Graduate Study Challenges and Strategies for Personal Success

Graduate Study Challenges and Strategies for Personal Success
Up until a few months ago, I thought my formal educational challenges were behind me. As I draft this first paper of my continuing studies, I look back to those nights I spent in the computer hall at the University of Maryland in the early1990’s, waiting for an open computer and writing paper upon paper. I remember the stress, tears, and heartache, but I also remember my achievements, and the sense of accomplishment I felt when I finally earned my degree. There were many challenges back then, but I achieved my personal and professional goal of becoming a Medical Technologist and working in the laboratory field and this has served me well. Now begins a new chapter of my life, with new goals, new strengths and weaknesses, and a fresh understanding of what I need to do to move forward in both my life and my career.
Personal and Professional Goals
My personal and professional goals are intertwined, and motivation is what drives those goals in order to help me succeed. Scientists have observed and documented “reasons why individuals choose to engage or disengage in different activities, and how individuals’ beliefs, values, and goals relate to their achievement behaviors” (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002, Conclusion, para. 1). I have experienced first-hand what it felt like not to have a goal when graduated with my Bachelor’ and entered the professional workforce. For the first time in my life, I had achieved everything that had driven me up to that point. Progressively working my way through school to get a good job was my primary goal. Once that was completed, I felt empty inside and wasn’t sure where to focus. It was not a good feeling. Humans need goals in order to stay motivated, and those goals are driven by their passion.
Until recently, I felt my goals since then have not compared to that achievement. I am at a point with my career at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where if I wanted to, I could stay in my present job and earn very good retirement. However, I cannot see myself at 38 years old staying in this same position until it is time to hang up my hat. I know I can offer more to people in my field and to the veterans we serve. My long-term goals involve getting higher position with the VA and work out of Washington, D.C. With that I decided that I needed to pursue my Master’s Degree in order to move further in my career and until October of this year, I hadn’t even thought about furthering my education in that capacity. When my first class began is when the real excitement and motivation began. Completing my Master’s Degree, moving up the career ladder, and relocating from Maine to the D.C. area overwhelming long-term goals, but my primary short-term goal is to achieve a balance of home, work and school to a point where it feels routine and I am not stressed out. From there, I will take one step at a time and use other short-term goals, such as focusing on completing one class at a time, in order to achieve my long-term goals. Focusing on a bite of the piece of the pie, rather than the whole pie, will bring me peace of mind in this new endeavor.
Challenges
Of course, there will be hurdles and potholes along the way, but life is never without its challenges. First, my husband has his own business and travels for a living, leaving me to take care of the house and our three dogs by myself most of the time during the week. Any homeowner and pet owner knows that unexpected issues come up, but adding school to the mix decreases the time you have to complete daily tasks and responsibilities and may lead to an increase in stress level. Second, technology occasionally distracts me. When my mind is tired, I enjoy doing repetitive and/or mindless tasks such as playing a game, which can be a time-waster. Lastly, my position at work requires I travel six to seven weeks out of the year and perform site assessments. I will still need to complete my schoolwork even if I have had an exhaustive travel day or assessment day. Thinking about any of these challenges can be overwhelming, so I need to have a plan.
Strategies
My husband has traveled for his business close to four years now, and every year things get easier for me doing things independently. I just need to stay focused and not stress out. I can always hire someone to fix any household issues. I also have the ability to work from home, so if I need to be at the house for a repairman, I can do that. If my dogs need anything, I can rely on my dog sitter to help out. Plus, my dogs are a great stress-reliever and there is nothing like the unconditional love a dog can give.
My slight technology addiction has been improving as I have been setting nightly goals for myself on what needs to be completed for school each night. I try to get my posts completed early in the week as I find them easy and enjoyable, especially when responding to others’ posts and helping out my fellow students. In addition, since I already use Microsoft Outlook tools at work for scheduling tasks and meetings into my workday, I plan on incorporating my personal and schoolwork into those tools so the information is all in one place. This should help keep me on track and remind me about what is next for my entire day.
Finally, my work travel will start up again in the early spring, and I am hopeful that juggling home, work, and school will become routine by then and my stress can be easily managed. Time management will be crucial those weeks I am on travel. This may involve downloading some eBooks and reading on planes or completing as much work during the week as possible, maybe even the week before, so only the minimal needs to be completed during the week. If I keep all these strategies in mind, my challenges are less likely to be overwhelming and will not interfere with my goals.
Milestones
Carter, Bishop, and Lyman Kravits (2011) believe defined SMART goals will ensure motivation and success. My short-term goal of achieving a routine work, home, and school balance with a decreased stress level is something I hope to achieve within the next three months. I can measure this by recording my daily stress level from a scale of 1-5 to see where I am at, and incorporate time management and stress release techniques to help me achieve this goal. This smaller goal will keep me on track order to achieve my long-term goals: completing my Master’s degree, getting a higher-level job, and moving. I will need to take one step at a time though, focusing on one week at a time and one class at a time in order to complete my degree. At the same time, I will be de-cluttering my house one closet of one room at a time in order to prepare for those job opportunities I seek down in Washington.
Personal Communication Skills
Communication is important in present business and one must know how to communicate in different ways. As a Regional Commissioner’s Technologist for the VA, I perform regulatory oversight of 10% of VA laboratories across the country. I must remain objective in all of my communication, whether it is in person, on the phone or via email. I not only have to cite regulations, but I also need to explain them in a way where they are easily understandable. I also need to come across where I am not feared and labs are not afraid to come to me if they have a problem or if they need advice. Sometimes I am giving advice to all VA laboratories across the country and need to make sure the information I share is coming across in a way where it is not misinterpreted.
Strengths and Weaknesses
With my experience in facilitation, coaching, and mentoring, I found I have the ability to remain objective in thoughts, words, and actions. My objective communication makes people more relaxed and open to discuss things. I am also good at the written word and read emails over several times before sending them out. I want to make sure the information I convey is understandable and not threatening. My weaknesses lie with my direct oral communication skills. I grew up shy, and this occasionally gives me problems. I have difficult making eye contact. I also tend to trip over my words, as the thoughts in my brain try to come out faster than I can speak.
Strategies
I have started implementing several strategies to improve my communication. First, instead of taking the easy way out by sending an email, I force myself to pick up the phone and then follow up with the email communication. This has resulted in a more relaxed rapport with the laboratory and the email follow-up summarizes what we spoke about and provides documentation as evidence of the communication. Another strategy I recently read about regarding eye contact is to focus on the bridge of someone’s nose when speaking to someone (Hinergy UK, 2014). You aren’t actually making eye, but they cannot tell the difference and this can me more comfortable to someone that has this issue. Finally, in order to minimize myself stumbling over my words, I have to focus on speaking slowly and concentrate on the words coming out of my mouth so I do not trip over them. I hope by practicing these skills and making them part of my routine, I can increase the level of my communication skills so they catch up with my other leadership skills.
Strategies and challenges come and go in life, but I am viewing my graduate study challenges more like “opportunities for improvement” and will be breaking through the barriers that try to slow me down. I am excited about starting this endeavor and defining my future career path.

References
Carter, C., Bishop, J., & Lyman Kravits, S. (2011). Keys to effective learning: Study skills and habits for success (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/205754091?accountid=458
Hinergy UK. (2014). Body language signals: Decoding what people really think. Retrieved from http://bodylanguagesignals.com/eyes.html