This post is to help you balance life as a mom in college while being a successful college student.
Being a mom in college has its challenges FOR SURE. But it does not mean that it cannot be done! You do not have to hold off on going to school for the “right time.” If you have dreams, you can accomplish them too, but sometimes other areas of life are sacrificed, such as your family time, social time, and time with your husband. There is not a specific time or age you need to be to enroll in college. I have known some women that have gone part-time and graduated with a bachelor’s degree 10 years later. The time it takes to get you through is not on your diploma!
We planned our daughter in the middle of my master’s program, and it was definitely one of the biggest challenges in my life, yet so rewarding. College does a lot for us women. It helps us have stability if our spouse loses their job, or we lose our spouse.
Managing school work to accomplish your dreams while taking care of a child is difficult to balance. You have laundry to do, children to feed, school work to complete, errands to run, and A LOT on your plate. When I was in my program, I worked full-time, completed an internship, 10-page papers, studied for exams, and breastfed, plus all the things a wife/mother does. Therefore, I know exactly what you are going through!
Now that I have graduated with my master’s degree, I want to share the system I used that will help you balance life as a mom in college and a successful college student.
How to Simplify Life as a Mom in College
1. Plan Ahead
Find a night to sit down and review your weekly schedule on the week to come. For me, this is on Sunday nights. I sit down and review appointments that I have for the following week and then compare it with the school syllabus (or schedule). This will allow you to create a strict schedule for you to follow between work, school, being a mama, etc.
2. Focus on what is current
I will admit this is a huge one for me! When thinking about our todo list + all of the shoes we fulfill it can overwhelming to add homework to the list! This is why it is important to plan. Focus on the current assignments for the week or the ones that are due at the soonest date. I like to separate my different classes on a sheet of paper. Under each class, I will bullet point each assignment that is due in the class and write down the assignment due date in chronological order.
Even though you may have 20 assignments between 2 or 3 classes, focusing on the ones that are due the soonest will help alleviate the stress of completing 20 assignments within the entire semester. I find it satisfying to check off each assignment once it is complete! You can find the printables I used in my college program here.
3. Create a strict schedule
Because you are a college student and a mom. You need to separate both with a schedule. Depending on your schedule for the week, you may have two or three days to plan for homework. However, finding the days/times you are available within the week will help you to use every inch of that time to bust out classwork or homework assignments. Once I find the days + times that I am available, I will write out my assignments for those days and make sure that I stick to my schedule. *Keep in mind that every 1 unit of a class is 2-3 hours you will spend on studying. Once I have school work and home times blocked out in my week, I find certain days to go through mail, clean, shop, and do laundry! Plan a block of time to balance your life as a mom in college.
4. Consider taking online classes
If driving to school is not an option for you or it takes too much time to drive + complete the classwork/ homework then maybe online is the best option for you right now! Many general education courses can be completed online (speech, English, math, history, psychology, sociology, and more). By the way, I just listed half of the classes you need to transfer for a bachelor’s program! Note: there are many bachelor’s programs online as well!
5. Remember you are a mom before all else
This is something I will admit I tell myself all of the time. Our children need our love, attention, and affection (including our husbands) haha. Even though you may be busy with an assignment, take a few minutes to play and laugh with your babies or listen to their silly jokes. I like to plan one day for family time that I make sure I focus on the people I do it all for. I don’t know about you, but I cannot concentrate if you don’t have a happy home anyway.
Now that I have shared these five tips with you on how to manage school as a mom, start looking up classes you want to take for the following semester! This has been a total game-changer for me, and I know it will help you tackle assignments while keeping up with everything else in your lives. P.s. You never know unless you try! 🙂
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