Life does not always allow us to finish what we start, and we have to return to it at a more opportune time. In the case of professional development, this happens regularly. If you get sick or move, you may not be able to finish a course that you began, for example. Use these tips to help you finish what you started.
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Communicate with Your Instructor and Course Provider.
If you can’t finish a course that you started, make sure you let the instructor know. It is also important to communicate with the course provider. When you tell the instructor, you may be able to receive important information about the next steps in the course and about how to pick up the course at a later time. You may be able to receive an enrollment deferment or a refund when you talk to the course provider. The main point here is that if you simply drop out and don’t tell anyone, you risk not being able to make the most of your investment in the course. You could pick the course back up at a later time or be able to take the final exam, for instance.
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Re-Enroll in the Course.
If you have to re-enroll at a later time in the course, say, when it is offered again in the next semester, make sure you know when the course’s registration dates are and when the course begins and ends. Enroll as soon as you can. You may have to repeat some information, but look at this not as a wasted time period but as a review time to get you back up to speed to finish the course strong.
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Review Material Before You Start.
Before you begin the course again, review any material that you previously covered so that you’re current and ready to go when the course starts again. This is particularly important if you’re, say, taking the second part of a two-part course, or the second semester of a year-long course. Review your old learning material, and ask the instructor for any tips on getting prepared to take the course.
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Self-Paced Courses
If you’re taking a self-paced course, then you have as much time as you need to review the information you previously covered. That sets you up for success when you resume the course. To get over any mental blocks to starting the courses again, remember why you began the course in the first place. You wanted to learn something specific, and you don’t want to give up on that goal. Even if you’re coming back to the course many months or years after you began it, it’s definitely better to finish it than to not complete the course. You want to move forward with your training, no matter when you pick it back up.
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Change Your Mindset.
Take tips from Jenny Hadfield of Runner’s World: “Worrying about where you ought to be based on your original plan is a waste of energy. Reframe your vacation [break] as a much-needed mental and physical retreat, and move forward with your bright, shiny, new Plan B.” Also, don’t think about where you should be, but take time to transition into the new studies. Keep your studying time on the easier side as you start so that you can adjust to a more rigorous schedule over time.
