Getting the most out of your master's degree: how to strike the right balance between work, study and personal life

You would like to accelerate your career, but don’t want your personal life to suffer as a result. Spending extra time attending lectures, doing research and networking with like-minded people is no problem, if it yields the results that you have in mind.

How can you strike the right balance between work, study and your personal life so that you achieve optimum results? On this page we provide you with a few tips on how to structure your efforts and increase the odds of accelerating your career.

Tip 1: Create a clear plan for yourself

Good planning is essential to completing a master’s program successfully. Applying structure will help you to be consistent in continuing your efforts.

Choose regular days and evenings to keep free every week for your studies so that you can apply structure in the time you spend preparing for classes and doing research. This helps you to know when you have to free up time for your program so you can clearly communicate this to your loved ones. Clear planning also makes it easier to stick to this schedule and give your studies the attention they need to make the program a success.

Tip 2: Make clear agreements with your loved ones

When you participate in a master’s program, a few things will change in your life over a longer period of time. Your studies will occupy a large part of your free time during this period. This means less time for your loved ones.

To ensure this all goes as smoothly as possible, you need to make clear agreements with those around you. Only then can you structure the time you spend on your program without the risk of disappointment. Let them know that you are going to be taking a master’s program and that this means that you won’t be able to attend every birthday party or go on every excursion. By letting them know beforehand and making clear choices in line with the expectations you lay out, you will strike a good, clear balance between your work, studies and personal life.

Tip 3: Make sure you have a good dose of discipline

If you don’t have the necessary amount of discipline, not much will come of all your plans. In order to successfully complete a master’s program in addition to work, you need commitment. Be sure to never lose sight of what a master’s program can do for you in the long term. This will help you maintain your focus.

Visualizing your goal can give you the right motivation to continue. You could write your ultimate goal down on a sheet of paper and hang it up in your study, for example. This will serve as a constant reminder of the reason you’ve taken on this challenge.