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By Vikas Rana
September 2, 2016
5 minutes to read
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ELEARNING BEST PRACTICES

7 Tips To Balance Study, Work, And

Personal Life
A student's life is busy and managing study, part time work and personal life can be
hard. Here are few tips for students to balance study, work, and personal life.

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How To Balance Study, Work, And Personal Life

There are three main parts of a student’s life which consumes most of their time; study,
work, and personal life. Study and work both can take up an ample amount of time and
very less time may remain for personal stuff. This is one of the major issues a student
face. So the question is: How to balance study, work, and personal life?

A college usually has two semesters or three trimesters. Each semester has multiple
courses, usually three to four; however, in some cases colleges give students the
exibility to choose what courses they wish to enroll in particular semesters, called as
electives, and what number of courses they wish to enroll. Each course can usually take
up a lot of hours per week.

Part Time Vs Full Time Students 

The workload of a full time student can of course be very different compared to the
workload of a part time student. For a full time student, there is very less time left for
work or personal life. So proper time management for students is very important.
However, for a part time student, there may be plethora of time left after studies for
work and other personal stuff.

It’s important to choose the study load wisely. For instance, if you are already working
full time, then it may be wise to choose a part time study load so you can still 
keep you
job, keep making money, cover your expenses and fees, and still study.

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Another things to consider is that taking part time study may take a very long time to
 then
nish the studies. For instance, if a student takes a masters course, if full time
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student completes it in two years, it may take up to four years for the same course to
nish in case of part time study arrangement.

Also, if you fail a course it may just end up taking a lot of extra time. If it’s your last
semester, you will get your certi cate or degree after another 6 months just because of
that one course that you were not able to clear. Hence, it’s also very important to clear it
in one go to save time.

So it is up to an individual what they decide based on their personal circumstances.

Some may be keen on nishing their studies as soon as possible, while others may not
much be in a hurry.

Tips For Time Management In Online Learning 

There are many students who opt for online courses to save time and make a balance
between their work, study, and personal life. Here are 7 tips on how to balance study,
work, and personal life when taking online courses.

1. Do Not Procrastinate. 

Delaying things may lead to piling of more and more work in the end. Another
disadvantage of procrastination is that it only keeps adding more stress at the top of
daily work load.

2. Consider Having A Day Off.

Once, I was a student; today I have founded my own SEO services, so things are much
busier now than ever. But I still try to create a good balance between work and life. It
takes lot of effort, but it is possible. Vijay, who was once an international
student and now runs a successful business, says “Sometimes taking time off actually
makes things much better; it gives you strength to handle more pressure, and things
start getting better from there on”. Even the tness gurus ask their clients to have a
cheat meal despite being on a very strict diet. The reason to allow a chat meal is to keep
the client motivated; else, if the client gets demotivated with the regular strict diet, then
he/she may quit all together. A cheat meal keeps their clients from quitting.

3. Avoid Multi-Tasking.


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Though some may nd it better to multi-task. However, the problem with multi-tasking is
  it’s
that it consumes more of your energy than usual and, in many cases, proven that it 
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actually ends up taking more time to nish those individual tasks. The best way to
complete a task is to nish it and then move to another one. Taking breaks is of course
ok, as you don’t want to drain out all your energies; however, try not to do everything at
the same time.

4. Avoid Distractions.

Today, most of us get distracted time to time by using Facebook, Twitter, or checking our
mobile phones all the time. These things can distract you from the work you may be
doing, and can take lot more time than usual to nish tasks. At the end of the day, when
you are not done with particular tasks, this may leave you stressed. So, focus is very
important to complete one task and move to another.

5. Take Care Of Your Health. 

Caryn, who is a Nutritionist, says "A balanced diet is important for students. Studying
mainly during exams may take up a lot of energy and, hence, the right amount of
nutrition is vital part of a student's life".

6. Utilize Your Time In Creative Things.

This means, if you’re a student, why not spend time reading articles on a career help
site?

7. Stick To A Schedule.

The reason for that is that when you plan things, then you always stay informed: It
means you know when you will be able to nish a particular assignment or college
project. You can always include breaks or a small outing as part of the schedule. It will
work as an incentive to stick to schedule, knowing when to do what; otherwise, you may
end up with a pile up of work, including new stuff that you were not aware of because
you didn’t schedule. Write things up, make notes, plan well, and you will nd it much
easier to balance your life between study, work, and personal life.

