Introduction
Going back to college to restart your education is one of the best decisions one can make. There are an increasing number of adults returning to college amidst commitments such as full-time jobs and family. This growth in numbers also means that these people are doing something extraordinary with their lives, which is, balancing all aspects of their lives successfully.
If you are pursuing an online education program, balancing becomes easier than attending a full-time college; because the online programs offer, above all, flexibility. Hence, it is somewhat easier to schedule learning amidst these commitments. In this article, we are going to discuss the challenges and solutions for maintaining a healthy work-life-learning balance with practical application.
When it comes to succeeding in the online mode of education, the odds are largely dependent on your time management, prioritisation, and learning skills. Therefore, it is time you learn these skills along the road. If you are a seasoned professional, chances are, you are already well-versed in these methods. But a little brush up will make it easier.
Balancing your education alongside work and family
Balancing between work-life and learning requires strict adherence to your made-up goals. It is because time, being a limited resource, is the primary obstacle to tackle. Without prior planning and perseverance, succeeding in all three major aspects of your life becomes tiresome. It is even harder for senior professionals who need constant vigilance for their health issues.
The challenge can be overcome with proper planning, time management, up-to-date learning methods, and the exercise of willpower.
Understand your academic challenges
Every program requires a certain amount of effort and time from its learners. And every program is structured in a way that fits into a certain timeframe to make it easier to learn. As a result, they will have a certain structure and elements, like a specific number of units in a program, assessments, etc. In each of these units, there will be a certain number of sessions or subunits. The idea is to incorporate a whole program into a certain amount of time, like semesters, years, etc.
If you glance over the program structure, it will be easier to break them into little fractions and plan accordingly. In the case of SNATIKA, this is easier because the average amount of time you need to completely grasp the subject is already broken down into credits. Each unit is 20 credits and requires 200 hours of learning on average. These 200 hours though is an estimate of the total amount of time that could reasonably be expected to be required in order for a Learner to achieve and demonstrate the achievement of the level of attainment necessary for the award of a qualification. With this structure at your disposal, you are now equipped to deal with the planning stage.
Plan
There are different methods of planning, learning, and techniques to make it work, which will be discussed in further steps.
To-do Lists
People with written goals are more likely to finish their tasks than people who don't (Source file: dominican.edu, Gail Matthews). The simple argument for this is that people who don't write down their goals are more likely to forget their tasks after a while. This is where to-do lists come in handy. When used smartly, to-do lists are one of the simplest, yet most effective tools.
They are effective for all tasks with any durations of time, be it a daily routine, weekly schedule, or a large academic year checklist. Listing things to be done the night before will significantly impact your brain by nudging you to get up early or work late.
Human minds are not productive when there is clutter and indecision. So, keeping the list simple and precise is as important as making it. Write only the most important things to be done with precise wording to avoid productivity loss due to uncertainty. To be more productive, some experts limit themselves to 3–4 tasks per day on their to-do lists.
Carve out certain timings for your learning in quiet hours. Check out the credits, monthly assignments, and quizzes and plan accordingly. This will save you headaches and uncertainty during your learning period.
Weekly/monthly calendar
Whatever you do, you can't generate more time for yourself. When you make a strict and exhaustive daily routine, you will be overwhelmed by the number of things to be done. Certainly, you cannot cram every other task into your daily routine. With two-thirds of the day dedicated to sleeping and working a full-time job, we are left with only one-third of the day (8 hours) or less for ourselves, our families, and our friends.
So, instead of writing a strict daily routine, one should plan for a weekly calendar or even a monthly calendar to cram everything in. For example, if you are a runner, it is better to have rest days between your running days, which helps you prevent injuries. You can certainly put any other tasks into these rest days when you won't be running. For example, you can use this time to write your assignments.
Set aside times for learning in your weekly/monthly calendar. Use the credits as a framework to build your schedule and adhere strictly to it. For example, SNATIKA's Masters Degree programs require 6 - 8 hours per week of commitment from the learners. You can easily break it down into smaller 1-hour or 2-hour sessions and spread them across your weekly calendar. This way, you will save your learning from uncertainty and last-minute struggles.
Prioritise
There will be situations where you will be forced to choose between several tasks at the same time. This is where prioritisation will help you. You can use techniques like the Eisenhower matrix to help you decide on a priority task beforehand.
Eisenhower matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix will help you identify your priorities in no time. It will prevent you from wasting a large amount of time on less-important tasks and keep you from spending too little time on pressing tasks. The graph is divided into 4 parts and constitutes the highest to lowest priority areas in an easily understandable way. If you have the habit of listing all your daily tasks beforehand in a to-do list, the matrix will serve you well.
You simply spread all your daily tasks over the 4 quadrants according to their urgency and importance. After that, choose a specific amount of time for finishing the task and schedule it on your calendar. If you are a visual learner, you can use complex pie charts or graphs along with this matrix.
Eat the frog
Brian Tracy, in his bestseller, Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time discusses this method. Humans tend to put off important tasks further into the future and focus on less important tasks. The reasons for this are largely personal, like laziness and aiming for perfection. Putting off important tasks is not advisable, though. This is where the Eat that frog comes in handy.
When you see several tasks to be completed on your list/calendar, start working on the most important or the most difficult task asap. Finishing the most important or difficult task first will give us a sense of accomplishment and a type of momentum to continue other tasks.
