goals Archives | Back to School Divas

Please tell Back to School Divas a little bit about yourself and your back to school story. What made you go back to school? What makes your back to school experience unique? I graduated high school in 1980, went to an HBCU, NC ...

Please tell Back to School Divas a little bit about yourself and your back to school story. What made you go back to school? What makes your back to school experience unique?

I graduated high school in 1980, went to an HBCU, NC A&T State University, in the Fall of 1980. My focus was not on education. I went following my boyfriend. I only attended 1 1/2 years before going back home and working.
Years went by, I continued to work. Became pregnant, married, and from there it was family first and basic living.
I am a very proud mother of amazing educated adult sons, both holding graduate degrees and are entrepreneurs.
I spent my life encouraging, motivating, and inspiring my sons to get their education. To go as far as you can obtaining their education. I did not want them to interrupt their education. I encouraged them to see the world. They already knew what was at home (hometown). They both did just that. And after my youngest son received his graduate degree in Film Production, he decided he wanted to be a Barber, so he moved back home and enrolled in a local Barber program and finished in June 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. He has 6 more months of apprenticeship. Upon receiving his full license, he plans to open his own Barber Shop. He is also a video content creator specializing in promos, wedding music videos, and short films.
I decided to return to my education after becoming an empty nester, having raised my sons, as a single mother when they were ages 5 and 8; and also after being the primary caregiver for my mother who passed away in 2016. I had taken a couple of Photoshop classes several years ago and loved those classes, so I chose the Advertising/Graphic design curriculum. I began in January 2018 and because I work full time am only able to take two classes per semester and summer. It has been what seems like forever, I am excited to say I will graduate in Spring 2022.
My situation may not be unique to many, but it is unique to me. There are many times, at my age of 59, I ask myself why am I doing this? Who cares? why now? Why not just quit? My answer to myself is I quit before. I taught my sons to not quit, to never give up. Give out before giving. I think about that when those negative questions come to my thoughts. Having only a high school diploma, until I follow this venture through satisfactorily completing the course requirements for an AAS Advertising/Graphic Design Degree, I don’t feel I have led my sons by example.
Between my two sons, I’ve been to and cheered them through 7 graduations, from high school through grad school, and Barber school. I have 6 caps/gowns/stoles hanging in my closets. I want the next cap/gown/stole that is worn and comes into my house to be worn by and belong to ME!

Has your back to school experience been a smooth journey? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

It has certainly been a journey! I cannot complain. I pay for my own classes. I only take two per semester and summer sessions. I limit myself to two classes to not overwhelm myself because I do work full-time and manage a Scheduling Call Center. There are times when the job can require more of me, but I set clear boundaries, as school is super important to me this time around.

Tell us about some time management, study, or money-saving tips that helped you make it to where you are in your journey.

Time management is a struggle. Having not been to school in several decades, I realized that I needed to discipline myself to create study time. My entire program has been online. I had to set a study boundary for myself. Homework is due by midnight one night per week. On the due night, I place my phone on Do Not Disturb till midnight.
This allows me to focus on my classwork to make sure I have everything ready to submit if I’m down to the last night to submit. As soon as I leave work, my phone goes on DND. By doing this I don’t hear calls nor texts coming in. If I did, I would spend the majority of my evening chit chatting and texting. It took family and friends a while to understand and some were offended, but this is about me, not them. My sons knew and understood, but they also know that they are exceptions to my rule and I am available for them anytime, even on homework night.

Tell us about your career goals. What do you plan to do with your degree once you finish?

Both my sons are entrepreneurs in videography/film/advertising/social media. My goal is to help them with their business after I retire from my current job.

If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?

The heart of our mission is to encourage other women on their back to school journeys. The goal of Featured Diva is to celebrate women who are making their academic dreams come true in hopes that other women will find encouragement to strive toward their goals.

African American woman smiling wearing cap and gown and holding diploma

July 17, 2019February 5, 2020

6 Steps to Building Better Study Habits This Spring

When you think about building new habits, you probably think about the New Year. After all, this is the time where we all take a good look at our lives and see things that we want to change. However, most people drop out early and do...

