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Screwing up my degree, help

Hey,
I'm doing an English and History Joint Honours which I always knew were going to be quite intense on independent studying, but I've gone through a period of illness which messed up my perspective on careers. The last two academic years it took away my social life because I overdid work to distract myself, this year I've got that back a bit but lost the motivation the study, skipped all lectures for a month now and am generally very behind on work and reading. I'm told I'm capable of getting a first, I got into my uni with a scholarship originally and got a 2.1 overall last year despite illness so it'd be a shame if the years which count go to pot.

Apart from this, to be honest I've no idea why I'm doing this degree in the first place, except that I like the subjects so it's kind of fun! Career-wise all I can see is teacher etc. which I wouldn't mind but without even thinking about the future seriously I'm getting put off in the present. I really need to go talk to a careers advisor about my options.
This has had a tremendous impact on my self-esteem and mindset so I'm in a bunch of bad habits too. I spend a lot of time procrastinating, then rushing through it to catch up late at night. It's a slippery slope.

Any tips on how to get back into the study game? Thanks :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

unlockedlearner

Hey Riku,
I think first of all you need to focus on the here and now and not worry too much about the future, although i do realise there's always pressure to get your careers stuff sorted out early on.
In all honesty, the fact you enjoy what you're studying is the most important aspect than where it will take you job/career-wise. I did a Geography/Spanish degree, went and taught English in Japan, worked in publishing, came back to UK, worked in FE then in a university teaching skills, got into studying Psychology, recently completed an NLP course and set up my own business!! It hasn't always been easy but that's life!

Have you made yourself a time planner that you can stick to? If so, start with that.
Get back into the habit of attending all your classes, or at least set yourself an 80% target. Focus on getting your grades up to a steady 2.1 and don't worry about the pressure of getting a 1st for now. Once you're back in swing of things you can work on that if you really want to to get a first.
Think SMART about your time planning also.

Best of luck! :wink: