Wisdom Wednesday: Studying With a Full Time Job (My Experience)

Today's post is half advice/tips, half a "what's going on with my life" post. I wanted to write this because I'm sure there are other people in similar situation or people who think about taking up a bit of studying while working full time. To be honest, it can be a hard thing to do, depending on what you do for a job and what and how much you want/need to study, but I'm here to tell you about things that make it all doable for me. If that's something you'd be interested in, keep on reading.

study supplies

Why I'm studying while working

This is kind of something I didn't want to end up doing, but due to financial situations, working has made more sense than full time studying. Also there's the fact I want to be financially as independent as possible, and working makes that more easily possible than studying. Therefore, I've ended up postponing my graduation because before, I don't think I had the skills to manage working and studying at the same time. 

Now, things are different. I'm in a better place mentally, I don't stress about grades as much, and I can better see what the school tasks are for (meaning, what they are meant to teach), all of which give more motivation for studying on my free time.

How did I get in an arrangement like this

First, I contacted my school counselor about my missing courses and they helped me list out every little thing I'd need to pass in order to get my degree. Then, I had to give them an estimated schedule on how long I think it will take for me to get my degree. So far, I'm more or less on the schedule. I communicate with the counselor every few weeks to check on if I have all the necessary courses booked, but the rest is just up to me. 

Communicating with school about studying methods

If there's something good about 2020, it's that this is truly the year when schools and workplaces have upped the possibilities to do things online/from home whenever possible. Therefore, I have had the chance to suggest teachers that because of my working situation, I could do most of my attending by interdependent studies, and in many cases, that's been acceptable. Also, I'm in a lucky position where I have a little flexibility on my working hours, so in case I need to tune in to an online lesson, I can make up for that time during the week by coming early or staying late. But whenever I can, I have been choosing essay writing, learning journals and whatnot over attending the classes so that I can keep the studying on my free time - the one exception being my thesis, which I'm doing in collaboration with my workplace and therefore can work on in at the office too. 

Choosing the courses

While there are courses that are mandatory for me, few are to deepen my chosen expertise, and those I have had the pleasure to choose all by myself. Not to go in too too much detail, but they all surround the themes of sales and marketing and I've chosen so that they would be helpful for me now but also later in my career. Also, for some mandatory courses I have tried to look into how they best fit my schedule, and am choosing the courses by that. All in all choosing the courses has been one of the easiest parts, because I really know what I want out of the school.

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Scheduling my tasks to not get overwhelmed

And this would be one of the hardest parts. Due to my overly curious nature, I have a ton of things I'd love to do every given day, and therefore focusing on studying when my mind really wants to, for example, knit is kind of challenging. However, writing down deadlines on my calendar and sticking to them so I can cross them off as I go is a method that works for me. This Autumn, every time a new class has started or a new task has been given, I have written school's definite deadline down and then have written my in-between goals down once the big deadlines were in place. Now, I have tasks to do most days, and can constantly feel like I'm furthering my education. 

But, like I said, I have things for most days, not all days. I do give my mind a little slack too, because overly stressed mind does not perform well.  

Writing my thesis with busy schedule

Another one I've been admittedly struggling with. However, currently I'm very much on track with this. It's sometimes hard to just sit down and read for the thesis, gather notes, let alone write sensible text for the thesis, but all in all you just have to schedule time and just do it so that you get on with the work. And there will be the time when you notice you're actually half-way done, and after that, there comes the day you're all the way done. You just sometimes have to take babysteps.

pusheen cup

Making time for things that make me unwind

Lastly, it's very important to give your mind and body time to rest, so scheduling relaxation and having enough time for sleep, unwinding and all that is in my opinion mandatory if you plan on having a lot on your plate. And also, listen to your body and mind so that you don't overwork or overly stress yourself. Nobody should drive themselves into burnout just for the sake of getting shit done.

Do you have experience from working and studying at the same time? Share your experiences below!

That's all I have for you today, but I'll be back with another post on Saturday, when we'll talk about my latest DIY projects. And in the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram for outfits, makeup looks and more, because I'm active daily on my account(@jolagerroos, in case you are new here). I'll see you in my next post!

Have a lovely day ♥

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