BURNT OUT! - Where can I buy some motivation!

[soliloquy]

I thought I posted this a few days ago but maybe I just dreamt about it.

At any rate, I applied for graduation in spring 2016. I am >< this close to completing my Master of Science in Project Management. Unfortunately this engineering economic analysis class has really worn me out. Our mid-term median grade was a "whopping 72%" which is respectable according to the instructor. My mid-term grade was 88%. I don't think I've ever scored that low on an exam and I gave blood, sweat, and tears to get that grade. That coupled with my other two classes, full time work, and all the other extracurricular things I have going on just makes me want to take a break next semester but that will prolong the entire process by one year.

Where do you get your second burst of energy?

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired.

[bluebooger]

Dilbert Comic Strip on 2015-11-03 | Dilbert by Scott Adams

[bricabrac]

Congratulations on being so close to the finish line!

What you are currently going through is why most working students take no more than two courses at a time. A B grade is satisfactory for most masters programs. If you achieve higher, celebrate the thinning hair (either from pulling or due to stress). Masters level work was not meant to be easy. If you are this close to completion, I would let a few of the extracurricular activities go for now. It is very hard to stop and then restart masters work; I am speaking from experience.

Good luck to you!

[Jody7818]

Just know that you're not the only one out there who's done this. Heck...there's some that have felt this way with being this close to a Bachelor's degree. Do you get a break in between semesters? If so, take a vacation and relax...all by yourself if need be. Just know that if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Since you've came this far in a Master's Degree, it separates you from most people. And most people know they can't handle the difficulty that comes with this course of study. But you can. How do you know? Because you've came this far!

Keep it up...and just take a breather and get back at it. There's a closed door ahead...but it's about to open if you keep on going.

[LaterBloomer]

Wow! You really are doing well in that course, and the course title alone is enough to stress me. Engineering? Economic? Analysis? Aren't the scary things supposed to be put away after Halloween?

Okay, have your cut things down to the bone? What can you cut out of your life? Each person is different. Can work cut you any slack? Can the extra-curricular activities be put on the back burner for a bit? My opinion is that sleep, proper eating, some exercise, and close relationships are the ONLY things you need to worry about besides your courses. If you're lucky, friends and family will cut you some slack on the relationship issue IF you promise not to go after a doctorate any time soon!

You're close to the finish line. Keep chugging along. Don't worry about how well you've done before in classes. You've upped the ante by taking master's level courses. It's going to be tougher, so you have to be tougher, too. You can do it.

[ronaldemail1]

In the warrious code
There's no surrender
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries, never!

Survivor - Burning Heart Lyrics


Going back to the thread. Looks like you are already giving it your best. The only think that you have to do is simply continue no matter what
Things may appear to be bleak now. But I am sure that further forward in your life, there might be events that will make your current situation
easy.

[cookderosa]

I thought I posted this a few days ago but maybe I just dreamt about it.

At any rate, I applied for graduation in spring 2016. I am >< this close to completing my Master of Science in Project Management. Unfortunately this engineering economic analysis class has really worn me out. Our mid-term median grade was a "whopping 72%" which is respectable according to the instructor. My mid-term grade was 88%. I don't think I've ever scored that low on an exam and I gave blood, sweat, and tears to get that grade. That coupled with my other two classes, full time work, and all the other extracurricular things I have going on just makes me want to take a break next semester but that will prolong the entire process by one year.

Where do you get your second burst of energy?

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired.

Feels like you might need my favorite Randy Pausch quote today. I find it so motivating, that for the entire time I was here working on my first TESC degree, that was the sum total of my signature. I think you should give yourself permission to quit- remind yourself that *technically* you could drop this class, walk away, and the world would go on. You *could* do it. Lots of people quit, few people finish.

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!

[soliloquy]

I've cut out all I can at this point. I do have a break from December 3 through January 11 if I'm reading the calendar correctly. Actually, thinking about that makes me feel a little better. An entire month without homework! I can't wait. I can hold on that long. Spring semester I take:

Communication and Diversity in the Workplace - COM 617 - 899
Seminar in Project Management - TCM 726 - 899
Advanced Project Management - TCM 750 - 899

I have no idea what to expect from those classes but I'm looking forward to completing everything.

I really appreciate your words of encouragement. That brick wall quote and the statement that you just have to keep going no matter what it looks like, helps. I know I have to push through this. I've pushed through so many other things in my life. I just needed to vent a little. Thank you!

[GoodYellowDogs]

Thanks. I, too, am struggling with my MBA program. I've lost my motivation. I love Randy Pausch and had forgotten that quote.

Feels like you might need my favorite Randy Pausch quote today. I find it so motivating, that for the entire time I was here working on my first TESC degree, that was the sum total of my signature. I think you should give yourself permission to quit- remind yourself that *technically* you could drop this class, walk away, and the world would go on. You *could* do it. Lots of people quit, few people finish.

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!

[cookderosa]

That brick wall quote and the statement that you just have to keep going no matter what it looks like, helps. I know I have to push through this. I've pushed through so many other things in my life. I just needed to vent a little. Thank you!

I vented a lot in grad school

I watched the Randy Pausch lecture again this weekend- I've seen it a few times. The brick wall quote hit me differently yesterday. When we think of brick walls, we think about how we have to get over them- but the second part "they're for the other people" is what I really hadn't considered. I think I even misunderstood it a bit until yesterday when I had a bit of a lightbulb moment. The brick wall that is for the other people actually keeps them out! It's like the moat around your castle. It prevents what you worked so hard for from being diluted by mass consumption. In other words, that brick wall insulates you and keeps you elite. If it were easier, everyone would do it and you'd just be like everyone else.

(maybe elite is the wrong word- but let's get real, only 20% of the people in the USA have a master's degree, so that's pretty powerful stuff!)