Back to School: Top 5 Tips for Success From Your Instructor

Welcome back students!  While it is definitely the busiest time of year I really enjoy the start of a new school year.  A new start, new opportunities, and my students getting one step closer to achieving their goals.

The purpose of my blog is to motivate and inform.  Hopefully this post is two-fold in its approach.  Here are my top 5 tips for success at the start of a new semester.

1. Be prepared.  Make sure you have all of your network and email passwords up-to-date before your first class.  Print your schedule the day before classes start to ensure you have the most recent version of your schedule.

2. Be early!  Vince Lombardi used to say if you're not early you're late.  Why early?  Room assignments change and you might show up at the room only to find out the class has been moved to the other side of the building.  If you walk in late, miss something, and make the instructor repeat something it is not only frustrating to the instructor but also to your fellow classmates.  Being early is about respect for others time, as well as your own.

3.  Be professional in written and verbal communication.  Remember you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.  Think of taking college courses as an extension of your career, because it is!  Your initial interactions with your professors and fellow students will likely set the tone for the rest of the semester.  Get started on a positive note.  (Hint: If you email your instructor, use your school issued gmail account.  Not the personal email address you have which may read insertinappropriateprefix@gmail.com)

4.  Make time for your education.  Set blocks of time aside to complete school work and stick to this schedule.  In a day and age where we constantly multi-task work with family and our social life; do not think you will be able to multi-task your education.  Completing assignments on your iPhone waiting for the bus is not necessarily ideal in the learning process.

5.  Be willing to help others.  If you know how MATC works and have experience in higher education you could make someones day, week, semester, or year by lending a helping hand.  We all know what a confused person looks like in the hallway or computer lab at the beginning of the semester.  The simple question, "do you need some help?" or "how can I help you?" can not only make that person feel better but will also make you feel better.  We are all in this together!

Focus on these five tips and this semester might be your best yet.  

Success and Effort. Two very subjective words.

As I pondered the topic of this blog post I came across a picture on Instagram quoting the early 1900's self help author Robert Collier.  "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."  Initially I thought to myself, "absolutely true." But the reality is that this couldn't be any further from the truth.  Why do I think this you might be asking?  My reason is simple and involves the two key words of the quote; success and effort.

Success is a term that can be defined in many ways.  What I define as success may differ from another person's definition of success.  Furthermore, is success monetary?  Is it a degree earned?  Is it a position attained?  Is it an award earned?  Is it respect of your peers?  Is success self-actualization, reaching your highest potential?  Or is success a combination of all of these things?  The answer to this question is different for everyone.  It can actually be none of them.  Everyone is different and we have to define our version of success.  Once we have that definition then and only then can we take steps toward it.

Effort.  The word itself always reminds me of an elementary teacher I had that used to always say, "you get an A for effort."  But the end result is I did poorly on the assignment and because I tried hard this statement accompanied my grade of C.  As it relates to Collier's quote my main issue isn't with the word effort, it's with the pairing of the word effort and "small."  I understand what he means by the quote.  Day in and day out, being consistent and putting forth effort.  But let's be honest, some of the efforts we have to put forth are not small.  Some take a large commitment of time, energy and resources.  Not everything we do on our way to our definition of success is mundane.  Think about the projects, exams, presentations, portfolios, interviews and significant efforts we have to put forth.  Granted "mastering the mundane tasks" will be a stepping stone to success, but the gigantic efforts we put forth are definitely the most significant relative to achieving our version of success.

To build on Collier's words, let's add a sentence.  "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.  Understand your definition of success and recognize that the large efforts you put forth will be integral to achieving it."