Back to School... Again

You may have noticed things have been extra quiet around here recently. It's not you, it's me, or rather, it's that I went back to school. 

I'm averaging 8 pages of notes per session which seems to be way more than anyone else. #SorryNotSorry [Source]

Why hit the books? Simple. Having transitioned from formally practicing law to my current work, much of which is social media based, I wanted to get a firm handle on the analytics side of things, make sure there aren't any huge gaps in what I know and have learned on the job, and earn a credential that speaks directly to my work. For better or worse, there are many people who want to see X degree or studies on your resume, regardless of your real world experience and abilities. 

I'm now halfway through an accelerated Certificate Program in Online & Social Media Marketing. Rather than meeting over the course of many weeks, class is all day on Saturdays for a month. Being in a classroom all day and only having one-day weekends has not been the most fun BUT I am really enjoying the program. Everything we learn is directly applicable to everyday situations. Rather than just focusing on theory, the professor wants to make sure that we come away knowing exactly how to implement what we learn. I lucked out with the instructor; he has a lot of experience in the industry and is a great lecturer who's open to questions and loves to be challenged. For example, he is still not convinced that Instagram can be used as an effective marketing tool. From my own experience, I know this is not the case. He loves hearing about my work and we have great discussions on how different tools suit different industries.  

I love learning and sitting in class taking notes feels so natural. #NerdAlert For the most part the hours fly by, though 2pm-4pm is a rough stretch. Full disclosure, I had a lot of concerns when it came time to decide if I would enroll or not, some of which were pretty silly.

• How would having a one-day weekend be?
• Was I going to lose the not relationship/relationship thing that I was newly in? [No, although it is over] 
• Fall apple picking is probably for sure out. 
• No Saturday mornings with Kate and Kara at Flywheel :(
• Am I going to be totally burnt out when the program ends?
• What if the class is bad?  

I'm happy to report that now these all seem pretty trivial. My sleeping patterns have taken a hit, hello post-class naps from 7pm-9pm and a 2am bedtime (oops), but I'm already half-way done. Although each week I do pump myself up by saying, "Only X more to go!" I am so glad I decided to enroll.

Anyone out there also in school? Any tips on how to make the most of Sundays?