So, how can you change this? How can you ensure that you build good habits on any occasion and not only think about them in when the New Year rolls around? Learn the best ways to stay productive on the go with good habits.

The Step-by-Step Process to Building Good Habits

Step #1: Define And Focus On Just One New Habit

Most of us have different habits that we want to change. However, if you try to change them all at the same time, you’re more likely to end up failing. With this in mind, it is a much better approach to simply focus on one new habit that you want to build.

The key to determining the first new habit you want to implement in your life is to think of something that you can do all the time and that fits your daily life. That could be a 15-minute walk every lunch break, swapping soda for flavored water, or going to bed 30 minus earlier.

Step #2: Make A Commitment:

One of the most important things that you need to do when you are building a new habit is simply commit to it. You can even tell your friends that you will do this or that for the rest of your life. If you don’t mean it, it won’t do you any good. Besides, building a habit is more about doing than it is about telling. So, commit to your new habit for at least 30 days.

Step #3: Connect Your New Habit To An Established One:

Motivation rarely lasts. So, what you should do to help make a new habit stick is that you should anchor your new habit to an established one. Unless you do that, you will see your motivation decrease day after day. On the other hand, if you focus on continuing the habit without fail, it will come to a point where it is simply natural. Try pairing your desired action with a habit you already have to improve your motivation.

Tell yourself something like “after dropping kids off at school, I will take a walk around the building.”

Step #4: Take Baby Steps:

Even though you may be eager to build a new habit, the reality is that it will take you time for your brain to see this new habit as natural. So, the best thing you can do is to take baby steps. This way, you will be introducing the new habit in your life slowly but consistently. Just think of things such as waking up each morning 5 minutes earlier or eating one serving of vegetables each day. While these might seem to be very simple, this is exactly why they work.

Step #5: Dealing With Obstacles:

When you think of building a new habit, you are incredibly motivated. However, your motivation tends to start decreasing unless you keep focusing yourself on committing to this new habit every day.

The truth is that you will always end up dealing with obstacles and the best way to deal with them is to prevent them. Some of the most common obstacles include space, weather, time, pain, self-consciousness, and costs.

So, the best approach is to be prepared to deal with them when they come. Let’s say that you decided that your new habit will be to run outdoors every single day for 30 minutes. Everything is going well until the day it rains. Instead of skipping your run, you could plan that you will go to the gym instead.

Step #6: Reward Yourself:

When you want to make sure that you build a new habit, there is nothing better than rewarding yourself when you reach the target. Remember that you don’t need to break the bank to treat yourself. It can simply be doing something you love or going out with your loved one.

Are you working to improve your study habits? UniversityWriting911 is here to help with resources for creating and polishing A+ worthy essays and more.

Woman listening to headphones on a commute

Uncategorized

July 11, 2019February 5, 2020

10 Best Audiobooks & Podcasts to Get Motivated

Daily life and daily routines can simply wear you down. And when you have one of those days when nothing goes right, you tend to feel even worse. No matter if you have an argument with a friend, if your teenager has a bad day, or if ...

The reality is that we all have days like these. And when we have them, the best thing you can do is to motivate yourself. But how?

One of the best things you can do is to listen to an inspirational and motivational audiobook or podcast. While there are a lot of great options out there, we hand-selected the 10 best audiobooks and podcasts to get motivated.

#1: The 10X Rule By Grant Cardone

When you are feeling down and you need that extra push to motivate you, you can be sure that The 10X Rule will do it. This audiobook is meant for people who like to think for themselves and question their own decisions and actions as a way to improve.

#2: The 12 Week Year By Bruan P. Moran

This is another amazing audiobook that we are sure is going to motivate you even on your worst days. The main goal of this audiobook is to teach you how to stay focused on your actions.

According to the author, “execution is the single greatest market differentiator.” and it’s what makes the difference between people who accomplish their goals and the ones that don’t.

#3: Changeability By Kathryn Bryant And Julian Illman

This weekly podcast is really something. In their weekly podcasts, the hosts provide techniques, tools, and interviews to help you make positive changes in your own life. From setting goals to improving mind management, improving physical health, are just some of the topics covered.

