„Those who study extra-occupational and/or online must be well-structured and organized.“ This quotation is almost common knowledge when discussing study programs now. And, admittedly, before starting, I was afraid that the studies next to my full-time job, sports (at least four times a week), but also friends and household, would be too much for me. However, after one year at SIBE, I can say that this fear has not been confirmed and that I am often even able to enjoy a „study-free“ weekend day.
A unit always starts on Mondays. On Wednesday I usually need to upload my first post to the discussion board and answer posts of fellow students. Also, in some weeks there are additional assignments which have their due date on Sunday at the end of the week.
How does that work without stress and frustration?
Usually I already start my week on Saturday mornings. I go through the readings of the new unit and research content for my first post. On Sunday I often enjoy a day off, I only publish my posts for the unit in the evening. Since most of my fellow students start later in the week with their postings, I already have a little time on Monday to do some research for the assignment and to get an overview about the referring topic. For the rest of the week, I edit a few posts of fellow students every day before I get back to writing and finishing the assignment on Fridays. This proceeding reduces the pressure enormously, and I always have a little buffer, in case something unexpected happens in the office or I struggle with the unit’s topic.
Another tip certainly is, to precisely examine contents and assignments at the beginning of a course to estimate the workload of the individual units and weeks and align it with your schedule. This way you can always make provisions – which makes it much more relaxed and still allows some time off so that you can enjoy some free time despite studying.
Last but not least, I also learned to switch off all my devices to enjoy the free time and to free my mind!