Our Mommyhood

Juggling family life and other responsibilities can be challenging; add the possibility of furthering your education into the mix and it can be downright overwhelming. Don’t let the thought of having to balance school and family stop you from pursuing your education. Here are five strategies for juggling school and family life:

1. Pursue Online Classes
Online classes were virtually made for those with busy lives. When you skip the traditional campus-based classes you gain an amount of freedom that you wouldn’t believe. Instead of having to attend class during a set time, you can attend class when it’s convenient for you. You’ll still have assignments, quizzes and tests to prepare for but by skipping the commute, you’ll find you have more time to complete them.

2. Get Organized
The key to attending school and juggling family life is organization. Whether you need to use a day planner, an online calendar, an app or any combination of the three, by keeping a monthly calendar, you’ll stay organized. Don’t make the mistake of keeping separate calendars for different aspects of your life. Combine work, school and family calendars so that you can always see what your responsibilities are on any given day.

3. Schedule Your Time
While you don’t have to commute or show up for class at specified times, you’ll still need to create a schedule for yourself. After you’ve scheduled your classes, sit down and decide when you’ll study and do your homework. For instance, you may have a chunk of time on Friday afternoons when you can complete your schoolwork. Or maybe you’ll have an hour each night after the kids go to bed. No matter when you decide to schedule your school time, stick to it. You’ll be more productive than you would if you tried to grab random opportunities during the week.

4. Get a Babysitter
Whether it’s your spouse, your sister or one of your trusted friends, see if they can take the kids off of your hands for a couple of hours on the weekend. Many moms soon learn that it’s easiest to study when the kids are out of the house. You may even find that you’re more productive if you’re the one that leaves the house. Take your laptop and books down to the library or even the local coffee shop. It will take a bit of experimentation at first, but you’ll soon find what works best for you.

5. Structured Kid Time
As much as you need to schedule your school time, you need to organize family time.  Be sure to pencil time with the kids into your calendar each week. Whether its 30 minutes to toss the ball in the backyard or a few hours for a trip to the zoo, make sure that you schedule structured time with the kids. It can be very easy to slip into a routine of simply running them back and forth to practices, recitals and play dates. It is important to build in some one on one quality time!

Balancing family life and online school can be done; it simply takes dedication. The first step is choosing a career that is right for you, like counseling, and following your dream. You’ll soon find that with a bit of organization, school and family becomes less of a juggling act and more of a smooth operation.

Jessie Patterson is a school counselor and content contributor for Best Masters in Counseling, a site with detailed information about the best online masters in counseling schools.

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