How To Create A Work/School Balance While Taking Online Courses
Read the following tips from National Real Estate Learning to learn how to have balance while taking online courses.
- Work on your time management skills.
For example, if you are taking classes to get your real estate license online or if you decide to study real estate online, you will need to spend many hours each week learning your craft. To become a real estate agent, you must get a certain number of classroom hours and then be able to pass your exams to become an agent. For those who are not technical, learning the terms and phrases related to buying and selling property as well as learning the legal aspect of the job can be tedious. Therefore, it is important that you devote only as much time as you can spend effectively learning. In other words, if you have just worked a 12-hour shift, you should get something to eat or spend time with your kids instead of jumping on the computer. Your schoolwork should be reserved for when you don't have to work or have a shorter or less intensive shift to complete. - Ask for help when you need it.
If you have a big sales training academy lecture coming up or you need to complete an important sales technique training video, you should treat it as a top priority during the week. You should think about asking your boss for time off or a flexible schedule to complete the task on time and in a satisfactory manner. In the event that you cannot get time off from your boss, you may want to consider asking your friends and family for help with other tasks. For instance, you could ask your parents to take your child for a night or for a weekend. You could also ask a friend to mow your yard or take care of other tasks for an affordable fee or in exchange for a favor down the line. By asking for help, you can keep your workload manageable and stay on a relatively even keel mentally. As a general rule, you won't do well at work or school if your mind is thinking about the other stuff that you need to get done afterward. Therefore, seeking the help of others makes sure that you do well at both work and school, which ensures that you won't waste your time getting poor grades or risk losing your current job that pays for your education. - Get used to working on a phone or tablet.
If you can get used to working on your phone or tablet, you can get work done wherever you are. This means that you can respond to a professor's email or submit a paper during your lunch break or while you are commuting to or from work. You may also find that you are able to actually watch a video or listen to a lecture for school while you work out or while you complete a task for work. Instead of listening to music on your phone, you can listen to that video or lecture without losing focus on your task at hand, which enables you to do two things at once to save time. - Review your course syllabus when you first get it.
The first thing that you will want to do is review your course syllabus as soon as you get it. It will have all the due dates for homework assignments, group projects, and major papers. You can then reference your work schedule to determine if you may need to ask for time off from work or whether you need to start working on a paper right away. Staying ahead of your coursework enables you to get everything done without having to cram for an exam the night before or pull an all-nighter to finish a paper you forgot about.
If you have chosen to study for a license or get your degree online, you will have a lot of flexibility as to how and when you do your work. However, make sure that you can put the right amount of effort into your courses to ensure that you get the most for your time and money. This means managing your time properly and asking for help from your professor, your boss, or your family whenever you need it.
Originally published on October 28, 2015