coming up.

gingergran when I did my exam in June I bluetacked revision notes on those little box file cards, cut out pages with images/paintings on and stuck them all the wall in spider diagrams like a police incident room get up. Then you can just look at it every time you go past, or sit in front of it daydreaming hoping some of it will fall into your head.

wildstrawberry- I'm doing A215 as well. Yay I did AA316 last year - great course, but you really have to pay lots of attention to the critics- I found some of them a bit hard to digest tbh.

Yeah, keen to procrastinate! It's DD's first full day at the nursery and I'm MNing instead of dusting off my CV and searching for a job! Oh well, I'm allowed to have one relaxing day, am I not?

ginger and said- get on with it or otherwise you'll have a horrid panicky last few days before the exam. I also found that trying to revise in 3 days didn't really work for me mark-wise

I can't believe it's taken the best part of 2 days to get my module software to (sort of) work .

So tomorrow I'm definitely getting started a whole one day early .

Good luck job hunting winny, I've just applied for something leading to me wasting inordinate amounts of time looking for inteview clothes.

Oh that bloody software! In the end I copied the entire folder on to my hard drive - it worked fine then.

Winny, I'm OK - for asking. I haven't been doing any writing over the last couple of months. Feeling a bit of a post-degree void: I'm glad it's over but I've invested so much energy in it over the last 5-6 years it feels really WEIRD not to have it any more, you know?

I'm sorry you've had a shitty year. Here's hoping this coming year will be different :)

oh, I meant , not !

'So tomorrow I'm definitely getting started a whole one day early'

Only 2 days til the beginning of the course. I thought I had plenty of time left and was rather proud of myself for reading The Cherry Orchard early

schroeder-good luck with the job application. Hope you'll get an interview. What is it, if you don't mind me asking?

Proles- thanks for . You actually deserve some as well for kicking my bum last year on so many occasions. Here: You're starting Masters next year, yes? Til then you can live vicariously through our struggles

why you've quoted me-because I'm so pathetic?

It's just a christmas job in a shop. My hours have been cut in my other job, so I'm farting about way too much and the money is just not lasting the month, so off to earn my crust.

No, because you've made me realise that the course begins in just a couple of days I thought there was still a week or so to go.

Hope you'll get the job

Ah I see.

Well I have tried to start, but I must admit to finding the video and audio clips very annoying. I find it hard to concentrate fully on audio clips especially and as for taking notes, I don't know where to start. I suppose I'll get used to it.

Thanks for the job encouragment, right back at ya.

I don't think I can do this. I have an OU exam on 12 October and my revision plan has gone all to hell and it's just not happened. There is so much to revise and there are so many gaps where I had intended to go back and "fill in when I had time" but, of course, never did. It's just too late now to pull anything together and I'm at the sitting at my desk and crying stage.

I don't even have any extenuating circumstances; I'm not ill and nobody's dead. It's just a case of it seeming like I had more time than I actually had (if that makes sense) and then so many little things have all been cropping up at once - kids, family, DH, - that the revision got put off for a bit, then a bit more, then until tomorrow, then until the next day, etc, and now it's too late and I feel so absolutely crap. I managed to pass all the TMAs and did pretty well there, so it's horrible to think I've let myself down by not preparing properly for this exam. I really don't think there's any way I'll be able to do enough between now and then to get a pass, let alone a good pass. It's even worse looking at the group forums because other folk are all well ahead with the revision and have done all the things I should have done ages ago.

I know it's all my own fault but still doesn't stop me feeling so miserable and that awful panic feeling is starting to set in. I know I can't just fail to turn up for the exam because that would mean having to resit the whole module. I think there is the option to resit if you fail. Has anybody else ever failed an OU exam and passed on the resit? Is there a cap on resit marks?

Don't really know why I've posted . Think I just want some soothing words, back patting and reassurance that it's not the end of the world and I'm not the only procrastinator ever to come a cropper.

aww tartan

it's not too late, honestly it isn't: maybe it's too late to do the kind of revision you feel you should have done, but that's not the same as it being too late to revise (iyswim). You've studied the course, you've done the TMAs - that's the most important preparation for the exam done :)

Which course are you doing?
Have you got any past papers to work with?