Succeeding in a Top MBA Program While Working Full Time
The single most important indication of whether you will succeed in an MBA program is not your aptitude scores, it is not your home life, it is not your GPA as an undergrad and it is not your 9-5 job title. Appropriately, it is your time management skills. This is especially true if you have to pursue your MBA while working full time and raising your family.
You will need to schedule everything. From the time you set aside to study to the time you will accomplish your “chores”. Unlike undergrad programs where your social life is a large part of your time at school, an MBA is work, work, and more work. You will be presented with materials that are a combination of case studies, theory and research. You will need to schedule quiet time for reading and for staying current in the events and economics of the world.
One easy to use, great resource for staying current n the business world is a subscription to an internet news letter. All of the day’s activities as well as some resourceful commentaries are emailed to your inbox for you to scan. You can personalize the content that is delivered so you learn about what is most important to you at business school. In the opinion of someone that accomplished an MBA while raising two small children and working full time, this is far easier than sitting down in front of CNN and you will benefit from learning the things that impact your studies the most with far less consumption of your valuable time.
Staying connected whether through your phone or your wireless lap top, is another way to overcome the enormity of tasks. Take advantage of any course that can be taught on line. Bare minimum, you save the travel time to and from school.
Create a calendar in your contact management project and share it with everyone. Have children that are old enough, put their schedules in the family calendar along side the adult’s tasks. This way, nothing will get over looked! Use a monthly calendar that is large enough to fit all of your family events, if you prefer paper. It will accomplish the same goal.
If you have children, teach them to do things for themselves. Four year olds can be responsible if you show them how. Have them lay out their clothes at the foot of their bed each night. Pre-make sandwiches for the week and freeze them. In the morning, teach the child to get dressed before they come to breakfast. After breakfast, give them their lunch box. They can pull a pre-made sandwich from the freezer, a bag of carrots, a juice box and a piece of fruit from the refrigerator and add some pre- bagged cookies. You can pack up your books and computer while they do this. It will make them feel good about their “grown up” abilities and you will gain a few extra minutes.
Personally, you will need to maintain good eating habits and exercise in order to stay physically up to your tasks. If all of this is overwhelming – then schedule each event that you need to complete in a day and at a specific time, and stick to the schedule. See your doctor about avoiding depression if you are prone to it. Prevention will ensure that you are able to function when things get hairy and exercise is a great preventative measure.
Most of all schedule done time and sleep well. Don’t bring your work to bed. This is a time to relax and unwind. Go to bed at the same time and awake each morning at the same time. This will put your body on a schedule and prevent you from being over tired. You will know that as your day begins, you have exactly the same amount of time plus or minus 15 minutes as you did the day before. Knowing and understanding what you are capable of accomplishing will make your day go more smoothly.
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