In many ways, going back to school is like starting a new diet or workout program. You initially are very excited and do everything and even more than the program calls for. You eat the right foods, carefully measured and you attend the classes and lift the weights. This diet thing is easy!
But then the novelty wears off. The foods recommended by the diet grow boring. You come home from a long day at work and there are your workout clothes waiting for you. Life starts to get in the way-family obligations, overtime at work, a simple thing like a social life all contribute to diminish your focus. We have all been there!
One thing I recommend that students do immediately upon taking their first class is to create a 'motivation kit', that will remind them why they went back to school in the first place. I also ask them to take it with them wherever they go and keep it in a highly visible place (like a cubicle at work or posted on the refrigerator door).
The contents of the kit can vary, but they should all have at least these elements:
- a copy of your W-2 from last year
- pictures of family and friends. If you have children, in particular these pictures are important. An overwhelmingly popular reason for going back to school is to provide a better life for your family down the road.
- a picture of someone wearing graduation robes and that little hat that nobody knows the name of.
- a picture of a toy you are going to get yourself after completing the fifth class, the tenth class, the fifteenth class and so on until you graduate. The 'toy' can be as simple as a candy bar, a new pair of shoes, or a power tool, but it needs to be something specific and tangible-an action you will take as a reward.
I think you can see the reasons for the kit easily. Adult students respond to both short and long term motivators. Only put in long term motivators and it may seem impossible to reach. Only put in short term motivators and you risk forgetting about the importance of the long-term goal.
