tutorial thoughts

I suspect that the fact that it has taken me oh so many days to make my second post here - the one that specifically addresses the tutorial and how it relates to my own learning process - is somewhat indicative of my personal challenges when doing new things. Meaning, sometimes it's really difficult to make the time to do the things you want. My interests tend to be all over the place. I think that's one of the things that makes me a good librarian, and for that I'm thrilled. But, at the same time, it makes it difficult for me to prioritize and say, "Okay, this is the thing that I'm going to focus on right this very moment."

Actually, no. I'm okay at prioritizing. I am not, however, the queen of focus. I get distracted. "Hm, what is the guy currently on Fresh Air talking about? Ah, he wrote a book about Jews and Arabs during World War II. I wonder if Amazon has any new recommendations for me? Ooo, there's a new Nancy Drew video game coming out next week. I wonder if that Nancy Drew movie was really as bad as I heard it was - maybe I'll Netflix it when it comes out on DVD, probably pretty soon. I really should update my Netflix queue. And mail back the movies that I have out. But, I fell asleep while watching the last episode of Deadwood. Maybe I should finish it now and mail the disc in when I go to the grocery store. Gah, what am I going to have for dinner tonight?"

You get the idea. And I'm actually hugely more focused, with a longer attention span than a lot of people that I know. It certainly isn't easy though. Maybe that's why it's such a good idea to make a plan, something else I don't consider a strong point. I make them, but mostly vaguely, in my head. Concrete might be a better idea. Probably in the form of a list, because I like to make lists and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from crossing things off of them. And look, that was recommended in the tutorial, so here we have an illustration of how things do indeed come back around.

Other aspects discussed in the tutorial are easier for me. I've always been a big puzzle person, so assuming that it doesn't totally mess up everything, I sort of like it when obstacles come up and I have to figure out a way to meet the challenge. I'm pretty confident about my abilities in this arena - I've dabbled enough to know my way around these new technologies (which is a much nicer way to phrase the fact that I sometimes spend way too much time online). I like to learn new stuff and think it's fun to teach others. Which, I hope, I am successful at, although maybe you should ask my friend B., whom I taught to knit.