CivE Bricky
Well-known member
For the FE, I pretty much disappeared and left the family....kids didn't see me much except weekends. When I reappeared it became obvious that my husband and two daughters had gone on without me -- and there was no obvious spot held open for me to return to. I gained the tiniest hint of how tough it must be for soldiers to come home after being away. (Thankfully, I passed.)
1st time PE, I think I wasn't willing to miss out on my family again and prioritized them over studying. (I didn't pass.)
2nd time PE, I worked a little harder, but not hard enough. (Didn't pass.....realized this halfway thing was going to a slow death and too many vacation days devoted to study and exams)
3rd time PE, I hit the right balance. I tracked all my study hours (and topic) in a spreadsheet. I studied most nights (always away from home) but never past 9pm. I called kids at bedtime. I read instead of relying on TV (and couch sleeping) to unwind after studying. I made use of small blocks of time and nearly always had my study stuff in the car. I had hours of operation for every good study place around--so it was a snap decision where to go if I had an opening 7-9 on Sunday night. I did stay connected and didn't feel like my role in the family got filled in.
(what got totally ignored was housework and anything that didn't have high importance and a tight deadline.....still trying to dig out from that!)
I did lots more studying and nearly all of it was really productive (ear plugs in my study kit helped too)....here's hoping 3x the charm!
1st time PE, I think I wasn't willing to miss out on my family again and prioritized them over studying. (I didn't pass.)
2nd time PE, I worked a little harder, but not hard enough. (Didn't pass.....realized this halfway thing was going to a slow death and too many vacation days devoted to study and exams)
3rd time PE, I hit the right balance. I tracked all my study hours (and topic) in a spreadsheet. I studied most nights (always away from home) but never past 9pm. I called kids at bedtime. I read instead of relying on TV (and couch sleeping) to unwind after studying. I made use of small blocks of time and nearly always had my study stuff in the car. I had hours of operation for every good study place around--so it was a snap decision where to go if I had an opening 7-9 on Sunday night. I did stay connected and didn't feel like my role in the family got filled in.
(what got totally ignored was housework and anything that didn't have high importance and a tight deadline.....still trying to dig out from that!)
I did lots more studying and nearly all of it was really productive (ear plugs in my study kit helped too)....here's hoping 3x the charm!