New app, tutor changes and challenges

I am still working a week ahead, so I've just finished week 3, whilst the module is actually on week 2. The amount of work expected each week still is surprisingly low, though I'm not complaining. I'm doing the whole week in about 3 hours. That includes posting on the forums (which have sometimes required a little extra research), watching all videos and audios and answering questions. The chapters are a lot shorter than I've had in other modules. Chapters could take me up to about 3 days to get through, in past modules, but these chapters can be read in about half an hour to an hour. Though I remember a tutor saying that one or two of the level 2 modules would be the hardest modules you'll have throughout the degree, so I'm hoping that means I'm over the biggest hurdles!

I have found a new app that I love and I've actually paid for a 3 month premium membership to it. It's called Focus To-Do and it's on all devices. It uses the pomodoro technique. I've been looking ahead and typing in all the tasks I need to do each week, like read my module book or an online section. I've also been noting it in my new diary. Every day, I put down one section or task and I fit it all in before the end of that week. I often do more than one task a day though. I find this is really working so far and keeping me on schedule. It's making the work I have to do appear more manageable and it's satisfying being able to tick things off as I go along. 

I've also been getting involved in the OU study challenge on instagram, as well as the challenge for POTS UK. <3 Healthwise, I've been dealing with a few challenges. I have suddenly developed high blood pressure which we're not sure is caused by my POTS meds. I've also been getting palpitations again recently and my heart just feels funny, but a recent EKG showed my heart rhythm was normal, as I've been getting unusual heart rhythms which may also be caused by my meds. Because of the high blood pressure, I've been getting migraines and headaches. I've also been very tired recently. I slept for 2.5 hours after work the other day and the same night, I slept for almost 11 hours. I obviously got a migraine that day and was still exhausted, so I don't know what's going on. :\

Frustratingly, the last few days have been a bit of a nightmare regarding my tutor. As I said before, I asked for a tutor change but student support immediately refused! I was shocked because I'd changed from the tutor before in the past, so why didn't this get checked beforehand? Anyway, I posted in the OU group asking what to do and most people said that the OU should change the tutor for me and to ask for someone higher up within SST. I emailed SST back and said that I would like to speak to someone higher about this if they're still going to refuse. So the manager of the module contacted me and thankfully put in for a tutor change, but they wanted to ask why I didn't want to work with the tutor, which I had to awkwardly explain as much as I could. I can't remember all the details as it was a couple years ago now that I had him, plus I didn't really go into detail here about what he was like. At least it turned out okay in the end and I'm having a tutor change! It would've been nice not to have to put up with the stress at the beginning of a level 3 module.

Looking back through this blog, it blows my mind how fast the time has gone! It's kind of freaky.