Let’s be honest. We didn’t find ourselves in the position of writing this article by being good students. Everybody makes mistakes. Also, some of us like to not do our work. Remember the motto of a dear friend of mine: Due tomorrow, do tomorrow.
Side note: as Evie and I (Cass) are writing this, we are hours away from our due date! How Ironic. (More like iconic. – Evie)
It all started because we were doing a project together- a podcast. It wasn’t the first time we were producing a podcast, so we went in confident that we would pull it off. The problem was that we were not properly engaged in the project. We were excited, and it isn’t as if we don’t enjoy working on podcasts, we just weren’t engaged enough to put in the time and energy to make more than an episode. We didn’t properly realize what had happened until it was too late, and we were past due to finish our second episode.
It didn’t matter, we told ourselves (and each other). Nobody cares, we sure don’t. So, when the date passed, we moved forward, leaving the episode in the dust. As it turns out, that was not an acceptable move. Our teacher, Mr. Buckley, gave us a few days to come back from it, deliver a product, or maybe even just acknowledge the existence of the podcast. We did not do that.
This seems like a good time for me to mention that Evie and I are splitting this article into four blocks based on the time it takes us to write. Each block took an OUTSTANDING fifteen minutes to write and my first is tragically coming to an end.
Four minutes now.
I can’t help but wonder if I wrote this part too soon.
Maybe I’m just eager to do something else for a while.
Maybe I’m not engaged enough.
That was sort of the point of the block idea, we would both get breaks while still making good use of our time.
It’s not that I don’t like to write, I’m just getting bored…
One minute.
I wonder what she’s doing over there.
Heyyyy so I’m not gonna read what Cass just wrote, I’m just gonna talk about my experience in this project. (Cass just told me to talk about when Mr. Buckley intervened.)
So we were struggling with our podcast and he had a m e e t i n g with us. Basically our podcast was cancelled, and he explained to us the engagement project which was an idea he and Mr P. had created together. Of course we were chosen to do this project ;_; who else would be more qualified?
The beginning of the project was interesting. We made a quirky survey for our peers. The questions were ight, but it wasn’t the direction we needed to go in.
So over quarantine, we met on Google Meet and discussed our goals for the end of the project. That’s when I mentioned making an engagement process. From there we began asking ourselves questions like “What is genuinely engaging for us.” and “Why am I not engaged with other things.” I found that working for a client can be very engaging and I also like to cook because FOOD.
We moved on from those questions and began the task of creating our personal engagement or re-engagement processes.
Mine looks like something I would find in my biology textbook.
(Yikes.)
I actually didn’t hate doing this, and I thought it was a nice way to get all my thoughts out in a semi-organized way. After I got my re-engagement process written out I started to ask myself questions and I critiqued >:) my process. “Should I be allowed a new project, or a second chance?” – yeah I wrote that. I eventually had to answer those questions which was hard, but that’s the way it had to be I guess.
I encourage others to try and map out their own re-engagement process. From that you can try and make an engagement process so you don’t have to use the other one as much.
Evie’s not wrong, that sort of self reflection can be really helpful in becoming more engaged. That’s sort of what I based my process off of. It’s meant to be a list of steps you can follow to self-examine, and make what might have been a grueling project into something that you really enjoy.
I’m trying to get it pulled up, but it’s taking a moment.
Okay, yeah mine isn’t really organized in a coherent way, so I’ll just explain it to you.
The first step is to realize that you aren’t engaged. It’s not really an official step in the process, but it needs to happen before anything else does. Even if the project is something you love, it’s easy not to be engaged in your work.
Next, reflect on how you spend your time. This is gonna take some pretty brutal honesty with yourself. Just remember, this is your own brain you’re talking to, there’s no use saving face. If you realize you have a certain habit, BE AWARE OF IT.
It might not even just be about scheduling. Maybe you’re spending your time in an environment that restricts your progress. Maybe you skipped breakfast this morning and you’re finding it hard to write because all you can think about is the fact that your stomach is in literal PAIN and it’s starting to give you a literal headache.
Just a little hypothetical situation there.
A little summary of the rest since my time is running low (I guess I should’ve spent this time more productively).
Bring some more people into your space to reflect on your habits alongside you. What are their perspectives? Try to pick people who will be honest, not enabling.
Then, slap those together and make a new plan of action that keeps you more engaged while still achieving your goals.
Wait, is this my last block?
Uhhh hi again…
I guess I’ll start talking now.
I took some glances at what Cass was writing and I know they were talking about the re-engagement process so I’m gonna talk more about it.
Sorry I zoned out because this song slaps.
“I’M A MAN WHO’S GOT A VERY SPECIFIC TASTE!”
I think whenever I get disengaged I like to think about what I really enjoy in a project and reroute to focus on that. I also need to identify what is making me become disengaged.
In my resident expert I was supposed to make tutorial videos on graphic design so others could make sick graphics.
But I hate teaching, so I never got around to doing that.
It’s NOT like I’m NOT engaged with graphic design, it’s just the teaching part. So I talked with a teacher and we rerouted to focus on actual graphic design work, and I found a client to work with. This helped me develop my design skills. This was also VERY engaging for me. I made so many prototypes in one day. P.S., this might not always be a healthy strategy. Don’t run away from everything you find difficult.
Don’t always resort to trashing the project, because you might find a way to reroute. And don’t wallow in disengagement try to fix it somehow.
And don’t forget to keep track of your progress and always be reflecting so you can confirm the reroute or “solution” is actually working.
If it didn’t work, consider talking to a teacher about a new project or solution.
You need to consider what works for YOU, not me.
I can’t give you all the answers. Sorry buddy.
So I implore you to create your own processes and be honest with yourself.
I hope someone will find this helpful.
I certainly did.
Also don’t be afraid to CRY in front of Mr. Buckley
He feeds off student tears
YEAH I GET EMOTIONAL.
I cry.
This soul searching can cause you to cry, but it’s worth it, trust me.
It will give you some clarity.
Do what works for you, and don’t ignore the problem because you might get put into an engagement project.
That’s it for today folks!
The Learning Repository 