UNICAF offers you the option to study for an internationally recognised degree online, at your own time and pace, while staying at home with your family, and keeping your job and the income you earn. In other words, with UNICAF you can have it all: international studies, job, family and friends! Yet, sometimes, having it all can be tiring.
When working and spending time caring for your family, how do you fit lectures, seminars and course work into a 24 hour day? With so much going on in your life it’s expected that, at times, you may feel stressed out. But being stressed means you will be less efficient in your job, less productive in your studies and less useful to your family and friends. While no one can relieve you of your course work, your job and other responsibilities, there are ways to balance your life. By organising all of your time in detail, even your free time, you can relax and handle your stress, which can create havoc in your life and cause you to fail in your goals. So, try to stay balanced and organised, introduce more structure and order in your daily life, and keep your stress under control.
To help you do this, we have devised a list of actions you can take:
- Schedule
The majority of obligations, deadlines, projects etc. can and should be scheduled. You can even add work, family and social commitments into your weekly schedule. Schedule your study time, so that you can concentrate solely on your course work during the allocated time, in the evenings or at the weekend; let family and friends know this is your study time and that they should not interrupt you, unless it’s an emergency. That way you have no excuse not to concentrate on your academic work, or procrastinate until you have no more energy to do it. - Take care of yourself
Eat sensibly, exercise as much as you can, sleep well and set time aside at weekends to do at least one thing that relaxes you. Even if it’s a mere 30 minutes playing chess with your best friend, having your hair done, or taking an art class, you will feel satisfied and ready to respond to all your other obligations, plus you have something nice to look forward to during the week. - Stay positive
This is probably easier said than done but knowing you are on your way to a more creative and financially secure life, should instil positivity in your thinking. Remain focused on your ultimate aim, of earning your degree and getting a more interesting, better paying job. This alone should help you remain positive and happy, despite all the hard work you have to do. - Ask for help
Nobody can do it all, so don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it. Your family and friends will understand, and their help will make your daily life easier. Even neighbours, work colleagues and parents at the local school can help out, baby-sitting or feeding the children if you have to be at work, holding up the fort at work for a few hours, if you need to be at home with a sick parent or child, bringing school assignments for an unwell child to do until they get better and return to their lessons. Be creative and polite and ask for help only when you really need it. That way nobody will refuse to help you out. - Review
Even if you have religiously kept to your schedule, life always has surprises in store for us. You or a family member may get sick and need extra care, something in the house may break and need fixing, your computer may start playing up. When lots of negative things happen it is normal to feel overwhelmed. Stop everything you are doing for a few moments and take a step back to review the situation. Set your priorities and take care of the most urgent things first until the crisis subsides. Then, you can go back to your diary and reschedule all the projects that have remained unattended while the crisis lasted. Give them all your attention to bring them up to date, and continue with your normal scheduling. This way you will make up for lost time and achieve your goals as you had originally planned.
It’s easier than you think to change direction and get the education that will lead you to a better job and a better life. Just visit www.unicaf.org to find out how you can apply for a UNICAF Scholarship. We will do the rest for you.
