Do you have a family and want to pursue further education? You can do both. Here’s some advice on balancing academic and family life. Work-life balance is a difficult task, particularly as a single mom or single dad. But what if you’re also looking at improving yourself through further education? Here’s how to manage study, work and children through scheduling, organization and planning.
Create Adaptive Scheduling
Some core tasks won’t change – like working hours, picking kids up from school and class times. But around this schedule you can create adaptable blocks of time for coursework, school work, and relaxation.
Prioritize Key Tasks
When planning times for coursework and school work, prioritize the key tasks so they’re done first. If you have your kid’s maths homework and your own essay due that week, try and prioritize this before the end-of-term essay or school science project. Block of small blocks of time each week to work towards the longer-term projects.
Delegate When Possible
You’re not superhuman – there will be times when you need help. Delegate when you can. This could mean empowering your older kids to manage their homework times, asking friends or family to step in with babysitting, or even delegating a task at work so you can finish on time.
Pursuing further education as an adult can open the doors to career possibilities and advancement for you and your family. In the short term, you may need to sacrifice some of your personal time, but the long term gain is infinite.