Studying from home while you work: How this former student made it happen!
Susan Afoa is the perfect example of someone who proves it’s possible to study while you’re working.
Last year, we introduced the wonderful Susan Afoa. This hardworking graduate began at ITC many years ago, completing her Level 3 and Level 4 Certificates in Travel and Tourism before going on to find a job in the industry.
We were then delighted to welcome her back to ITC – this time as a tutor!
But never one to rest on her laurels, Susan has now not only completed her Diploma in Business online, but done so while working (and all while being a busy mum!).
Susan is particularly inspiring, and she proves how it’s possible to study from home while working. She has continued to do an incredible job at work as she earned a highly valuable Diploma in Business, and we think she’s the perfect example of how distance learning can fit into the busiest of lifestyles.
We had to chat to Susan about how she juggled it all. Here’s what she had to say.
Why did you want to study while working?
The reason I wanted to study was the fact that I am always looking for ways to work on my personal development, however in order to do this – I needed to study whilst working, due to having family responsibilities and commitments.
How did you manage to study and work and run a family at the same time?
While trying to be super woman and doing all these things at once, there were some important things I needed to ensure and prioritize to make everything work, not only for myself but for my family as well:
- Having good time management, organization and planning,
- Self-motivation and determination,
- Staying positive and consistency!
The main important thing for me as a mother was to keep on top of my time management as my time was very limited daily and to ensure I made everything work was by planning and goal setting my studies around my life.
Once I had received access to my studies, I created a goal around my main goal which was to complete my qualification before the due date. This led me to break down my goals into monthly goals, then into weekly goals and then daily goals. Every month I would monitor my goals and reassess them or if I know I have had a busy month and was not able to study during a period of time, then I would reassess my goals again and make my goals work for the situation to ensure I was still on track to achieve my end goal. All goals created were SMART goals otherwise I would never have gotten through.
Communication is also something important that I needed to do to ensure my family, friends, workplace and tutors knew if I had a situation or important things needed to be discussed. E.g. Asking for help from tutors where need be if I needed something clarified, or if I needed to focus at home for a few hours and I needed the children to let me remain focussed.
Things like that where communication really helps you and is necessary to do.
Another thing I would do is take regular breaks now and then in between studying but made sure I arranged the break time to be only what was needed and enough, rather than a long period of time that is enough to kill my motivation. E.g. If one weekend I was super tired and did not feel like studying, I would give myself a 1-day break and then compensate may be an extra hour or two on top of the next day to study, if I am able depending on my errands on the day. I had to make it work with myself and knowing how I get when it comes to procrastination etc.
What were the biggest challenges of studying while working?
One of the biggest challenges for me was limited time. You can only do so much in so limited time especially when you are working and sometimes that means sacrifices need to me made, e.g. miss going out with friends for dinner or attending family events.
Another thing would be having less energy especially as a parent.
For me, having all these things happening at once, it can definitely take a toll on your mental health, your physical health and emotional health so I really needed to monitor myself closely and having self-awareness really helps.
Do you have any advice for students thinking about working and studying from home?
I have so many but here are some:
- Be prepared and create a routine,
- Create realistic SMART goals for your studies, considering everything about your life, kids, gym, etc.
- Take realistic breaks in between,
- Be consistent!
- Treat yourself for the little things that help you achieve your end goal e.g. you completed one module, shout yourself a fancy coffee or something,
- Get advice and tips from friends or those whom you know have studied before,
- Be open minded and take on constructive feedback, don’t let mistakes or failures get you down throughout the process. That is all a part of life. We all make mistakes, we need to learn from them!
- Stay positive and remember why you started which will remind you of your end goal!!!
- Believe in yourself!!!!
Keen to study while you work?
Inspirational people like Susan prove that it’s entirely possible to hold down a job while earning a qualification, and the entire team at Study From Home is dedicated to helping YOU make that happen.
Get in touch today to find out more about the qualifications you could earn while you work.
Study From Home – college@itc.co.nz 0800 TOURISM (0800 868747) or https://studyfromhome.co.nz/contact-us/
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