Here are some quick tips that have helped me so far.
- Get a planner! I live by my planners, google calendars, and routine days. I plan “unplanned” time too, so I can still go on adventures, and spontaneously spend time with friends…it’s just a little less spontaneous than before grad school
- Exercise – I try to follow a workout plan as best that I can. My favorite’s to follow are Beach Body programs because I can watch them from my phone at the gym, do from home, or do from a park. It’s so so important to keep our body moving, even if we are sitting most of the day.
- REST – take one day off each week. For me, this is Sundays. Usually, it means my Friday nights and Saturday mornings are full of school. But I have found that working hard to get everything done before the end of the week, helps my off day be even more restful. (Oh – also, take power naps!)
- Use a timer – I use this for my niece when distance learning, but I also use it for me. My ability to focus seems to decrease as the semester goes. I have a smart watch and I set 15 minute timers to focus on a specific article, paper, video, or resource for that time. Then if I need to use the restroom, grab food, send a text, I do it after my timer is up, and begin again. After some practice, I can usually do this for a couple of hours now. (Which is crazy to me)!
- Find Homework Buddies – This does not work for my husband, he has to find his own groove by himself but I LOVE the company. Not always, but sometimes it helps to change locations, and have some friendly faces around to brainstorm with or bounce ideas off of. I highly recommend.
Not everyone is going to understand why you are choosing to give up your evenings and weekends, but it will go by faster than you realize. It might be a 1 year program, it might be 8-10 years. You can do this. You can work hard. You can succeed! I believe in you!
P.S. Check out my post on apps you need to be using while in school!