How to Study Online When You Have Small Children
With the ability to do online studies so widely available, it makes it easier to select the college and the course you really want to attend and study. Online studies also give you more flexibility to study when you have the time and to work out a schedule that suits your lifestyle. This is especially important if most of your study time overlaps with child-rearing responsibilities. We will provide you with some useful tips so that you can stay on top of your studies.
Time Management
You will need to look at all the tasks you have to accomplish, such as household chores and childcare, and structure your schedule accordingly. It doesn’t help to plan a study period over lunchtime, for example. Aim for a smooth transition that starts off slowly and gains momentum until you are able to put in the required number of study hours every week.
Shop ahead for the week and prepare food ahead of time so that meals can be made with the minimum fuss. Get school lunches ready the night before. Work out a schedule for housework.
Impromptu Study Sessions
Boost your study hours by using quiet times to put in the extra time and make up your weekly quota. This is especially useful for sections of the work you are battling with. Your various duties can derail your plans unless you have a meticulously created schedule that covers everything. Understand that sometimes things will happen to prevent you from studying at a set time. Make up for it by finding additional periods in the day or night to study.
Motivation
Choose your online course carefully. It would be a pity to go to so much effort for your studies only to find that it will not enable you to get a good job in a few years once your studies have been completed For example, a graduate certificate in data science will prepare you for a professional career as it is designed for developing data literacy that will be needed to work as a data scientist. Knowing where you are headed and being passionate about it will motivate you to study when you are tired or have a few hours to spare.
Keeping Children Occupied During Study Periods
Find and set up activities for your children to keep them occupied in your study area. Get them involved with fetching what they will need. Do it with a positive attitude so that they start to look forward to these sessions. Educational games, using a tablet, and organizing enough activities for each two-hour session will help you stay in control.
Self-Discipline
You will have to take charge of your social media use and anything else that can waste your study time. It requires maturity to study online, even more, when you have children to take care of as well. Making time to study calls for sacrifices of other fun activities, and this is why you need to be sure that you are studying the right thing.
A supportive partner can help to fill in some of the gaps when you are pressed for study time.
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