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Updated by Jodie Taylor on Feb 23, 2022
Headline for MCI | Managing Your Postgraduate Workload
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MCI | Managing Your Postgraduate Workload

At times it can be difficult for all of us to manage the competing demands on our time and maintain a healthy work/life balance. For postgraduate students, this can feel especially overwhelming since – in addition to a demanding study schedule – you may have a family to care for, a full-time job to do, a professional practice to maintain and no one standing over you to make sure if and when all this gets done. For online learners, this can be an even bigger challenge, since you not only have to decide when to read, research, practice and study; you also have varying degrees of flexibility around receiving lessons and instruction.

But the good news is, that you're not alone. Time management is a skill you will learn to master as part of your degree and the learning begins now. Start by exploring this curated collection of resources on how to devise and maintain a healthy online learning routine.

Mastering Time Management as a Distance Learning Student

Here are some tips for optimizing time management as a distance learning student. Learn the best way to manage your online courses and assignments.

Breaking the Perfectionism–Procrastination Infinite Loop

Are you a victim of the endless loop of perfectionism and procrastination? Check out this resource which offers solid techniques to help you break free and get things done with the best of them.

7 Steps to Breaking the ‘Perfectionism, Procrastination, Paralysis’ Cycle

Whether that perfectionism stems from a fear of judgment or judgments you have of yourself, the anxiety likes to convince you that if you can’t do everything and do it perfectly? You should probably do nothing at all. But inevitably, there comes a point when that avoidance has gone on for far too long — and just when it’s time to pull it together? You freeze. And along comes anxiety’s best friend: shame. Shame wants to constantly remind you that the task didn’t get done, only reinforcing your perfectionism… and perpetuating the cycle.

The Perfectionist Trap

One of the greatest obstacles to a good life is the expectation of perfection. Other excellent video resources on this topic can be found here:
Procrastination and perfectionism • Brock University
Perfectionism holds us back. Here’s why | TED Institute

6 Ways to Deal with Postgraduate Stress

If you’re feeling anxious or stressed about your postgraduate study, you’re certainly not alone. In fact a study in the journal Medical Education said that mental health problems in need of treatment during the postgraduate year were reported by nearly 20% of students, with no gender difference – and lots of that is attributed to stress. Many will wonder where this stress comes from, while others won’t even realise they’re suffering. Here's some tips to help minimise your stresses.

And if you feel like you can't manage this yourself, you should talk to your mentor/lecturer or the student councillor who will be able to help.

Help! I'm a postgrad: how to combat the stress of doing a master's

Deadlines are looming, you’re broke, and student parties are a distant memory. Being a postgrad is tough at times, but you don’t have to suffer in silence.

Kelly McGonigal: How to Turn Stress Into an Advantage - 99U

Stress is a sign that something you care about is at stake—and that's a good thing.

11 Things To Do When You Feel Overwhelmed In College

Is it bad that I’ve only had three weeks of classes and I already want the semester to be over? No? Okay, good. Don’t get me wrong, I do love most of my classes and I feel like they’ll only get better and better, but I wish that were true of the amount of work I have to do! I definitely feel like I’m always doing homework, no matter how much of it I complete; when I finish one class assignment, I have to start preparing for the next. Ya know what I mean???? And if you have a packed schedule, it feels way crazier!

GradLife's Online Study Tips

The team at GradSchool often have conversations with people taking on a postgraduate degree online, and get to hear great solutions to the challenge of completing studies outside the traditional classroom environment.

Here are three “nuts and bolts” strategies for online study success that we have based on suggestions current and former students commonly make – useful things to know before you get started, and handy tips that can assist current students too.

How can I balance work, life and study as a postgraduate student?

We hear a lot about work-life balance in the media. There are articles on how to find it, some that question whether it even exists and others insisting that as we get older an unbalanced life may actually be best. Whatever your view, it’s hard to deny that ‘finding balance’ has become a modern-day 'Holy Grail'. Trying to find that elusive balance between study, full-time work, and family and personal commitments, can seem overwhelming at times.

Managing Reading Workloads

Reading at postgraduate level is not just about reading and committing it to memory, it is about reading and thinking about what you have just read. It is about forming your own analytical skills; forming your own academic opinion.

One of the differences between postgraduate and undergraduate study is the amount and depth of reading. You will never be able to read everything available, therefore you need to learn how to read efficiently and effectively.

Managing Postgraduate study with a Chronic Illness, Disability, or Learning Difficulty

Completing a postgraduate degree whilst managing a disability, illness or learning difficulty may seem tough, but it's far from impossible. In this post Chantelle offers some tips from her own experience.

7 Time Management Tips for Students

With exams approaching, you should be thinking about how to get better at time management and organize your days so you can strike the right balance between home, work and university life. By taking the time to arrange your priorities, you can give yourself the best chance of staying on track and organized during the exam period, which in turn can help reduce stress levels, something that can be the difference between success and failure at university. Take a look at our top seven time management tips, so that you can do your best at university and also find moments to relax and even earn some money on the side.

Finding Balance in Graduate School - Inquiries Journal

In the darkest days of the graduate school “doldrums,” as you wade through readings and midterms and papers, it can be hard to recall why exactly you decided to go to grad school in the first place. Here are five tips for balancing your grad school workload with your personal life.

The Distracted Mind

Our technology-rich world has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. While on the one hand we have access to information or people anywhere at any time, on...

SMART Goals - Time Management Training From MindTools.com

Set SMART goals to clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively, and achieve what you want in life.

Positive Procrastination

A communal space all about procrastination where you can share stories, insights, resources, good habits and tips for breaking the bad ones. Join in the conversation or grab some sage advice from your colleagues. IF YOU'RE GOING TO PROCRASTINATE, DO IT HERE!

Laziness Does Not Exist

I've been a psychology professor since 2012. I've witnessed students of all ages procrastinate on papers, skip presentation days, and miss assignments. None of them were lazy. Ever.

25 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset

People with a growth mindset, as opposed to a fixed mindset, interpret failures as learning opportunities, thereby catalyzing self-improvement.

  • Dr Jodie Taylor is a Senior Lecturer in Media & Cultural Studies at SAE Creative Media Institute, Brisbane. Through the lens of critical pedagogy, Jodie’s praxis-orientated approach to educa...

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