LIFESTYLE

5 Tips to Help You Make It Through Your MA in Education Program

While it’s always a wise decision to invest in your future, pursue an education, and ensure you have everything needed to go after your dream job it doesn’t mean the journey is going to be easy and worry-free. In fact, university students are often under an immense amount of pressure to do well and complete their program with flying colors.

This constant stress and pressure can be difficult to manage, especially if you happen to be a part-time student or one that is also working at the same time. Suddenly you’re trying to juggle many things at once, which means some areas may end up suffering as “collateral damage”.

If you’re currently enrolled in a Masters in Education program and you want to be sure you get the absolute most out of it to guarantee a successful career, these tips are meant for you. They are meant to help you weather the storms and the stress of the program, keeping you on track, staying positive, and most of all, helping to eliminate that stress you feel.

Consider an Online Distance Learning Program

One of the first tips is to actually consider a Masters in Education distance learning programme at a school such as the University of Exeter wherein the entire program is completed online. By doing your program online, from home, you are freeing up a big part of your schedule. You don’t have to worry about commuting to and from campus, which can eat up a lot of your day, and you also don’t have to worry about relocating so you’ll be closer to the school.

A male student pursuing MA

Online programs excel in offering students flexibility, which can better work with their own schedules. Those who have jobs while going to school often find this a better, and frankly the only viable option. It creates much less disruption to your typical schedule.

Now that’s not to say that you won’t be busy with the program and there won’t be lots of work. However, it can just help you with planning and scheduling and freeing up a bit more time than if you were to attend in-person on campus.

Also Read: Top Degrees To Pursue Post Pandemic

Embrace Scheduling and Planning Your Day

This brings us to the next tip, embracing the idea of scheduling and planning your day. If you’re the type that just kind of goes with the flow, does things as they pop up, and doesn’t really give too much thought about how the rest of your day, week, and month will play out, it’s time to take a different approach.

With schooling, there is always an endless flow of assignments, projects, papers to be written, content to be read, and so forth. If you allow yourself to fall behind it will quickly become a snowball making it very difficult to catch up. This will undoubtedly cause stress, which could have been avoided.

The best solution is to find a method that works for you. Where it used to be that people would rely on day planners and calendars you write on, today, you can make use of the many apps and tech tools that make scheduling and planning a breeze. Just be sure to pick something that can sync across all your devices so your calendar, to-do list, and planner are always available to you. This may require a little trial and error as you check out different offerings that can help.

Learn How to Prioritize

If you’ve never really had to prioritize items in your life, now is the time to get comfortable with it. In your MA in Education program, there will be plenty of different things you are juggling at once. It’s important you figure out how to prioritize items to ensure the most important, and the most pressing are dealt with first.

This is actually a skill that will prove useful in all aspects of your life. Even learning how to prioritize your schoolwork over that of socializing, relaxing, and other tasks in your life will be helpful. Once you do get into your chosen career, again the ability to prioritize will end up being helpful. This is the perfect time to really perfect your skills in this area.

Also Read: How To Boost Your Career?

Ask for Help When Needed

There may also be times that you run into issues and snags with your schooling. The worst thing you can do is glaze over those problems, ignore them, and put them off until later. If you encounter problems, the best time to deal with them is right then and now. That may mean reaching out to your professor, a teacher’s aide (if applicable), other students in the class, your study group, and so forth. The sooner you can deal with problems and questions, the better off you’ll be.

Downtime Does Play an Important Role

Finally, there is downtime or relaxation time. The fact is that until you can achieve a well-balanced life it will continue to feel stressful and you’ll feel that pressure. If you let schooling take over and be the only thing you’re thinking about at all times, you won’t be able to achieve balance.

Instead, it’s important to schedule downtime and really live in that moment. When you’re busy with schoolwork, that is where the focus needs to be. On the flip side, when you are enjoying a coffee with friends, some laughs with family, or even relaxing and reading a book on the couch – you need to stay in that moment and enjoy it. For many people, this is often easier said than done and will take a real conscious effort on your part to achieve.

On Your Way to a Successful MA in Education Experience

Each of these tips is designed to ensure that you make the most of your time in your MA in Education program, and ensure that stress and worry don’t get the best of you. Finding ways to stay on top of assignments, stay organized, stay focused, and yet still carve out some free time will be imperative.

Related Articles