I have for you 6 amazing tips on how to study having kids.
If you have taken on a journey of study whilst having children at home, this is undoubtedly going to be a very challenging time of your life.
One thing to notice: It is not easy, requires lots of self-discipline and lots of organisational skills but it is doable.
I have recently managed to pass my last exam and qualify as a Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA).
Having 3 kids, full-time job, husband and a dog (that has sadly past away summer 2019) it was definitely the most challenging time for me and required a lot of sacrifices.
The house was not always spotless, the dinners might not have been most creative and husband might have been neglected, not to mention a social life which was pretty much non-existent.
To achieve your dreams you must compromise and be determined as nothing comes easy, but I can assure you, the self-satisfaction and the rewards are well worth it.
These are my top 6 tips on how to study having kids:
1. Time management
It’s not easy to find lots of time to sit down and study half a day. Not only this is not a very effective way of studying but also nearly impossible to do when being a (working or not) parent. Therefore I recommend that you study every day but in short bursts of time.
For example- in a phase of learning a new topic, commit to studying half to an hour a day in the evening or morning when everyone is asleep.
Try to sit down every single day with a weekly recap of what you have learned in the last few days. In a faze of revision you can increase the time to an hour to an hour and a half a day and just two weeks before exam -two to three hours a day.
2. The key is to commit to a daily study
as this way, you will develop a habit and it should be easier to just get on with it knowing you have to study every day as opposed to choosing some days.
Alternatively, try to write up a plan on which day you can study and stick to it, but I did find that study every day works best for me.
If you need a bit of help, I have a study guide for you to download for free so help yourself to it:
If you use in-class courses that will be most likely half a day to a day of studying. In this case you should go through the lessons at home every day as above just with a difference that first you have a big chunk of studying and then you break it down and go through it between the classes. You should then adjust the time accordingly to allow enough time to get through the classes.
3. Use one source of study and stick to it
There is a lot of free material available online and I can recommend few that are free just for the ACCA or even CIMA so please comment if you’re interested to find out more.
In fact, I have reviewed most of them and if you would like to read on ACCA study resources head over to my post here:
ACCA study resources for UK students
If you’re using many sources you might begin to overload yourself with unnecessary information and find that you haven’t got enough time to go through several sources as opposed to one. Chose one that is recommended by other students and you can check which ones are good by looking at forums or reviews of students that used it.
Also, make sure you have all of the essential tools that are needed for study
4. Ask friends or relatives for help
If you’re struggling with time and can’t manage to study in the night or mornings ask someone to babysit whilst you study.
Again, if you only study for an hour, it’s not too bad to let your relatives look after the kids and probably they will be more willing to stay for a short while again and again as opposed to long hours.
If you, however, are in a situation that there is a lockdown and you cannot ask anyone to help you, I have another post for you:
How to study during the lockdown without family assistance
5. Learn to love to study
If you already do love to study – that’s half the success.
The things is that even if you like to study in general, there will be parts of studying that you won’t like so much or they might just be too hard to understand. Also if you have already failed you probably feel like you absolutely hate to study (I know this feeling too well).
Do not give up though, I have been there too… I have it all covered in the post here :
How to keep motivated after exam failure!
Once my fellow student said to me that she loves to study!
I was then thinking to myself- how can she love to study?
This stuff is so hard to pass, so difficult to understand and so much of it too!
But once I have thought about it I have changed my perception and this has changed my mindset completely. I have realised that I do too like to study, it was the failures that were putting me off, making me feel like I hate it.
But once I have changed my mindset it was easier to sit down and just study and then the Fail seemed like a stepping stone that I needed to jump through to get where I needed to get.
Try it for yourself!
You might be surprised just how a change in your perception can impact your mindset!
Update:
If you need help with a mindset and confidence, you might need a mentor or a coach and if you don’t know much about it, I have recently hired a coach to help me with the Mindset and Confidence. If you would like to find out more, check out my post in which I have interviewed my Coach:
An Interview with my Personal Mindset and Confidence Coach Beata Podgorska
6. Be easy on yourself when it comes to house chores.
I know that it’s nice when the house is tidy, wardrobes well organised and being a mum you try to do it when kids are asleep but the truth is- you can do it some other time!
Focus on the most urgent housework and leave the rest until the time you will be done with the exams /assignments /tests or whatever it is you’re studying at the moment.
I have this covered in my post on morning routine so please check it out.
You can also ask your partner /family member to help with certain chores so it’s easier for you. Prioritise what’s the most important in your life!
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed my top tips on how to study having kids and found it useful.
What works for one might not work for another so this is just a guide, however, if you have any more tips on how to study having kids that helped in your situation please add them in the comments below.
Also, let me know if there are any other studies relating topics you would like me to cover.
In the meantime, thank you for reading and good luck with your studies.
Thanks
