Balancing life demands: 3 Ways to Blend Work, Life and Online Learning
Pursuing your health degree online is a great way to improve the quality of life that you and your family have. However, balancing life, work and school is an immense challenge. The good news is that it is possible, and when you come out on the other side, your accomplishments will make the struggle more than worth it. Balancing life demands is difficult but the tips in this article will help you find a way.
1. Put together a child care group
Finding child care is expensive. It also involves bringing people into your children’s lives who you do not know. If you are a single mother trying to complete a nursing degree, or if your spouse travels a lot or works during the time when you need to go to school, the expenses of child care can keep you from even getting started. Government grants are available, but the paperwork is often onerous. Instead, talk to some other friends who are in your situation. If you can find two or three other single moms, and you take turns taking care of all the children, you can cut down, if not eliminate altogether, the need to pay people to take care of your children while you’re putting the future together. If you have teenagers, you’ll still want to have some adult supervision in terms of checking in on them and making sure they’re doing their homework and the chores instead of getting into trouble, so having a group of other moms in your situation is a big help, as you can all help each other out.
2. Keep the focus on your health
When you’re burning the candle at both ends, one of the first things to fall off your schedule is your exercise regimen, and often the next thing to go is the quality of the food that you eat. It’s easy to roll through the drive through, grab dinner for everyone, and you can even be done eating by the time you get home. Instead of having to clean up the table, you just get the trash out of the car and hope the ketchup didn’t hit the upholstery too hard. However, you will find yourself increasingly lethargic, as the higher fat content (and the lack of exercise) take their toll on your life. Even if you only exercise for 15 to 20 minutes a day, that makes a huge difference as far as overall health and energy levels. Spending just 30 to 45 minutes shopping, once a week, helps you pick out convenient meals that are a lot better for you and your family than fast food.
3. Manage your time effectively
Let’s face it, when you get online, there are too many ways to get off task. Checking your Facebook feed or those latest Instagram pics is a lot more fun than doing those blog posts and course readings. Getting a productivity app for your smartphone or setting up an online timer to keep you focused will help you finish your classwork sooner so you can get back to the real people in your life, and build in some more offline “me” time as well.
Put these tips on balancing life demands to work for you as you start to make a new life for you and your family. Online learning is a terrific opportunity to make achievements more accessible. While the work-life-school balance is often difficult for busy moms, the rewards make it worthwhile.