Working and Going Back to School

I work full-time, up to 45 hours a week, and have 2 kids (my dogs) who need plenty of attention. Doing an online program just like an on-campus program requires personal commitments to properly budgeting time in order to complete assignments and also live a normal life. At 25 years old I still like to hang out with friends and the flexibility of doing everything online is great for me. I mean, I’ve already done the ‘move away from home, live near campus’ thing, and it’s just not the right fit for my lifestyle now.

The way I’ve been successful in my online program is I learned to budget my time and stick to the plan. I figured out what days were busier than others and designated certain workloads to the lighter days. Another great thing I utilize are work breaks! I bring my lunch with me and spend 30 minutes out of the hour doing homework. It’s just another way to spare you time spent at home and with a quiet environment it is just as effective. The hardest part was putting aside the procrastination when it came to vacations or family visits. My advice: WORK AHEAD! Laziness will cause a backup of work and then force you to dip into your fun time.

Finally the last reason I have been able to handle working full time and going to school is simply learning how to read material properly. One thing that hurts students is they want to read word for word. This is going to take you extra time and energy that is unnecessary. I am not saying not to read but rather learn how to effectively speed read the material and take in the most important concepts of each chapter to help you progress. Most people who read word for word are not going to remember everything they read whereas those who pick the main topics of the chapter will have a better understanding of the material as they apply it in the program.