How to Balance Life and Studying an MSW Degree

Thanks to the internet, you can get a head start on maintaining a balance between life commitments and studying. No matter where you are, you can find a degree online that you can study from the safety of your own home. However, this comes with different challenges than studying physically. You will need to become your own beacon of motivation as well as your own manager. This means that you need to decide when you’re going to knuckle down and when you’re doing to study. If life was as simple as splitting time between studying and looking after yourself, there wouldn’t be an issue. However the chances are that you’ve got a family or a job to compete with alongside your studies, and this is where things get complicated.

If you’re considering studying for a degree, or you’re already overwhelmed in online content, we’re here to help. Below, we outline the demands of an MSW degree and how you can achieve great grades alongside it.

What Is an MSW Degree?

An MSW degree is what moves your social working career to the next level. Studying a master’s in social work proves that you are capable at the top end and will allow you to complete state licensure. By completing this degree, you can pivot into management roles and take on issues in the larger society.

Before you dive into a social work masters, you should decide what you want to do afterward. Each course will cover different topics and will put you in a better place to achieve your goals. Further, you need to think about the accreditation of the course you take – there’s no point slaving away to complete a degree that no one recognizes in the field.

These courses are extremely demanding, and you may find yourself struggling to keep up alongside maintaining your external life. If you’re in a pinch and need some support, we’ve got you covered below.

Mix Up Your Work Environment

Working in the same place can become stale and zap the motivation out of you. So, gather up your things and take yourself off to a new location. You can head over to a local cafe, plug your headphones in, and grab yourself a cup of your favorite coffee before jumping into your studies. When you’re ready to take a break, why not invite one of your friends or family members to come and sit with you for an hour.

If you’ve got a family to look after, this may not always be possible, especially during the holidays. In this case, you can create a workstation in different rooms so that you can emulate the feeling of different environments. Further, if it’s lovely weather outside, you can sit and work in your garden and let your children distract themselves.

Don’t Be Fooled by The Illusion of Time

When you first start your master’s degree, it can feel like you’ve got all the time in the world. When you’re standing in the shadow of this misconception, you will put things off and set yourself long chunks of time to complete tasks. However, you need to be on the ball right from the beginning and set yourself realistic but rapid goals.

For those of you with a family, this is especially important because you never know when things are going to crop up. For example, you may have a weekend of study planned when the children are at their grandparents, but they get sick. You need to be ready to alter your schedule at last minute notice. If you leave everything right up until the deadline, you won’t have any space to cater for emergencies.

Remove Distractions

You’ve set the time aside to study, and you’ve got all your material ready to go, but then see that the next season of your favorite Netflix show is out. Although we all live our lives on our smartphones and surrounded by distracting technology, you need to remove all of these distractions. Put your phone in a different room, turn off your TV, and set timers until you can use them again. You will likely need to use a PC for study, but you can set timed blocks, through extensions like Stay Focused, to prevent you from accessing social media for a certain period of time.

You’ve done all of this, but you’ve still got the children arguing in the background. Studying around your family adds another layer of distraction that you need to contend with. You should plan your study time for when they will be outside of the house or in bed.

Make a Schedule

You will be responsible for planning out your time and setting achievable goals. Grab yourself a calendar and slot in time for work and time for other activities. Look at plans you’ve already made and slot them into your plan so that you don’t forget about them. Once your loose plan is in motion, you can plan out a weekly schedule to fit around your study time.

If you live on your own and only have yourself to look after, this is an easy task to accomplish. However, if you are responsible for a family, you need to be prepared for your plan changing at the last minute. Further, you will need to consider your children’s plans before your own – you don’t want to miss any important school events.

Stick with The Plan

You’ve made your plan and now it’s up to you to stick to it, which is the hardest part. For you to successfully pass your MSW degree from home, you will need to develop excellent self-discipline. If you can master this skill, you can talk about it to future employers who will find it admirable.

Don’t worry family people, we know that emergencies happen, and you might need to bail on your study plans. However, you need to avoid putting your scheduled work aside for things like getting the groceries – the store will be open later. Make sure that if you miss a session, you pop another one in to make up for it.

Remember Why You’re Doing It

When you started your degree, you must have had a reason why you were doing it. Throughout the course, it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing it, which can dry up your motivation. Therefore, every now and again, you should take a step back and remind yourself why you’re doing this, which will reinforce your mind and boost your motivation.

If you’ve got a family, this should be the easy part. Once you’ve finished your degree, you will be able to attain higher paid roles and provide a better lifestyle for your family. So, the next time you are trying to squeeze the budget to get your family on holiday, let that boost your motivation.

Find Time for You

Between studying and other commitments, it can be difficult to find time for yourself to relax. This is time where you don’t have to bow down to the demands of study, and you don’t need to go and do the weekly shopping. Looking after your mental health is important, and if you ignore it, you will find yourself stressed and heading into burnout.

When you’ve got a family to manage alongside your studies, it can be more difficult to find time for yourself. You don’t have to give yourself heaps of time, even something simple like a relaxing bath in the evening can be enough.

Communicate with Others

If you don’t communicate with your family about when you’re going to be studying, you may find that there’s some friction at home. Therefore, it’s important that you keep your loved ones in the know about your progress and your study plans. This way, if you have to miss anything they will better understand why.

Spend Time with Your Family

We’ve spoken a lot about making time for yourself and planning your studies for when other people aren’t around. However, making sure you find time for your children and other family members is vital to succeeding with your degree. After knuckling down and getting your study game on, a day out with your family can be extremely beneficial to your health.

Remember to Look After Number One

It might sound selfish, but if you’re not functioning well, you won’t be able to get good grades or look after other areas of your life. So, make sure that you add flexibility into your schedule and don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the tracks – we all do it. If you’re struggling to balance your studies alongside life, you can get in touch with your tutor and discuss an extension that will suit you.

Studying for an MSW degree will improve your career prospects and allow you to provide better for your family. Make sure that you keep a realistic schedule, find time for yourself, and spend time with your loved ones. Social work is stressful, but the more you communicate with those around you the easier life will be.

How to Balance Life and Studying an MSW Degree