When you begin your studies online, there are many factors that change the way in which you structure your day, week and year. Online education is flexible and there is always help available. One of the more difficult aspects about studying online is balancing these studies with work and other commitments. These other commitments could be family time, sporting activities, or even time for yourself like that meditation session in the morning.
Your work can be structured or unstructured and this can be the same with your other commitments. The balancing of these tasks can come natural to some students’ whilst it can be quite the challenge for others. Here are some tips you can use that will help identify ways for you to balance your online study with work and other commitments.
The first step is to identify what time you have available.
By doing this you will be able to see when you can slot in your other activities throughout the day. This can help you relax and stay on top of your studies. By identifying your current demands you will be able to utilise the time you have more efficiently. When this has been established, you can now draw up a timetable and slot in all the hours that you are occupied and identify the time that you have as ‘free’ time. This free time will let you see when you can utilise it for studying and other activities.
As online students you are extremely lucky for the flexibility that comes along with this style of education.
The only downfall is that it can impact your way of balancing online study with work and other commitments. There is also the possibility that procrastination might arise. Once you have all your tasks organised into a set routine, your next objective is to overcome any potential pitfalls. How do you do this? To avoid procrastination always break down study into smaller manageable sections.
Once this is down pat and is part of your routine, you will then be able to increase the time you spend on your studying sessions. Furthermore, study in a location where you don’t have any distracts nearby. So avoid studying in front of the tv if you are in the middle of an exciting tv series. Chances are there won’t be much studying done.
Lastly, the number one thing to avoid is social media. It is a huge time killer when you are trying to study and makes studying seem a lot longer than it would be otherwise.
Balancing your time will be difficult at first but once you start your routine you will eventually feel more relaxed and energetic when it comes to balancing online study with your other commitments. If you do need additional academic help, Charles Sturt University is here to help, check out Academic Skills here.
Good luck balancing your time!
