Things I Wish I Knew: The Importance of Acknowledging Your Progress

I feel like everything in my life happened in grade 9. It was a year that taught me so much about school and about life. The jump from middle school to high school was larger than anybody expected and that is why I’m making these posts about things I wish I knew before starting high school. We’ve talked about reading and gratitude; today’s post is about the importance of acknowledging your progress and efforts.

I’ve made quite a few posts about getting things done quickly and on time but sometimes that’s not how things want to be done. Sometimes, they want you to take as long as you need to finish them, so it turns out good rather than hasty. And that is valid too. The 5-minute tip I like to talk about, where you sit down for only 5 minutes to start or continue a task you are unmotivated to do, follows almost the same principle: do as much as you can, regardless of how much that actually is.

There are times when finishing something in a hurry might be the only way to get it done and that can be out of your control. But when you aren’t under the pressure of a deadline, taking things a little slow can also help. I like to get things done almost as soon as I get them. But during this quarantine, I’ve been finishing my work half an hour before it’s due. And that’s ok too because at least I got them done. I took my time and did my work at a different pace than usual. But I was able to finish it and submit it on time. I’m proud of myself for finishing my work, regardless of how and when that happened.

What I want to say is that it’s okay if things take a long time to finish because as long as you’re making positive progress, that’s all that matters. This does not apply to group projects or anything someone else is dependent on you for because that is usually time-sensitive and you don’t want to come off as a slacker. But for things like homework or a sketch or a story or a painting or a poem or anything creative, doing it in parts is absolutely fine. Take your time and if you start to feel stressed out, take a deep breath and take a step back. Come back to it in a little bit with a fresh mind and continue.

Working/ studying from home right now can definitely be overwhelming but that can be dealt with by TAKING YOUR TIME. And any and all work you do is a display of your effort, so be proud of it and happy that you had the ability to do it.

Hopefully, this post was helpful. Maybe it was just a reminder that taking things slow is A-Ok. Either way, your work matters and it should be acknowledged. That’s all for this post. I hope you get a lot of work done this week. Stay home; Stay safe. – Aarushi