Student Overwhelm, College Overwhelm, Procrastination and Academic Anxiety... on the rise!
As an academic tutor, I often find that a common cause for complaint amongst students is 'overwhelm'... feeling overwhelmed- being overwhelmed. Some people have actually begun introducing themselves as Overwhelmed, 'Hi... I'm Overwhelmed'...
Suffice to say that overwhelm has actually managed to topple students so much so that they don't even know their own names anymore. If you leave it alone long enough, overwhelm will become you, and do you really want to start introducing overwhelm before you introduce yourself?!
It's not so tricky to see why this has happened, you can see the issues when you listen to a student discussing their overwhelm for just a few minutes... There is clearly a lot to balance, so much to 'bear in mind' - and let's not forget the crippling anxieties of accidentally plagiarising (especially for our students in earlier years) ... Not to mention the fact that deadlines often fall on the same week, you may be familiar with that dreaded commonplace term 'Deadline Week'...
The truth is- there are some simple things you can do to keep the overwhelm at bay.
The basics of avoiding overwhelm:
1. Deadline Dread and Overwhelm
Know those dates like PRAYERS. Because absolutely nobody needs another all-nighter essay party... and I always questioned is it really a party when you're crying at 3am with 1,500 word to go?...... no wonder you're overwhelmed...
Consistently remind yourself coming up to your deadlines at regular intervals- and if it's due in two weeks- I'd advise you to work as if it's due much sooner, breaking down the word count needed per day to reach the final word count - then give yourself about half the actual time you have left to achieve that word count. This will give you a cushion for error, time to plan, and plenty of time to format, revise, tweak and tidy for final submission.
2. Extension & Deferral Procedures
3. Assignment Misunderstandings Breed Overwhelm
4. Referencing Confusion Breeds Overwhelm
Remember it takes time and perseverance to achieve anything worthwhile, and learning these basics is your prerogative as a current student and future graduate of your course.
Make yourself proud!
Wishing you the very best with your studies...
Ruby-Mai
Professional Writer. Published Poet. Dedicated Tutor. Degree-holder.
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