5 Helpful Time Management Tips for a Graduate Student Parent in 2022 *

AD | The costs of grad school, university, or college can be quite worrying, especially when you’re a parent trying to get by and support your family. And after you’ve found some financial aid options or courses that fit your budget, you still need to carve out enough time to carry out your studies as well. Going to grad school can be fun, empowering, beneficial, and fulfilling but it also means having to juggle even more responsibilities. So, as a graduate student parent, how can you manage your time in the most efficient way?

What is a Graduate Student Parent?

A survey conducted by Harvard University shows more than one in twenty graduate students are also parents. That’s a lot of students who attend college at the same time as raising children. And the one of the biggest challenges these graduate students face after the issue of financial support is time management. So, here are some good time management tips that may help if you’re a graduate student and a parent this year.

Work Around Your Schedule

One of the best things you can do while attending college is to work around your schedule. It won’t always be simple or easy, but it’s possible. As you start your course or program, look for class schedules that fit gaps between your customary busy time blocks. You can even consider choosing flexible courses with online options where available since you can usually attend these from the comfort of your own home. These days, some degrees are available entirely online, so you don’t have to attend in-person classes at all.

Always Schedule Time for Yourself

When you start grad school, it’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed by everything you have to do all at once, and you may start prioritising everything else but yourself. However, this approach can be detrimental to your mental health. Juggling everything at once is tough enough on its own but forgetting self-care can undoubtedly make things worse for any aspiring graduate student parent.

It’s essential to make time for yourself, even if it’s just 30 minutes at a time, as “me time” can be highly beneficial for your mental health. You don’t have to do anything special — you can just sit down to watch an episode of a favourite show, or read a few chapters of a book. Here are 30 great self-care activities that take 30 minutes or less to choose from.

Use Your School’s Resources — Whether Online or Offline

Your school often has a wealth of resources available for its students, so take advantage of those resource centres since they are there to help you through your education. Many grad schools have helpful student resources and pages where they list various websites such as The College Monk to make things easier for you, especially as a parent.

Seek advice from the campus counsellors and tutors if you need academic or even future career advice. And always approach the mental health counsellors if you find your mental health in a tough spot. There are many things you can do to make graduate school easier for yourself. Some schools even have varying levels of financial aid available to make paying for your education less of a burden, such as bursaries and scholarships.

Invest in Tools That Can Help Your Productivity

Being more productive means getting more studying or work done in less time. So you can have more free time to de-stress or be with your family. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make life easier either — something as simple as fixing up your workspace or investing in a productivity planner could help. You might also enjoy using things like task management apps such as Trello, or to-do lists.

And if sometimes, tools aren’t quite enough to help you become more productive, you may need to work on your mindset and daily habits first. Try some self-help books that focus on productivity tips and tricks, and of course there’s always a plethora of videos on YouTube you can watch for free.

Establish a Support System

One of the best things you can do as a graduate student parent is establish a support system around yourself. And this doesn’t only mean financial assistance. Having someone you can rely on, even if it’s just to listen to you vent, can be a significant weight off your shoulders. Being able to share some of the burden, even for a short time, can make a real difference to your mental health. Especially if you can arrange for regular childcare, to make it easier for you to attend classes or do your schoolwork where necessary.

Final Thoughts: Graduate School Doesn’t Have to Be Impossible

Although it may initially feel impossible to balance everything on your plate, one of the most important takeaways in this situation is that as a graduate student parent, it’s also essential to make time for yourself. Taking care of yourself first makes it possible for you to take care of everything and everyone else when you need to, and complete your graduate studies too.

Have you ever considered going back to studying after having children? Or if you’ve done so, how did you handle it? Do you know any aspiring graduate student parents? What time management tips would you recommend to anyone considering combining childcare and college?

* This is a sponsored post – please see my Disclaimer.