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My Ashford University Experience

Vanessa is a 24-year-old stay-at-home mom, wife, military spouse, and veteran. She started her online education while she was still in the Navy. After receiving an honorable discharge, getting married, and having two beautiful girls in two years, she is still going strong with her education at Ashford University. She is currently doubling up on classes with hopes to attend graduation December 2009 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

Reader Question: What is the biggest challenge I face with online education?

So I got my first reader question and I wanted to make sure I responded quickly! 

As anybody that goes to school either online or on campus, we all have something that we struggle with while we are pursuing this goal.  For me, I think that my main struggle is time management. It's not good that I struggle with this as I feel that this is one of the most important elements of online education. It's not that I am lazy or anything. It's just that my issue right now is that I have two young children that demand my attention all day long. I do not have the ability to do much work while my girls are up because once I get started and get in my "groove" a diaper needs changing, a sippy cup wanted, coloring to attend to, or to kiss a boo-boo that one has recieved (and thats not including the housework or anything like that!). So for me, my homework time doesn't start till after 8pm when the girls are nice and tucked away in bed. Unfortunalty, most of the time, I am exhausted by the end of the night!  Which means that I am usually up way past midnight studying.

One idea that I have gotten and have been implementing is a schedule. Every Tuesday, which is when my school week starts, I look at my classes and calendar to see what I have to do for the week. Then I write down the days and the assignments that I need to do for each day. I try to give myself at least Saturdays off so I can just relax. Lately, it's been a bit hectic for me to stay exactly on schedule but I do try. Even though I have been taking classes online for about 2 1/2 years, I think that things have been easier when I make a schedule and stick with it. I have even made a schedule for my cleaning lists as well! 

So for all of you that need  some help with time management,  try to break it down into a schedule and stick with it! You could really see how much time, or not, that you do have in a day!

 

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Published Monday, June 08, 2009 7:26 PM by VanessaM

Comments

 

Nena said:

Hey Vanessa you seem to be a pretty busy lady. I can understand where you are coming from. I am 30 years old and I have a full-time job as a English teacher, that's teaching student's who do not know how to speak English to talk it. I'm married and have 3 beautiful children. The most challenging thing of all is that I started an online university to get my degree to teach english to other people after getting my associates degree more than 8 years ago. It seems like I never have enough time to do anything. Even though I have someone that comes to take care of my kids and help me clean the house, etc. it still seems like I never get anything done. I've tried the schedule thing but it doesn't seem to work for me do you have any other great ideas?  

June 9, 2009 10:06 PM
 

VanessaM said:

I think it really depends on what works for you! Like I said, I know that my schedule is not always perfect and I don't always stick to it verbatim, but it helps for me to write everything that I need to do down and go from there. Before I had a schedule, I would not do what I needed to get done, and then when I had an assignment due, I would become so stressed working so hard on that assignment because I had not started sooner! Or I would miss the amount of discussion posts that were needed.

You do seem very busy. I would recommend finding some time for yourself and

"schedule" study time.You are very lucky that you do have someone helping at home. Maybe if its feasible, have them stay an extra hour or two after work so you can study. I hope everything works out for you! Plus, since you are just starting back on your degree, it will take a while to get used to everything!

Good Luck!

June 11, 2009 9:56 AM
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About VanessaM

Vanessa is a 24-year-old stay-at-home mom, wife, military spouse, and veteran. She started her online education while she was still in the Navy. After receiving an honorable discharge, getting married, and having two beautiful girls in two years, she is still going strong with her education at Ashford University. She is currently doubling up on classes with hopes to attend graduation December 2009 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

Ashford University


Balance your job with online course work as you earn your Bachelor's or Master's degree. You'll find Ashford University, founded in 1918, is an ideal choice for you whether you're a working adult or haven't yet completed your degree.

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VanessaM

Vanessa is a 24-year-old stay-at-home mom, wife, military spouse, and veteran. She started her online education while she was still in the Navy. After receiving an honorable discharge, getting married, and having two beautiful girls in two years, she is still going strong with her education at Ashford University. She is currently doubling up on classes with hopes to attend graduation December 2009 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

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