Advice You Didn't Ask for From a Woman Who May or May Not be Qualified to Give It

This is my second-to-last semester as an online master's student in Florida State's instructional systems and learning technologies program. It's been such an intense but rewarding journey! When I started this program back in January of last year, I was hoping to get through it as quickly as possible so that I could get started working as a designer immediately. Little did I know that accepting an internship during my second semester as a master's student and being offered a full-time position with that company after it ended would be in the cards for me. After this past spring semester I had to slow down to one class at a time for many reasons, one of them being that I wanted to make sure that I was giving my best efforts toward both my schoolwork and my job. I'm actually glad that it has worked out this way because I have so immensely enjoyed taking these classes, serving as vice president of the Instructional Systems Student Association, and just being a part of this community in general. I'm not ready to let go of it just yet! I am really, really hoping that by December when I graduate FSU will be able to hold an-person commencement ceremony in the Tuck, but at this point I'm not holding my breath.

I don't know where you are in your master's journey, but here's a bit of advice from me to you on how to make the most of your time in the ISLT program if you are a 100% online student:
  • Fill out your program of study early and send it to your advisor as soon as possible. Not having mine properly filled out almost stopped me from being able to take this course this summer. 😅If you don't know what I'm talking about, get in touch with your advisor RIGHT NOW.
  • Come hang out with ISSA (virtually) during our monthly Zoom calls. They are a great way to not only meet faculty, staff, and fellow students but also alumni of the program and emeritus professors as well. Information for these calls is always sent out by Ms. Mary Kate through the ISLT listserv a couple days before it happens.
  • On that note, check your FSU Outlook email often. The bare minimum is once a day.
  • Get started on assignments early. Preferably you should start them a week before they are due, but even like 2-3 days beforehand is better than nothing. I've found that nothing has been better for my mental health as a student than this.
  • Do schoolwork every day, even if it's only for an hour. This really cuts down on the amount of the work that you have going into the weekend, so you can actually give yourself time to rest.
    • However, it's good to take a day or two off every once in a while. Try to spend a day not staring at a screen. My glasses have blue light reflectors in them and I still find my head swimming after some days because I've been staring at a computer screen for way too long.
  • Give yourself a place in your home where you can do work quietly and make sure that it is always clean. Try to keep your home clean in general for your sanity's sake (believe me, I know this is so much easier said than done.)
These are the ones that jump out in my mind, but I'm sure I could stand on my pedestal much longer and find other tips and tricks of the trade to give. Do you have any? What is something you wish you knew before starting this program? 

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