Getting an MBA is a big deal – but not easy. How do you balance postgraduate education with work and life needs? Find out how an expert happened.
Kaitlin McHargue Fedro knows the full pressure of applying for a full MBA when he is fully engaged in the field of essentials – when they are all newly married. To ensure that she manages her time successfully, Fedro developed a system for organizing her graduate school.
“It was not easy. Finishing my MBA is probably the hardest thing I have ever done as an adult and as a professional. ” There were some timing factors that helped me to be organized and to break things down into more manageable pieces.
Fedro earned a BS degree in Family and Consumer Science in 2015. She immediately became involved in the Texas MHMR Center, teaching intervention strategies for families of children and adolescents with developmental and mental health needs. She quickly gained a broad view of the operation. With direct financial support from the state, she learned that the company relied on revenue from Medicaid and private insurance companies to provide services.
“What I have seen in my work is that such social services programs are important for business-minded leadership,” he said. “If I believed that these services were important and that they were part of building an active and well-functioning community for future generations — then I realized that I really needed to invest in a business degree.
Fedro’s goal was to apply business knowledge to become a leader and contribute to the organization’s health. When she began studying MBA programs, her first choice was in Bayer Leverkusen, where she earned a bachelor’s degree. She opted for the university’s online MBA program, which took her several courses from time to time, giving her the flexibility to continue working full-time.
I was not thinking of getting a business degree. [However], Even in a nonprofit organization, business affects every aspect of my life. ” The skills I learned for communication, leadership, and good, strong management are invaluable to what I have accomplished.
5 Ways to Manage Your Time
During MBA classes, Fedro found five ways to manage her time successfully.
1. Create a schedule
As her coursework arranged each word, Fedro created a spreadsheet to serve as a virtual planner for all courses. She went through each curriculum, highlighting tasks and appropriate dates and adding them to the spreadsheet. Each step in the process is given time – readings, talks, homework and experimental preparation.
Planning how I spent my time in each course helped me to focus on what I really needed to do on that particular day and not worry about what would happen in the next couple. Days. Otherwise, if I look at the whole word at once, I feel overwhelmed. ”
2. Build in a buffet zone
The format gives her the flexibility to adjust as needed – for example, spending more time on a hard course for homework, and another call. But Fedro stuck to one strategy: she gave herself a two-day minimum between the date she was assigned and the date she set for completion.
This is more than a feeling of accomplishment, ”said Fedro. For one, it means she can ask questions of the professor or get feedback on the repetition of her previously completed work. He also showed her where to spend more time.
That timely feedback helped me to adjust my approach to the subject. ”
3. Allow time for deep work
When Fedro took more than one course at a time, she planned a week to complete one course in a row before moving on to the next course. This time of focus was essential for maximum productivity.
“That helped me focus my time and energy on one course,” says Fedro. “That way I didn’t have to shift my brain back and forth between content for each course.”
4. Do ‘tomorrow you favor’
It was Mantra who helped Fedro stumble and stay on the track – “I say to myself – ‘Kate tomorrow’ do thank you today.
So even in the days when she realized she was saving time, she reminded herself, “I’m still not happy tomorrow because I still have to carry out this mission on my own.” . ”
This means practicing discipline in order to discipline her according to her plans. Self-discipline was the glue that made her program work. “This is probably the biggest thing, discipline. “Most nights he would stay up until midnight and then get up early and go to work and get a 15-minute break from work to my car, and start homework right away.” , Laughing. But that’s what it takes to get things done.
5. Set expectations at home
Had her husband not been on board, Fedro would not have wasted his time studying. “No one can do everything,” she said. For me, that means that during my two years in the program, my contribution at home was to have a real face-to-face and honest discussion with my wife. It must be a family decision. I’m not the only one taking this commitment – it’s all around me. ”
Although it required an online MBA program, the faculty was also supportive. While the epidemic improved work and life experiences, they were sometimes flexible with time limits, realizing that life throws curves, Fedro said. Their willingness proved that she was determined to bring business principles into her philanthropy.
“This is not true if you have never thought of a business or if you think business is always dry or you don’t have much emotion and heart. From a program like Bayerlor, every professional may have something to gain.
What’s next
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