Online Learners Online Learning Time Management Time Management Tips

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ELEARNING ARTICLES

Completing An Online Course: 13 Time

Management Tips
We’re all busy—family, work, school, life, life, work, work... One of the biggest challenges
faced by online learners is managing time and carving out enough time and space to
complete the requirements of their online course or program. When learners don’t
manage time well—when they put off all the readings, discussions and learning
activities off until the last moment—they invariably fall behind and inevitably struggle
to complete their course (as high rates of attrition in online learning attest). 

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Time Management Tips To Complete An Online Course

A key issue for online learners, especially part-time online learners who must balance
study or continuing education with work, is time management. Below are several
strategies that can help online learners (you?) manage time over in order to successfully
complete an online course:

1. Make the course a priority.

For the duration of the course (or online program), make the course your professional
priority and you are expected to complete every reading, every assignment, every
discussion and every school-based activity. Can’t do that? Then, if you can, consider
taking the course another time when you can devote more time to the effort. Better
still, nd someone in the course who will agree to be your partner or study buddy.

2. Take the course with a friend or colleague.

Online learning has been described as "a lonely experience." Make it less lonely- and
increase your chances of both completing the course and managing time well- by
seeing if a friend or spouse will take the course with you. This may or may not be for
credit and his/her role may be more informal than formal. Online learners are more
likely to complete a course of study when they have actual colleagues. And it doesn't
hurt to have someone to help you manage your time. 

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3. Set aside one hour a day to work on the course.

 hour?
 Think of the hour per day as your class time. Can’t spare a whole How about 15
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minutes four times a day? How about during lunch hour? Make the
course/readings/discussion the very rst thing you do when you open up your
computer in the morning. Then it’s over and done with for that day!
4. Make a study plan.
Set xed times during the week to work on the course. If you have a learning partner
or team, decide what days you will meet to go through course readings and
participate in the online discussions.
5. Make a calendar or schedule.
Naturally, given the vicissitudes of life, some weeks will be easier than others for
doing all the course requirements, so look ahead and make a calendar. Figure out
what weeks look very busy and plan how you’ll get your online work done ahead of
time to compensate for your lack of time during those busy weeks.

6. Get rid of distractors.

That may mean closing the door to keep family members away, going to a café,
turning off your cell phone, not opening your email program, or turning off the TV.
Figure out what distracts you from your online course and eliminate it as you work on
your course.
7. Set goals and incentives.
Give yourself, or have someone give you, incentives for completing a module or
assignment within a certain time period. Set personal learning and time goals. Give
yourself a treat when you’ve nished a module or a discussion (but don’t reward
yourself when you haven’t!).

8. Jump ahead and do what you can when you can.

In terms of workload, most courses start out light and become increasingly more
involved each week. So, if you’re nished early with Module 1, go onto Module 2, and
so on. With the exception of discussion forums, you may not need to wait for
everyone else! The beauty of online learning is that you can do it at your own pace.
9. Divide labor with your partner.
(If you have a study partner), with your partner, decide who does what to lighten the
load. Maybe your partner does reading 1 while you do reading 2. Then use a think-
pair-share or some other knowledge exchange protocol to share information.

10. Explore ways to multitask that don’t contribute to cognitive overload.

Can you download podcasts on your mobile phone or MP3 player and listen to them
as you run? Can you access the course on your tablet and do the readings at the gym?
In multitasking, it’s important to avoid cognitive con ict (e.g., reading while watching
TV doesn’t really help) or cognitive overload (reading while on a Skype call, for
example). As the Roman writer, Publilius Syrus (Sorry, I was a Latin teacher. I don't get
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many opportunities like this), noted about multitasking over 2,000 years ago, “He who
 does two things at one does neither.”  Become An Author 
11. Be mindful.
As you “do” your course, focus on what you are doing and push away distractions.
This focus on your course should help with completing course work and doing it well.
Give yourself timelines (for example, an hour) to complete a task.
12. If your course has some kind of an e-portfolio, start working on it during week 1.
Week by week, you can work on your e-portfolio. If you do a little at a time each
week, you won’t be panicked and overworked at the end trying to create an e-
portfolio at the last minute.

13. Ask for help.

If you are struggling, don’t understand or feel really lost, always ask for help—from
your partner, your colleagues in the course (assuming it’s a cohort-based online
course) and your online instructor.

Online Learners Online Learning Time Management Time Management Tips

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