Forethought, Focus and Finding Time by Emily

Forethought, Focus and Finding Time by Emily - December 2017 Scholarship Essay

I know many may find a school project of any sort difficult to complete, let alone overwhelming if there is more than one project due in the same time frame, but they are unavoidable! Executive functioning skills or the skills that support every individual in becoming their own private secretary are key to completion of even the simplest of assignments or projects. Those that struggle with these skills struggle more than anyone would understand with the completion of almost any task. The ultimate strategy is to put effort into ensuring that you think about what the project will look like when it is complete; that is using forethought. Forethought literally means thinking or planning in advance. Begin with the end in sight. Either with or without assistance, it is crucial to plan the steps you must take to complete the final project. Decide if it will be handwritten or typed on a computer, will it be a display, and do you need any special materials. Some students may need to ask a friend, parent, or teacher to help them with this piece of the plan, and that is okay! Planning out what you will complete every few days ensures you complete the project on time, and breaks it into workable pieces! This makes the project and work less daunting. A checklist with the steps or tasks to be completed may prove incredibly helpful. It feels good to check off tasks once done, and also allows you to “see” your progress towards the end!

Coming up with a plan in advance may be the hardest part for some, but focus and finding time may impede getting projects done as well. Again, there are many that have difficulty with focusing on schoolwork. Whether due to phone, television, noise, or a diagnosis of ADD, distractions can easily hamper getting work done. That being said, you need to find a quiet place that is free of distractions. This can be anywhere, simply think about where you can go that is as quiet and distraction free as possible. Planning a work session that is relatively short in time is helpful too. This will ensure that you know there is an end in sight, therefore encouraging you to ignore all distractions until you are complete. In addition, this will allow you to work as hard as you can during that time set aside to work. Even though it seems as if we are always so busy, it is necessary to allocate time accordingly in order to complete a project. This is important because it is too easy to push projects aside, and when the planned schedule is not adhered too, this will result in an incomplete project or one that is not done as well as it could have been because you rushed to complete it! This can add to your frustration. Remember, there is always someone that can help you come up with a plan of attack, find a way to eliminate distractions, and find some much needed time to complete your project! Try it, and get to work!

Once finished, take some time to celebrate and take pride in what you have accomplished. If you are successful, remember what you did and make sure to use this strategy again in the future. However, if your project completion did not go well, do not give up, try to improve your plan of attack, place to work, and/or time for work, to improve the next time. This may include differing the time of day that you work on your project, or the length of time that you work before taking a break. If you challenge yourself to work for a longer time period, give yourself a break for working hard, and then get back to it! It’s worth the time in the long run to work on these strategies. They will be helpful in your school career, and could easily assist in the workplace as well.