How to study as an adult
You’re never too old to learn. Even as an adult, there is a lot you don’t know and some people believe you never stop learning. Mindvalley believes in lifelong learning and there are a lot of other companies that offer (online) courses for adults. But if you have a busy lifestyle and a family that demands attention, it’s not all that easy to spend time on a course, even when it’s an online course that you can do at home. So how do you compare a course and a family life? We would like to provide you with some tips.
Make Time
One of the most important things you should do is schedule time. Even if you block just one hour a day, you can still get a lot of work done. It’s important to let your children or other fellow residents know that you are studying and they cannot disturb you during that particular hour. We advise you to choose hours where nobody else is home. Unfortunately, not everyone can find some lonely hours and then you need to make sure you are not disturbed. Make yourself a study room or at least a study corner and let others know they cannot disturb you while you are sitting there (except for pressing matters, of course). Turn off your phone so you are not disturbed by incoming messages, e-mails or other notifications.
Make a Schedule
Once you have saved some time to study, you need to know what to do. Always make a schedule of what you want to do have done before the hour is up. Your schedule should be realistic and don’t cause you any stress. The goals you set for each day or each hour should be realistic and you need to give yourself some room for delay. Before you put your course material away, check if you are still on schedule and determine what you want to do tomorrow. Schedules give you peace of mind because you know what you have already done and what still needs to be done.
Study together
Maybe you and your child can study together. You are working on your course while your child is working on his or her homework assignments. In that case, you can stimulate each other and provide some mental support. You can spend time together and get some work done in the process. You can show your children the schedule you made and compare them to theirs. By doing so, you teach your children how to study and help them out while you still get some work done.
Take Breaks
Don’t study for hours at an end. The alarm should also pressure you to take a break. People can only concentrate for about 45 minutes before they lose their focus, especially when you’re revising. After the time is up, it’s time to make some coffee, take a walk, or have another short break. Even 10-15 minutes will help you to reload and finish what you started.
In addition, remember that it is going to be stressful when you are just beginning. And it is completely okay to find to a solution that works for you to move that stress away. You can try meditation, play video games, or even take the help of online resources similar to Business First Online, for instance, which can give you some ideas to keep the stress at bay.
No Household Chores
Don’t let yourself be distracted by household chores. It might be tempting to get some household chores done without your children being around to distract you, but don’t throw those quiet hours away. Time for studying is the time that you should devote fully to your study. Set an alarm and don’t leave your desk before the time is up.