Writing a monthly assignment will be easier if you give it a higher priority on your list. This way, you can ensure that you won't be putting off your assignment until the last date for submission.
Time Management
Find the right timing: Some people function better in the mornings, some in the evenings, and some in late nights. It is easier to understand and comprehend lessons when our brains are at their best. These times differ from individual to individual. So, find out at what time you function best, and use it to your advantage.
Find time: Getting up early is one of the most beneficial habits one can form. If you get up early, you will have enough time to meditate, exercise, play, and learn. Also, if you are an evening person or a night owl, late-night learning after your family members are asleep will be of help.
The extra 2 - 3 productive hours will not seem significant at present. But if you see it on a wider scale, it is more than enough to complete a whole Masters Degree within a year!
Avoid distractions
Learning is a hurdle when you have a defocussed mind. If you live in cities, or near large crowds, it is hard to concentrate amidst distractions and noise. Uninterrupted learning can become a challenge with kids or infants in the house. Those loud conversations, television, car or bike engines, busy highways, railway tracks, or airports make it harder to concentrate on a subject. To make up for this, you can either move to another quiet location or schedule your learning hours for other quieter hours of the day.
Constant online interaction on Facebook, emails, and other social media sites also plays a major role in diminishing our concentration. Average internet users spend 2 hours, 25 minutes(145 minutes) per day on social media sites (Source: Statista ). Endless scrolling features on social media apps are capable of leaching out hours of your precious time if you are not alert. You should know when to lock them down and concentrate on your studies. Use app timers to keep an eye on your scrolling time.
Learn learning methods
Use smart learning techniques to leverage the available amount of time. Keep on the lookout for new learning methods from around the world.
Parkinson's Law: It is the idea that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. This may mean you take longer than necessary to complete a task or you procrastinate and complete the task right before the due date. Be aware of this and aim to complete your learning and assignments at the earliest.
Break it down: Make your learning easier by dividing it up into smaller, bite-sized pieces, and creating your own notes. This is called microlearning. This way, it becomes easier to consume program information and retain it better. By breaking the program into smaller pieces, you also make yourself less prone to procrastination.
Study before bed: It is proven that our subconscious mind best memorises the information that we consume before sleeping. We retain information better when we learn and then take a deep sleep (Source: Medical News )
Use popular learning methods
Pomodoro method: In this method, you break your time into 25-minute and 5-minute sections. The 25-minute section is dedicated to an uninterrupted task, and the 5-minute section is for resting. Every 25 minutes is a Pomodoro. By using a timer or app, you can become more productive.
Mind maps: It is also a popular method of learning, which works by visualising the information we consume and connecting key takeaways to the foundation of the subject. Along with this, other methods like colour-coding help.
Use the trait of perseverance
Even with all the techniques and time in the world, you will lose if you have no perseverance and consistency. These two traits will take you further along the road to success than anything else can. Willpower is an exhaustible resource. It is a scarce entity in our brains. So, you must use it wisely. The very reason that our willpower and time are exhaustible and scarce is what should make your prioritisation skills sharper.
If the above-mentioned skills are to be of any use to you, you must strive to make them a habit. Consistently learning at the preferred time and finishing off assignments, tests, and units at the set times will ensure your success in online education.
Take care of yourself and your surroundings
It is easy to neglect your health when you are torn between work-life-learning. Caring for oneself is just as important as your degree, work, or family life. Without personal health, all other aspects of our lives come crumbling down. Health is not only confined to your physical body. Your mental, emotional, and social health is also just as important. In light of this, you need to set some time apart for your personal, familial, professional, and social lives.
Rest days: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should cram every task into every piece of time available in your schedule. Just like every other muscle in your body, your mind needs to relax too. Wisely take time offs, holidays, and vacations from time to time.
Take care of your family, friends, and colleagues
Whatever you do, at the end of the day, it all comes down to your and your family's well-being. Don't be so busy that you forget to live in the present moment.
Instead of watching television every day with the family, use that time to build a quality conversation with your family. Take time away from electronic items like television, laptops, and mobiles and have dinner together with your family. Aim for quality time with your family, uninterrupted by buzzes and ringtones. This way, you can be sure that you have well-spent time with your family. Quality time will ensure the happiness of your family members more than aimless get-togethers centred around electronic items.
Make time for friends, networking, and get-togethers using the above-mentioned techniques. Human beings are not islands. You need constant social interaction with other members of your society. Neglecting this will harm your social life as well as your professional life. Use weekly calendars; take a day off for family or friends; make an evening available for networking. Small time commitments like this will immensely help you in strengthening the bonds.
Conclusion:
On a whole, succeeding in your online program is wholly dependent on how you learn and how you manage your time. Knowing when to do what you should do is the key. For this, you need consistency, perseverance, and willpower to succeed. You can use popular learning methods to increase your productivity. Take reasonable rests and time offs regularly. Take care of yourself and your family members. Set aside time for friends, colleagues, and networking.
Above all, remember that your struggle for an education will not last forever. Keep this end in mind. As soon as the program is over, you will be free to do all those things you missed out on. Keep your destination in mind and you will succeed.
Finally, visit SNATIKA to pursue prestigious higher academic qualifications from the UK. We offer authentic Masters and bachelors degree programs, doctorate programs, and professional programs to senior professionals through our state-of-the-art online platform. Visit SNATIKA to know more.