Procrastinator's Dilemma

This week I've done a lot of thinking about particular aspects of the digital portfolio, especially the QGIS requirement. I had a pretty solid conversation with Dr. Gibbs about what I can use as a basis for the map and the basics of how to accomplish it, but it never actually went past the thinking/talking phase. I think my failure this week is in my lack of trying.

As the semester rolls ever closer to finals week, I get more and more concerned about finishing the project but also fearful that my efforts will end in total failure. I think I'm giving myself a complex.  Talking about what needs done and actually attempting the activity are clearly very different things, and the "I can't do this" idea continually jumps into my head. To me, this is more than simple procrastination. Yes, I'm procrastinating, but not in the same way that I tend to procrastinate on writing a paper or finishing research. It's a procrastination that stems from a disconnect between me and the software that I still don't understand how to use.

"Must work on QGIS..."

I've never been a "Read this and understand it" kind of learner. In math and science classes, especially, I can read a chapter and look at the examples, but it really doesn't sink in until the instructor walked me through one example. After that, it all seems to kick in. It's just the way I learn. This class is all about changing the way we think, and that can be very beneficial. I can already see that I have begun to change the way I think about accomplishing a task on my computer. However, I don't believe that the class has been able to alter the way I learn. I'm not sure this is a failure, but it's definitely an observation of what I think is standing in the way of my progress.