#4: Rich Dad Poor Dad By Robert T. Kiyosaki

This is probably one of the most popular books of the last decade. And you can now have it as an audiobook and we are certain that you’re going to love it.

While this audiobook is more related to thinking about money from a different perspective, the reality is that you can get the motivation you need if you stop working for the money, as the author says.

#5: The School of Greatness

Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete, is the host of this motivational podcast. As you know, athletes, especially pro athletes, need to develop motivational thinking on their own. In fact, many professional sports already include professional motivators to help athletes reach better performance.

In this podcast, you will be able to take Lewis knowledge, techniques, tips, and even personal stories to improve your own life in many different aspects.

#6: Living With A Seal By Jesse Itzler

Before you go ahead and get this audiobook, it is worth to mention that it has a lot of f’words all over the place. However, we believe that the result and what you get from this audiobook can really be motivational.

As you know, Seals need to go through a hard training, both physical and mental, in order to become Seals. With this audiobook, you will understand and realize that you can do a lot more and a lot better than what you currently do. All you need is the right motivator and this is what you get from this amazing audiobook.

#7: The Brendon Show

When you are looking for motivation in your life, then you should consider this podcast. The author is a personal development coach and a motivational speaker. What we like about this podcast is that Brendon, the host, speaks about his personal experiences and what he learned from each one of them.

#8: Invisibilia

Hosted by Alix Spiegel, Lulu Miller, and Hanna Rosin, this podcast is a bit different from all the others in this list. The reality is that it discusses some invisible concepts that tend to control your beliefs, behaviors, emotions, assumptions, and even cultural norms.

In this podcast, the hosts interview innovative thinkers who tend to look at problems from a completely different perspective. Ultimately, they end up motivating you by teaching more about these invisible forces and how you can prevent them from affecting you.

#9: Goals! How To Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible By Brian Tracy

This audiobook is definitely a hit in what comes to motivation. No matter what you think you want to become or where you think you’re going to be in the future, you need to have goals. Written goals. And you need to work to reach these goals.

#10: Good Life Project

Jonathon Fields is the host of this podcast and his goal is to help you live a more connected, meaningful, and vital life. While the host speaks about a wide variety of topics, the main thing to retain is the actionable advice they all offer. And you can be sure they can be incredibly motivating.

Want even more motivation? Join the Back to School Divas Facebook Group to connect with real women on their college journey! Their stories will inspire and motivate you.

woman wearing red polka dot shirt at cafe on smartphone

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019

3 Ways You Can Use Your Devices To Maximize Productivity

Your digital devices don’t have to be a place for distraction. Take advantage of these productivity tools for students. Did you know that the average person spends ...

Your digital devices don’t have to be a place for distraction. Take advantage of these productivity tools for students.

Did you know that the average person spends four hours a day on their devices?

How much of that time is used being productive? Technology has made our lives easy and interesting but unfortunately, while some people use these technological innovations to maximize productivity, some others just use it to get too comfortable and unproductive. Our phones, laptops, computers, and other devices can either help us to maximize our productivity or make us lazy and unproductive.

As a student, there are tools that you can have on your device to make studying, doing assignments, and projects easier for you. But as helpful as your devices are, they can also be a source of distraction for you especially when you have a lot of gaming apps and social apps installed.

Luckily, there are productivity tools for Mac and productivity tools for Windows for students that can help you get more done, faster.

How To Maximize Productivity With Your Devices

Set Schedules

The first step to being more productive is arranging schedules and setting alarms. Wake up on time, get where you need to be on time, and you’re halfway there, Diva! There are many built-in apps that can help you plan your day, week, and year. Take advantage of your Calendar, Notes, Alarms, and Reminders to keep track of appointments, assignment deadlines, and even to try calendar blocking or other productivity time hacks.

Time Management

There are so many productivity tools for Mac as well as productivity tools for Windows devices designed to help you manage your time. Banking apps make it easier for you to carry out transactions at home and make good use of the time you would have lost going to the bank. Location apps make it easier to locate where you’re going without wasting time asking people around and getting lost. You can even incorporate other time management systems like the 10-3-2-1-0 method into your phone to help you better maintain your schedule.

