Distance learning offers a great benefit in that you can normally study as and when you like and you are able to work at your pace. However even with these advantages finding the extra time for any type of studying during our normal busy lives can be very difficult.
Nevertheless it is possible to make some time available for studying. With a few minor lifestyle alterations and some careful planning you will soon find the spare time you need to be able to take on a distance learning course.
Let’s take a look at some of the things that you can do to make more time for distance learning studying.
1. Make a schedule.
The most important thing you should do is to make a schedule. Write a detailed timetable of your everyday life, noting down what you do and when you do it each day. Then make a note of all the periods of time in each day that are filled with non-essential tasks or are ‘dead’ times.
Some examples of dead times are:
Then replace at least an hour each day of your ‘dead’ times with study time. You may have to sacrifice some social activities or leisure time but you need to make sure that you still have some free time left too.
2. Make use of brief periods of spare time effectively.
Often during a day you may find yourself with the odd spare few minutes here and there. These brief spells shouldn’t be wasted. There are many ways in which you can use them for studying an online course or distance learning program.
Short periods of time can be used to:
Even if you are unable to do any of these things then you can always use these moments as thinking time and think about your studies.
3. Use time spent travelling for study.
A certain amount of all of our time each day is spent travelling and unless you are actually doing the driving then this is wasted time. When you are using public transport, or even in a friend’s car, you can use this time for your studies.
4. Multi-task.
Can you do some studying while doing something else? For example you could be listening to a taped lecture while cooking or reading your notes while cleaning?
5. Do your shopping online.
When you go shopping you spend a lot of time travelling to and from the stores and walking around browsing through the shops. Shopping online will save you this time and, if you make a concise list (and stick to it), will probably save you some money too.
6. Cut down on your sleep time.
Most people only need eight sleep a night so if you are getting more then that and need more study time, think about cutting back on your sleep. Just by getting up 30 minutes earlier and going to bed 30 minutes later you will be able to create more time for studying.
7. Make use of portable media.
Always carry about with you a tape recorder or personal cd player, pen, notepad and a mobile phone with an internet connection. That way if you find yourself with an unexpected spare few minutes you can use them effectively for studying.
8. Get some support from your family.
It’s hard to concentrate on studying for a distance learning program when you have a demanding family around you. Ask your partner, children, brothers and sisters to give you some time on your own so that you can study in peace. Ask them not to distract you for a set amount of time, then when your studying time is over maybe you could all do something fun together.
By following some, or all of these suggestions, you will be able to find the time you need to study for a distance learning course.