One Day at a Time for Masters in Nursing Online Students

In online MSN programs, students can get overwhelmed, especially at the beginning of a term in looking at all the reading and work which lies ahead.  Keep in mind that all online MSN courses run week to week and often content builds on itself from week to week.  You know the saying: “the way to eat a big elephant is one bite at a time”.  Plan your week’s activities for school/work and then take each day as it comes.  Be aware of big projects due toward the end of a course and spread the work out over several weeks.

For example, a research paper can be broken out into parts:

a) decide on a topic and write an introduction to that topic
b) do a literature search and save potential articles based on their abstracts
c) read and summarize key articles
d) Create an outline of the paper using headings (create headings based on the rubric or grading criteria; remember you are writing to show what you have learned).

There may be times when you need to work ahead in anticipation of a big event at home or at work; however, more on that in another blog (smile).

Look well to this day. Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day. – Francis Gray   

Dr. Maggie