I purposely waited until the night before to write this blog. As I sit in the hotel room as the clock approaches midnight, this residency is a reality. In a few short hours, I will be my cohort and another cohort on campus for the first time. Although I am not fully an introvert, I do not speak in front of crowds unless it is a must.
This has been an excellent course this far. The reading material aligned with the tasks that were due and were beneficial to me as a student. The rigor was enough to keep me focused, but not enough to make me have to choose between working and earning my doctorate. The work, school, and life balance is perfect so far. Part of this can be attributed to pairing my habits together to ensure success. For example, one of my goals is to log in and read daily after I have reviewed my task for work for the day. These are two excellent habits to place together. Each morning I check my work email and Microsoft Teams to ensure I have not missed anything. If there is work to do I create a schedule for completing the work, then read the assigned reading material for class. This was something I was kind of doing before, but I am more conscious now and look forward to pairing additional habits alongside other good habits.
As I enter the residency, I keep repeating to myself, “You are only facing what others have met.” This is not my first time in college or working on a doctoral program. This is the first time I am working on a doctoral program in my field of study and I am excited. I am also terrified because I know my plate is full. I am excellent at time management, however, taking two courses at the same time while working is something I have not attempted in 30 years. I am going to need to remove something from my schedule and I am unsure what that is at this time. This is going to take some balance.
I do not have any questions at this time. I simply want to gain as much knowledge as possible from this program to be the best information technology practitioner I can be. I am trying to keep my expectations at a minimum to prevent stressing about something I can accomplish without undue stress.
