staying motivated

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How do you stay motivated to keep up with your online course work? Do you have a specific study time or fit it in whenever?

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Specializes in Certified Diabetes Educator.

I would schedule and pay for a test. Then I knew that I had to study "x" amt of time and go take the test. I also had a husband that insisted I stick with this and pass. We needed the extra money that the RN provided.

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Adult Float Pool.

agreed! i could have finished several months ago if i hadn't wasted a bunch of time "studying tomorrow". as soon as i put that test on the calendar though, it's over! i'm in it full speed ahead until it's over. then i don't waste any time and get right on scheduling the next one. good luck!!

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Specializes in Home Health, Podiatry, Neurology, Case Mgmt.

I posted this in my own thread, but in case you didnt see it...i also did what Mudwoman suggested!

I took the content guide, saw how many sections were on it, then broke it down into weeks...

week 1

April 18th-23rd Section I Nursing process 10% & first practice exam

week 2

April 24th - April 30th Section II Health, Wellness, and Illness 20%

week 3

May 2nd- May 8th Section III Environmental Safety 15%

week 4

May 9th - May 15th Section IV Biological Safety 20%

week 5

May 16th - May 22nd Section V Medication Safety 15%

week 6

May 23rd - may 29th Section VI Psychological Safety 20%

week 7

May 30th - June 5th final Review and 2nd practice exam

Take FINAL on or around June 7th

this gives me a guideline as to what i need to be working on and when it needs to be done. I started to do the EC program almost 2yrs ago, but didn't lay out a timeline for myself at all, so i was overwhelmed and got frustrated and quit before i had even got through two chapters of my study guide. This time i'm laying out a time line and i wrote those "due dates" right on my content guide so as to keep it right in my face as i study. I also used my yahoo calendar and blackberry calendar to set off reminders to there is no excuse to forgetting or slacking off...i do need to go back and give myself a little bit of "cushion" time though, i didnt' account for being sick, or appts ect, so i will probably add a week to the end should i get off schedule or have a hard time with some chapters.

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Many people stay motivated by scheduling the test date, putting it on a calendar, then using this appointment time in the future to keep them going from day to day. If you don't give yourself a deadline, then it is very easy to put it off over and over again until you realize that not only weeks, but months, have gone by with no progress.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.

I agree with others. Pay for the test and schedule a date. This worked well for me. I usually took a test every 3 weeks. I failed 2 but kept going and picked them up in the end. I Finished the test in 6 months 24 days. I aint gonna lie, I was burned out but it felt good to get it over with. You need to have a made up minds coming into the EC program. Job advancement and more money was another big motivator. Good Luck to you!

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