I’m so happy to be back this week and I’m so grateful that you’re taking time out of your busy day to spend some here with me! Today, I want to talk about something that I’ve received so many questions about - How do we balance application writing with school work, jobs, family commitments, and our other responsibilities? Many of our Apply Yourself clients and community members have application deadlines coming up, so I want to provide some insights and strategies that were discussed with the Mastering Academic Applications: From Scratch to Submission graduates. Before that, here’s some exciting news: many of our MAA graduates are now community members in The Success Society, Apply Yourself’s higher-level coaching group!
These 8 strategies, which arose from our productive and fruitful weekly group coaching calls in MAA and TSS, have been really helpful for our community members as they transition back into the Fall semester, and I hope these help you as well!
Join us this episode as we discuss the following strategies:
- First, we need to perceive our school work as productive and constructive to our success and to the life we want to build for ourselves. It’s about the choices we’re making and the skills, habits, and discipline we’re developing that allow us to excel.
- Second, if you are working on applications for graduate or professional schools, or for jobs and careers, we need to reframe the way that we think about and develop them. Applications don’t have to be a drag and we don’t have to suffer through them! At Apply Yourself, we actually work together so we enjoy the process of application development and we get so much more out of it than just the application.
- Third, don’t be afraid to contact your professors at the start of the semester. As a professor, I always give my students the opportunity to introduce themselves and let me learn more about them, whether it be through email or in person.
- Fourth, aim to stay on top of your coursework and readings, but do it in a way that works best for you, not others. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing different things for different classes and don’t be afraid to change strategies. (Tip: The way the professor or instructor taught was a huge determinant for if I chose to do my readings either before or after class!) We are a non-competition based community here at Apply Yourself, and we believe that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to other people or focus on the competition. We need to focus on ourselves in order to grow, succeed, build a positive mindset, and achieve advancement.
- Fifth, the root cause of procrastination is often anxiety about the future or the unknown. Set yourself up in a way that makes it so that this feeling of anxiety does not hinder you. Anxiety is a completely natural feeling that allows us to stop and evaluate our choices, but we should strategize around it, take small steps, and not let it stop us from moving forward.
- Sixth, your environment matters! Where you work, study, read, and think matters. You should feel safe and be able to think freely and productively in your workspace. You can always relocate to where you are most productive (for me, it was the library).
- Seventh, be mindful of your technology and app usage. Apps are designed to keep you using them and they benefit from this. We need to understand that we don’t use these apps for “free” - instead they cost us our precious time and energy.
- Lastly, if you find yourself checking out, take a break! Schedule in your breaks. If you are feeling disassociated from the work, do something you enjoy and away from screens - go for a walk, get a drink of water or coffee or tea, and you can even spend that downtime working on your applications as a break
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Mastering Academic Applications: From Scratch to Submission is now open for you to complete your applications in 12-weeks! With live coaching, you develop your applications & gain insights into your applications processes like never before. Join us now using this link to enroll!
Connect with Adrienne!
Looking for support with your graduate or professional school applications? Connect with us at Apply Yourself Global™! Email me personally at adrienne@applyyourselfglobal.com. You can also DM me on Instagram @applyyourselfglobal.
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Work with Adrienne
💫 Calling all applicants! Learn more about our signature course, Mastering Academic Applications: From Scratch to Submission and how you can complete your applications — with clarity, support, structure, and strategy with Dr. Adrienne Shnier, an Admissions Committee Member. Book your Strategy Call HERE to learn more about how AYG can help you Get In.💫
