Getting back into the course

[Anjali J]

Hi All,

So I had tried starting the course a while ago, and came back to it once or twice, but things kept getting in the way.

I am now officially back after a hard few months, and I would really like to pro actively get back into studying!

Any advice on how to kick start studying the Events and Wedding Planning course, along with any tips of how to manage time etc would be greatly appreciated!

I look forward to finally being back in this and working with you all

Anjali

[dawn2323]

I too found it difficult to start...self motivation can be rough LOL...I find though that if I take it in sections.. do the reading, complete a video, then an assignment, and then take a break and come back to it it is easier to knock out bigger portions of it. I am still stuck on assignment A due to the Business Plan. I really want to complete it before I move forward and I am finding it very time consuming. I am glad that it is part of the curriculum though If you need a study partner and someone to help you stay on track let me know...maybe we can help each other!

[dsalk815]

Hi y'all! New student here! I got the course a little less than a month ago and I too am struggling with getting focused and going steady in this course. I think I have watched too many episodes of David Tutera and Say Yes to the Dress that I am finding it rather difficult to get seriously involved in this course. It has started off slow and a tad bit boring. Not at all what I had imagined from the reviews. I have wanted to be an event and wedding planner since I was a little girl, so hopefully after my husband deploys I can punch through it! I would love any advice that can help a stay-at-home mommy and military spouse in the midst of packing up a house and moving in just one month! Can't wait to meet some fellow dream makers!

Amanda

[Sadauskas1986]

Afternoon Lovely's,

I agree that self motivation SUCKS lol. I am currently 7 months pregnant and I am trying my hardest to get this out of the way before bubs comes along. I have finally just submitted Unit C today and started in February. I seem to have moments of ability to sit and stay focused but then find that once I submit a unit that I tend to find it hard to start the next one.

Its the 46 page booklets that I have to keep putting down and picking back up again. Love doing all the assignments and enjoy everything that I am learning as well, its just hard to read large amounts at a time, especially when there is something good on TV.

I have found that some things are helping.
*Try turning the TV off for a while, or if you are a stay at home mum or not working like myself try and do it before everyone comes home, once my husband gets home I want to spend more time with him
*Try set aside between 1-2 hours each day and dedicate that only to your course, and don't allow yourself to wonder off or get distracted
*While doing my course, I have also been preparing to start my business - applying for ABN, Registering Business name, looking into insurance, started a FB page offering my services free of charge till the start of June so I can get my portfolio up and going, creating my webpage (http://kylieseventsandweddi.wix.com/eventandweddings), trying to promote myself, running polls on FB to see what people are interested in (There is a section in Unit C in one of the booklets regarding Living Funerals that I found interesting and want to know how many people would be into something like that as I think it would be a unique service to offer), looking up services and starting a database to keep that information, creating consultation forms and other templates that I may need, going shopping to price supplies for my business (invoice books, folders, files etc.), creating logos, introducing myself to some of the Canberra suppliers.
* Run yourself a bath and spend your time in there reading one of the booklets
* I even sometimes take a booklet to the Gym and read it while I'm doing my cardio workouts.
* Drink lots of coffee...
* Remember the end result that your aiming for

Hope some of these ideas work for people guess we all have to find what works for us and sometimes force ourselves to get it done.

Since starting my website and Facebook page - Kylie's Event and Wedding Planning - I have started planning a farewell for a friend going over seas and 2 weddings which is also taking my mind off doing the course all the time, while allowing me to start my portfolio and giving me more hands on experience. I'm doing events free of charge and asking people for photos of their events and a written reference at the end of my services to incorporate into my portfolio. It is also at the same time, keeping me motivated to push through till the end and gain an actual qualification that I can show people to back me up.

[Tamz]

I found that the best way to get motivated was to start working. I set up a Facebook page and offered my services for free for a year. I have taken on two wedding and some baby showers in that year and since I am advtertising myself as an event planner it has pushed me to make the time for each unit. My goal is to have the course finished by the end of the year so that when I send my daughter to daycare next year I can start charging for my services and operate the business properly. By then, I will have my qualification and have built up a database of suppliers, good relationship with those suppliers and I will have a portfolio of photos and reviews of my work from this year. I was surprised at how readily people were interested in getting my contact details and using me as their event planner. Finding myself in demand has definately given me a push to finish the course rather than just thinking of it as school work that I have to fit in to my busy life.

[Anjali J]

I too found it difficult to start...self motivation can be rough LOL...I find though that if I take it in sections.. do the reading, complete a video, then an assignment, and then take a break and come back to it it is easier to knock out bigger portions of it. I am still stuck on assignment A due to the Business Plan. I really want to complete it before I move forward and I am finding it very time consuming. I am glad that it is part of the curriculum though If you need a study partner and someone to help you stay on track let me know...maybe we can help each other!

