If you’re still studying for a degree, and have decided to start up your own business in the meantime, or if you’re an entrepreneur who has decided to return to the world of higher education, balancing your time as well as your mental and physical resources can be difficult, to say the least.
On the one hand, your business comes first, as it is what puts food on the table and has the most immediate effect on your life and well being. On the other hand, your education comes first, because it’s an investment in your future, and can make all the difference in terms of your personal and professional prospects down the line.
Fortunately, however, it is possible to juggle these two obligations while taking them both seriously and not compromising on the quality of either.
Here are some tips on balancing your career as an entrepreneur with your education.
Study online
One of the easiest and most effective ways of squeezing in a degree and a life as an entrepreneur, is to invest in an online course, such as those offered by NEC Online.
When you’re working on your course online, you don’t have to be available at set hours every day in order to attend lectures and seminars. Instead, you can squeeze in your required reading and assignment work into whichever parts of your day are most suitable.
This can have various tremendous benefits, as the life of an entrepreneur is seldom predictable, and your obligations to clients might require your attention at different times, on different days, if not on weekends and during holidays as well.
The flexibility allowed by online study courses also allows you to deal with your coursework during those parts of the day when your energy levels are highest, which is likely to result in better work.
Capitalise on those early mornings
Waking up early and meeting the day at a run might be one of the best productivity tricks out there, and has been endorsed by many (although admittedly not all) of the most productive individuals throughout history.
There are essentially two templates for how to handle your sleep-wake cycle as an entrepreneur. You might choose to stay up late to work, then wake up late, and continue the semi-nocturnal life indefinitely. Or you might wake up early, go to bed relatively early, and live the life of a day lark.
(It’s not advisable that you wake up early and go to bed late.)
At night, your body is worn down, and distraction is all about. In the morning, the day awaits, and productivity typically seems much more achievable.
Wake up early, and use those precious morning hours for your class work, or your business.
Time block your days and stick to a tight schedule
Efficient time management is a must when you’re juggling two demanding obligations such as running your own business and working towards obtaining a degree.
One great way of managing your time effectively, if you have a relatively predictable schedule, is to use Google Calendar or a similar to tool to break your day up into scheduled “time blocks”.
This will help you to limit distraction and uncertainty, and make the most of every free minute.