- You need to setup a timetable that will help you balance all of your responsibilities.
- Start slowly and don't aim too big at the beginning, that might lead to you being overwhelmed.
- Celebrate your milestones and reward yourself.
Are you considering furthering your studies? Perhaps taking on a postgraduate qualification or venturing into a whole new qualification?
Well, you are more then capable to do so and maybe you should make going back to school one of your goals to achieve. Don't worry about your age and do not let your other responsibilities hold you back.
Celebrities like ProVerb and KB Motsilanyane showed us that succeeding in school in your adulthood is possible when they graduated from business school.
Life coach, Paula Quinsee, shares some tips on how to prepare for going back to school as an adult.
1. Setup a timetable
To help balance your schoolwork and your other responsibilities such as parenting and employment, you need to setup a timetable so that you can allocate time to your different responsibilities.
"If you are a parent and you have got a career or a job and you are trying to juggle studies, you need to setup a structure that enables you to carve out time for yourself and to achieve those things. So put together some sort of timetable or some sort of structure that enables you to balance and juggle all of those things so that you don't feel overwhelmed and that you can manage your energy levels," Paula says.
A CNN article advises that you create a detailed plan and it should not be vague. For example, if you are planning to study every day after work, be sure to know of the exact time and place where you will do so. You can then set reminders or alarms for that allocated time.
2. Give yourself some time out
All work and no play might be detrimental to your health so make sure that you dedicate enough time to rest.
"Give yourself some timeout as well. You can't just be focused on work work work and all of those things. You need to give yourself some timeout as well to recharge and re-energise yourself," Paula shares.
READ MORE | Start all over again - 4 ways to jumpstart your career in the new year
3. Identify what distracts or discourages you
From social media to being in loud environments, you should take caution of what distracts you and get rid of it.
Paula makes an example of social media, if it distracts you from focusing on your studies then when you are about to study you should keep your phone or other devices far away from you.
4. Start slowly
Studying requires adapting to a new routine. That might be a challenge at first but the key is to start slowly then gradually grow. Maybe you can start with an hour a day, an hour every two days or even two hours a day with breaks in between.
In a Forbes article, Dr Margie Warrell writes that when establishing a new goal for yourself, you shouldn't start by doing way too much because that might lead to you losing focus and knowing which direction to take.
"Start slowly and ease into it because when you try to change too much too soon it can become overwhelming and too difficult and that's when people give up. Our brain can only concentrate for so long before we start losing that mental power."
5. Reward yourself
After creating a timetable, getting rid of what distracts you and starting slowly, reward yourself for every goal that you reach.
Whether you managed to study for one hour a day consistently for the whole week or you managed to complete all of your other responsibilities while also paying attention to your studies then you should reward yourself by maybe going out with friends, spending a day without studying or perhaps getting your favourite meal.
Remember, every milestone counts!
"Rewarding and recognising yourself is what helps to drive your motivation and your energy level," Paula concludes.