Heya Dawn ... thank you for the awesome tip! Funnily enough I too am just ready to complete unit A, but I am finding the Business Plan really difficult to get to grips with, to get all my ideas down and you are right that bit is time consuming. Have you completed all the other assignments? I am glad it is too because it will be really useful in the future and I definitely want the motivation to complete the business plan. I think once we have submitted Unit A, it will give us that additional motivation to move forwrad. Sure I would like that a study partner sounds good! I will be here too if you need any help! how are you finding it?

[Anjali J]

Afternoon Lovely's,

I agree that self motivation SUCKS lol. I am currently 7 months pregnant and I am trying my hardest to get this out of the way before bubs comes along. I have finally just submitted Unit C today and started in February. I seem to have moments of ability to sit and stay focused but then find that once I submit a unit that I tend to find it hard to start the next one.

Its the 46 page booklets that I have to keep putting down and picking back up again. Love doing all the assignments and enjoy everything that I am learning as well, its just hard to read large amounts at a time, especially when there is something good on TV.

I have found that some things are helping.
*Try turning the TV off for a while, or if you are a stay at home mum or not working like myself try and do it before everyone comes home, once my husband gets home I want to spend more time with him
*Try set aside between 1-2 hours each day and dedicate that only to your course, and don't allow yourself to wonder off or get distracted
*While doing my course, I have also been preparing to start my business - applying for ABN, Registering Business name, looking into insurance, started a FB page offering my services free of charge till the start of June so I can get my portfolio up and going, creating my webpage (http://kylieseventsandweddi.wix.com/eventandweddings), trying to promote myself, running polls on FB to see what people are interested in (There is a section in Unit C in one of the booklets regarding Living Funerals that I found interesting and want to know how many people would be into something like that as I think it would be a unique service to offer), looking up services and starting a database to keep that information, creating consultation forms and other templates that I may need, going shopping to price supplies for my business (invoice books, folders, files etc.), creating logos, introducing myself to some of the Canberra suppliers.
* Run yourself a bath and spend your time in there reading one of the booklets
* I even sometimes take a booklet to the Gym and read it while I'm doing my cardio workouts.
* Drink lots of coffee...
* Remember the end result that your aiming for

Hope some of these ideas work for people guess we all have to find what works for us and sometimes force ourselves to get it done.

Since starting my website and Facebook page - Kylie's Event and Wedding Planning - I have started planning a farewell for a friend going over seas and 2 weddings which is also taking my mind off doing the course all the time, while allowing me to start my portfolio and giving me more hands on experience. I'm doing events free of charge and asking people for photos of their events and a written reference at the end of my services to incorporate into my portfolio. It is also at the same time, keeping me motivated to push through till the end and gain an actual qualification that I can show people to back me up.

Hi, wow thank you for this amazing message! Definitely difficult to get motivated but if we all help each other out I think it will work wonders! Thank you so much for the tips they will work wonders! Sounds like you are doing really well in terms of getting experience and creating your portfolio! Would be lovely to keep hearing about your work and how everything is going! Hope the pregnancy is going well too really nice to hear how doing the course has helped you get some experience and seeing the rewards even after you completed Unit C is great motivation for me so thank you

[Anjali J]

I found that the best way to get motivated was to start working. I set up a Facebook page and offered my services for free for a year. I have taken on two wedding and some baby showers in that year and since I am advtertising myself as an event planner it has pushed me to make the time for each unit. My goal is to have the course finished by the end of the year so that when I send my daughter to daycare next year I can start charging for my services and operate the business properly. By then, I will have my qualification and have built up a database of suppliers, good relationship with those suppliers and I will have a portfolio of photos and reviews of my work from this year. I was surprised at how readily people were interested in getting my contact details and using me as their event planner. Finding myself in demand has definately given me a push to finish the course rather than just thinking of it as school work that I have to fit in to my busy life.

Wow Tamz I didnt know that was possible without having completed the diploma. I will take your advice on board and start setting something up. Do you have any advice for the optional module in Unit A, the business plan? I have some ideas about my business and the way I would like to set it up, but can you provide any advice since you have already taken active steps to do this and seen the rewards? your help would be greatly appreciated! congrats on the setup please keep me posted on how everything is going

[Tamz]

HI. I actually havent completed my business plan yet. At the time that I was doing Unit A I was no where near ready to start a business and felt that i wanted to get further into the course befoer I decided if this was definately the way for me to go. At that time I wasnt even sure if i wanted to focus on weddings, parties, corporate events or all three. With offering my services for free for the first year, I am building up my portfolio and experience without the formalities of a business plan and contracts. I hope to have finished the course by the end of the year and then i will go back and complete the business plan now that I have a better understanding of the services I want to offer and how I can carry them out.