Are you struggling to find a work, life and study balance? Or are you considering signing up for a course to work on your professional qualifications and feel worried about finding the time to fit it in around your full-time job?
Over the past couple of years, I have worked towards a number of professional certifications alongside my 9-5 job. This has been to enhance my CV for job applications and to gain knowledge that I can use to improve my work performance.
My journey began with the ILM Level 3 Certificate in Leadership and Management, involving remote evening classes for three hours every Wednesday over 24 weeks. There were also seven written assignments for this certification, so it required a significant time commitment.
Following this, I took up a Project Management Microcredential Certificate with the Open University. This 10-week online course didn’t have live classes but needed 2-4 hours of study per week to cover the extensive material. This one also required four written assignments and a learning log in order to pass.
Currently, I’m dedicating myself to self-study for the APM Project Management Qualification, aiming to be exam-ready within 12-16 weeks using the PMQ Study Guide.
What I’ve learned from these experiences is that balancing full time work and part time study is a significant challenge. In this article, I want to share some practical tips and insights from my experience (read: struggles) in balancing work and studying.
Contents 1. Accept the fact that you will have to compromise 2. Planning is essential for balance 3. Don’t let the work pile up 4. Practice time management and enforce boundaries Final thoughts
1. Accept the fact that you will have to compromise
Balance, in its truest form, involves trade-offs. Before committing to a professional qualification course or a period of self-study whilst working a 9-5, take some time to consider the compromises you are going to have to make. (And that isn’t a ‘might’. You will need to make some compromises).
The last thing you want is to realise, three weeks into an expensive course, that you are not prepared to sacrifice your lazy Sundays to carry out research and writing for course assignments.
Or consider the impact on your leisure activities if you work a 9-5 and are committing to a weekly three-hour class that starts at 6PM. Trust me when I say that those days are miserable because you feel like you have zero time to unwind. I don’t have kids so I can only imagine how much harder this schedule was for those on the course who do.
It’s essential to weigh these compromises beforehand. Are you prepared to sacrifice those leisurely Sundays or the freedom to do what you want after a long day at work? Being honest with yourself about these compromises upfront won’t just save you from having a sudden urge to drop out of a course a few weeks in, but will give you the future insights that you need for my next point: planning.
2. Planning is essential for balance
Knowing where you’ll need to make sacrifices – be it in leisure time, family time, or even skipping the gym – is your first step in planning effectively to lessen their impact.
Take my Sundays, for example. They’re essential for me to unwind and reset for the week ahead. When I was studying with the Open University, I knew there was a real risk of coursework spilling into my Sundays if I put off studying the materials during the week. To offset the risk of this happening, I would schedule in my study times for the week to fit in short 30-minute bursts during quieter moments at work or to set aside a couple of hours on a Saturday morning. These study times were blocked out of my diary and were treated with the same importance as any work meeting or catch-up with friends.
Then there were my Wednesday evening classes. I knew those days would be long, leaving me with no time for myself. And let’s not even talk about the thought of battling through rush-hour traffic after a full day’s work before class even starts! To mitigate against this happening, I made a point of not scheduling any in-person meetings on Wednesday afternoons. This way, I could either work from home or head home at lunchtime and finish up my day remotely. This made a huge difference to my energy levels for those evening classes.
Your compromises in finding the perfect study work balance may be different to mine, which is why it’s so important to take the time to make a plan that will work for you. Below are some other suggestions of ways to mitigate against compromises.
Planning Suggestions:
Healthy meals Meal-prep in advance for days when you are going to have no free time to cook so you can quickly heat up a healthy dinner. Fitness If evening classes are going to clash with gym time, plan ahead to schedule the gym for your lunch break or before work. Reduce travel time If possible, negotiate with your employer to work remotely on certain days, reducing commute time which can be reallocated to studying or rest. Multitask If you have a long commute, convert your study materials into audio format and listen to them when traveling to get some revision in during this time. Sleep schedule Consider waking up earlier to self-study in the mornings, leaving your evenings free.
3. Don’t let the work pile up
Once you’ve figured out the compromises and have a solid plan in place, the next key thing is to stay on top of your work. This takes consistency and discipline. It’s tempting to push a task back by a day when you’re feeling tired, but doing this too often can leave you with a mountain of work before a deadline.
It’s absolutely essential to stay ahead of your tasks. For assignments, pop their deadlines into your calendar and then set a personal deadline a week earlier to factor in some extra time for the unexpected. You never know when an emergency might arise or a flu is going to hit. Working towards an earlier deadline will give you some breathing space.
The same goes for tasks outside of study or work. Staying on top of everyday things like chores and grocery shopping is crucial. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where everything needs doing at once, and you’re squeezed for time.
Here’s what I do: I tackle tasks as early as possible. Say I want to get through a chapter by Friday; I’ll block out at least 1-2 hours on Monday to make significant headway early on. And for assignments, I begin early with a basic outline and then add to it gradually as I go through the course material. This approach is much more manageable than trying to do it all after finishing the learning materials.
You never know when something will come up to delay your progress – so the best bet is to get ahead when you can, or at the very least, keep up with your workload.
4. Practice time management and enforce boundaries
In order to really find a good balance between life, work and study, you need to be very strict with your time management.
As I’ve mentioned before, any time you set aside for studying should be as non-negotiable as any other commitment in your diary. It’s not just about scheduling time for studying, but about sticking to that schedule to safeguard your time from being consumed by other commitments.
Here’s a key point: if you typically work from 9-5, make it a rule to finish at 5 PM sharp. When you have study commitments, you need to resist the urge to stay late at the office. Juggling multiple responsibilities means you can’t afford to overextend yourself at work at the expense of your study time or much-needed downtime.
I’ve stressed in a previous article the importance of disconnecting from work emails when you’re not in the office. This becomes twice as important when you’re pursuing studies outside of working hours. Whether you’re in study mode or personal time, work needs to take a back seat outside of your office hours. Setting this boundary is essential in allowing you to focus on your studies or to relax and recharge.
Final Thoughts
Balancing work towards a professional certification while maintaining a regular job is a huge undertaking. The commitment level will vary widely – there is a huge difference in enrolling for a part-time Master’s degree when working full-time compared to signing up for a 12-week management certificate.
If you’re thinking of furthering your education alongside your job but aren’t sure about the time commitment, I’d recommend starting with a short course to test the waters. It’s a low-cost and sensible way to realistically assess how well you can manage the additional workload. You will also discover your preferences (such as online learning vs in-person classes; self-paced study vs live learning) without the pressure of a long-term commitment if it’s not for you.
From my own experience, I’ve learned that these preferences and tolerances play a huge role in this balancing act. I found the evening classes to be quite challenging to keep up with, which led me to opt for a structured self-study approach for my next certification. This taught me the importance of trying out shorter courses first to really understand what works best.
Also, timing is key. When signing up for courses – especially if they offer multiple start dates – consider the ebb and flow of your year. Choose a start date that falls in a relatively calm period. This bit of foresight can save you from undue stress and help you navigate your studies more smoothly. Summer is a busy time for me in my role, so I keep it free of any additional learning commitments.
What have your experiences been in trying to balance work and study? Please share any tips in the comments!