December blog

Last month I spent most of the month working on my outline, and I was intending to spend most of this month working on my Ignite presentation. I have spent over 20 hours on it this month and it is basically done. I spent a lot of time on the presentation part of it as well as actually writing and timing a script which was an incredibly tedious task but I am glad I did so. I also practiced this a bunch of times in front of friends and family as well as alone to make sure it is perfect. I really really want to make sure the whole thing is great because I did not feel that good about my last Ignite presentation and I want to be really happy with this one. I did spend quite a bit of time thinking about my outline and I have a couple of ideas for the direction I want to take with it once I start working on it again. I am planning on spending quite a bit of time on the project when winter break starts (which is Thursday). I would like to spend approximately 50 hours on the outline and stuff during winter break so I am truly ready and have a plan for my writing when I begin drafting the book next month. I did not get to my targeted amount of hours yet, but will definitely by the time the month is over. Since it was accelerated term, I did take it easy.
I think my decision to work on the Ignite presentation early was a good example of initiative because I did not have to do it this early but since I have all of the break to work on the outline and my friends are around now and I could use them for practice, it made sense.
I did not really have much of a highlight of the month for my internship, but I did come in and teach a class on cryptozoology in Mr. Martell's Mythical Creatures and Conspiracies class. I had a great time doing it and hope that if he does the class again next year, I am invited to come back.
I learned that it is best to do your work early if it makes sense to do so. I feel really good about the fact that I put together my Ignite presentation so early. I really like how it turned out and I am actually looking forward to giving the presentation next month. I think that I will stop procrastinating with a lot of my work and will take full advantage of the time I am given to work on projects. It is kinda weird that it took me this long to realize the benefits of doing my work early. I have always been extremely bad about procrastination and not doing my work, but I really do think that I have learned that if I do the things I am supposed to do well before they are due, I can be much better prepared for whatever may come my way.
I think that a challenge that I encountered was the decision to work on my Ignite presentation instead of my outline. My outline could be done alone and in my room during winter break. As could the Ignite presentation, but it was better that I did it here because it allowed me to get helpful feedback from my peers on my timing and presentation slides. I really wanted to work on my outline more because I enjoy that type of work a little bit better than I enjoy working on a presentation (which I feel can be a bit tedious at times). And it was challenging to not work on the outline, but in the end, I spent my time more effectively by working on the Ignite presentation instead. I am really glad I did work on the Ignite presentation instead, as I have previously stated in my above remarks.
I am looking forward to finishing my outline and actually, finally, eventually working on my first draft for my book. I know that it will lead to a lot more work during the week and less time for me to spend as I like, but I really am looking forward to it.

Cover slide for my Ignite presentation