10 tips for managing work, children and distance learning

The flexible distance learning program at the HFH · Hamburger Fernhochschule is particularly suitable for students with children or other family obligations. But distance learning, family and career do not come together on their own. We asked our followers on Instagram how they manage everyday life with a job, child and studies. Based on their answers, we have put together the 10 most valuable tips for you.

1. Support from your partner

The most important thing for compatibility is always support! If you decide to study at a distance, you should discuss this with your partner in advance. There may also be other carers who can be more intensively involved during your studies.

If Grandma knows what it means for you to study, she might forgo the vacation next year and instead be available while you prepare for exams.

2. Good time management

Good time management should be a constant companion, at least for the duration of your distance learning course. You should communicate the dates for exams and the associated preparation time to your family in good time so that you are flexible during this time.

You should also build in a time buffer for this. This way you can remain calm if the child suddenly becomes ill or care is cancelled. We recommend not only a weekly plan, but also a monthly and annual plan that can also be viewed by other family members or carers.

3. Open communication

Is your head spinning? You don’t know how you’re going to manage it all? Talking helps! These moments are normal and don’t have to throw you off track. It’s helpful to communicate openly not only with your family, but also with your colleagues and your boss.

If your team knows that you have an important exam coming up for your studies, they can certainly support you better or take some of the work off your hands. You would do the same the other way around, right?

4. Set priorities

Can’t see the forest for the trees? First, take a deep breath! Not everything on your to-do list is equally important and needs to be done immediately. Perhaps it will help to talk to your family or work.

Of course, you can also make a list for yourself and prioritize it using different highlighters, for example. Then the world will look completely different!

5. Let go of perfectionism

Done is better than perfect – do you know that? Then you are probably a professional in everyday life with children anyway. The more tasks you have to juggle in everyday life, the more advisable it is to let go of perfectionism and high expectations of yourself. Do you have to laboriously cook your own food every day? Do you have to reinvent the wheel in a new project at work or can you perhaps fall back on something that worked well last year?

A certain pragmatism will help you get through everyday life. Take a quiet moment and think about what is important to you, perhaps together with your partner, and where you can make compromises. This is a very individual decision. Homemade birthday cakes may be very important to you, while others reach for the frozen food shelf. And all of that is completely OK!

6. The child “works” next to you

Excuse me? Parents of babies and toddlers will be asking themselves this. But actually, from a certain age, your children can “work” alongside you for a moment – sorting building blocks by color, stickers, making crafts with the new glitter paper, building the highest Lego tower or doing homework.

7. Studying when the child is sleeping

Especially if you have small children, you will hardly be able to avoid this. Whether it is during bedtime during the day or in the evening – at these times you can really work undisturbed.

And we know that this doesn’t always work, because babies and small children in particular always wake up when it’s not convenient. The only tips we have here are to keep calm and have a good dose of humor. They’re only small once!

8. Avoid sleep

We’re not sure if we really want to recommend this tip to you, but we know from our own experience that in everyday life with children it’s inevitable that you’ll sometimes have to get by with less sleep. It’s important that this doesn’t become the norm and that you heed the next tip even more.

9. Conscious Reward

Job, distance learning, family – if you can manage all of that at the same time, you can pat yourself on the back and give yourself credit for it right now. Wow! To reward yourself, you should regularly schedule time for relaxation.

This could be a big summer vacation or a concert by your favorite band. But maybe meeting up with friends, going for a walk in the woods or enjoying a good glass of wine after work will help you in everyday life. You can find inspiration here in the blog:  Rewarding academic success .

10. Enjoy your studies

It is very important to enjoy your studies! We assume that you enjoy your family and your children. And your distance learning course? You should enjoy it too. What you learn should inspire you. If you have lost your joy, ask yourself why you started studying in the first place. Well? Is there anything coming?

Good to know:

The HFH itself also supports you to the best of its knowledge and belief: Here you will find, for example, the topic page ” Studying with children ” with many offers and tips from the HFH · Hamburger Fern-Hochschule.

We hope that the tips from our followers will help you and give you food for thought. We wish you good compatibility and always good nerves!

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