Going back to school for an MBA is one of the best choices you can make for your future, but taking classes as a working adult can feel intimidating. With about 76% of graduate students working at least 30 hours a week,¹ it’s become increasingly common to maintain a career while earning a graduate degree.

That’s why it’s important to remember a few basics to make your return to school manageable. Staying organized, properly communicating, practicing self-care and building a network of support are all great tools to promote a healthy work/life balance. Below, we’ve gathered some of the best tips out there for keeping your exciting new school life under control.

Stay Organized

It’s recommended you dedicate 12-15 hours per week to school work, so knowing where those hours fall will take a weight off your shoulders. Keeping to a schedule and having your thoughts in order can put you ahead of the game.

• Plan your study time – By planning out your study time, you won’t ever find yourself in a situation where you have to cram for a test. Keep a physical planner, use a digital calendar app or check out the worksheet we’ve linked at the end of this article to get a head start on your schedule.
• Pick a dedicated work space – Picking a consistent space to work on online classwork can give you a feeling of control and help maintain your work/life balance. Whether it’s a home office, the kitchen table, a favorite coffee shop or the library, having a physical space for you and others to respect can help shift your brain into study mode
• Write a to-do list with goals in mind – As trivial as it may seem, keeping a physical (or digital) list of your short term and long term goals can help you remember them and also make them feel more concrete. This is accomplished not only through writing the list, but by repeatedly checking it.²

Time Management in Action

Need some inspiration? We’ve created a customizable planner to help you keep everything in balance.

Explore Your Resources and Communicate

You won’t be alone when you go back to school. Keeping your resources in mind and leaning on others for help will give you an advantage.

• Talk to your employer – You aren’t expected to share every detail of your life with your employer, but going back to school shouldn’t be a secret. Often, your employer can help by being more flexible with your schedule if they know you have obligations outside work. Some companies even have systems in place, like tuition assistance, to encourage employees to go back to school
• Utilize School Services – Most schools provide a variety of services to help students. These can include library access, extracurriculars, clubs, gym memberships and more
• Check out the Career Center – School career centers can help students plan for their futures and graduates find jobs to apply to. The University of New Haven, for example, provides online students with access to career resources, financial aid, military benefits, technical support and more

Practice Self-Care

It’s easy to get so bogged down with your to-do list that you forget to take care of yourself, but you’ll make far less progress if you burn yourself out with school and work.

• Take breaks – It may not always feel like you have enough hours in the day, but there should always be time to move away from your work and relax. And research supports that. The National Institutes of Health found that taking short breaks will help facilitate learning³
• Monitor how you feel – Feeling down can have a negative impact on how you approach everything in your life, including schoolwork. By tracking how you feel in a journal or simply taking an occasional moment of consideration, you can more easily identify when you need support or time away
• Consider Mindfulness Practices – Mindfulness practices like meditation can help reduce stress and keep you grounded. And there’s something out there for everybody — various faith-based practices, a surprising number of meditation and relaxation apps, and even hypnotherapy

Build a Network of Support

Surrounding yourself with friends, family or peers can do wonders for your productivity and mental health.

• Lean on friends and family – If you have close friends or family, remember to lean on them for support. They want to see you succeed and can often be great assets. Share your goals so they can keep you accountable. Sometimes, all it takes is someone else knowing what you’re going through
• Talk to classmates – The ones who definitely know what you’re going through are your classmates. Checking in with them to see how they’re doing and sharing your own struggles can be beneficial. You could even consider forming study groups, and you might end up making some close friends along the way
• Don’t forget about pets – You can always get true, unconditional support from your pets. Our furry friends are great for reducing stress. In fact, according to the American Psychiatric Association, 69% of pet owners say their pets help reduce stress and anxiety.⁴ If you don’t have any pets of your own, there are often resources like shelters and cat cafes where you can take advantage of the healing abilities of animals

Find a Flexible Program

Finding the right program is key to reducing unnecessary stress. Online, asynchronous programs can help you earn your degree at a steady pace and study from wherever it’s most convenient. Those are just a couple reasons online courses are becoming more popular; according to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 47% of students enrolled in college courses attend fully online.⁵

It’s also important to consider program duration, whether or not you will be attending full-time, transfer credit policy and how much customization you will have in building your degree so you can focus on the skill sets that matter to you most.

University of New Haven’s online MBA program at the Pompea College of Business can be completed in as few as 18 months, giving you the time you need to make the most out of your degree. And with the ability to transfer up to six previous credits and choose between three unique concentrations, you’ll have a head start in a program you can make your own.

Learn More Today

Sources:

1. Center on Education and the Workforce. “Balancing Work and Learning: Implications for Low-Income Students.” Retrieved October 4, 2023, from https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/learnandearn/.
2. Indeed. “The Benefits of Using Daily To-Do Lists to Attain Your Goals.” Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/daily-to-do-list.
3. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “Study shows how taking short breaks may help our brains learn new skills.” Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/study-shows-how-taking-short-breaks-may-help-our-brains-learn-new-skills.
4. American Psychiatric Association. “Americans Note Overwhelming Positive Mental Health Impact of Their Pets in New Poll; Dogs and Cats Equally Beneficial.” Retrieved October 4, 2023, from https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/positive-mental-health-impact-of-pets.
5. National Center for Education Statistic. “Digest of Education Statistics.” Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/.

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