Performing Difficult Tasks

One major thing that our devices help us with is the performance of difficult tasks. For example, use an app to proofread documents like essays or even emails to your professors so you’re sure to sound professional. Explore apps that help with calculations, language translations, and other things that you might not be able to do on our own. Productivity tools for Mac and productivity tools for Windows can help you manage difficult tasks.

Productivity Tools For Your Devices

Productivity Tools For Students:

As a student, these are some major tools that will help you to be more productive.

Tools for Mac:

Schoolhouse
iRecorder
Knowledge NoteBook
Flashcard Hero
Studyper
Gigi

Tools for Windows:

Word Web
Typing Trainer
My Study Life Chrome
Rosetta Stone Free Trial

Other helpful tools:

Sticky Notes
Office Lens
Microsoft To-Do
Todoist
PDFpen
MindNode
Grammarly

Want to REALLY get productive? Download the Back to School Divas printable planner for FREE and track your to-dos, assignments and meals like a pro.

Sources:

https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/are-you-on-your-phone-too-much-average-person-spends-this-many-hours-on-it-every-day.html

2019 planner with checklist for goals, plans, and actions

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018

How to Set Resolutions For School, Work & Family That Stick: Make 2019 Your Year!

We all want to set resolutions and kick butt when the new year comes around. The end of the year is a time when most of us reflect on what we've accomplished, and start to think about what we’d like to achieve in the following year. Se...

We all want to set resolutions and kick butt when the new year comes around. The end of the year is a time when most of us reflect on what we’ve accomplished, and start to think about what we’d like to achieve in the following year.

Setting New Year’s resolutions is something human beings have been doing for over four thousand years! Although we’ve been doing it for a while, it doesn’t mean we’ve managed to get the hang of it.

How many times have you set the resolution of eating healthier in the new year and a month or two later, found yourself at the nearest fast food restaurant after work? How many times have you promised yourself to start that side hustle you’ve been dreaming about, only to get to the end of the year with no progress made?

The truth is, setting resolutions that stick doesn’t come naturally to many people. In fact, most people need a little help. If you’re tired of not accomplishing your new year’s resolutions and want to finally set resolutions that stick, you’ve come to the right page.

Start by Setting Small, Achievable Goals

Setting small, achievable goals will help to ensure that you reach your target and stay motivated to keep going. For instance, if you’d like to get fit, aim for 3 to 4 gym sessions a week. For an unfit person who hardly goes to the gym, this is much more achievable than aiming to the gym 6 to 7 days a week.

Share your 2019 Goals with Others

Speaking to your close family and friends about your resolutions will help to keep you motivated and focused because you won’t want to let them down. If you’re planning on quitting smoking, joining a support group can help you be around others who are going through similar struggles and help give you the strength that you’ll need to keep going.

Be open to sharing your resolutions as you never know where you can find strength that will motivate you to strive harder.

Take it One Day at a Time

You’re not going to achieve your resolutions overnight. Remember that whatever unhealthy habit you’re trying to kick developed over a long period of time and being patient with yourself is the only way you’re going to change it.

For instance, if you’re trying to eat healthier, you can start by aiming to drink more water, instead of cutting out all the unhealthy foods from your diet in one go. Once you’re comfortable with drinking lots of water daily, you can then start by cutting out unhealthy carbs and replacing them with whole grains, for example.

You can aim to cut out one unhealthy habit per month or per week and slowly, you’ll begin to develop that healthier lifestyle you’ve always wanted.

Reward Yourself

Giving yourself small rewards is a great way to encourage yourself to keep going, especially during the difficult days. Your rewards don’t have to be grand at all, they just need to be small things that will put a smile on your face as you reach your milestones. Reward yourself with a trip to the movies, going to a comedy special, or just a simple massage or bubble bath when you’ve achieved what you want.

There is no better time to start setting your new year’s resolutions than right now. Sit and think about them carefully. Decide on what you really want to achieve in the new year and then apply the above.

Want to learn even more tips and tricks on becoming your best self on your back to school journey and beyond? Join our email list and become a member of our Back to School Divas Facebook group!

Tag: goals

Featured Diva: Quenita, AAS Advertising/Graphic Design