Time Management: Juggling Life and Training

Our students juggle a lot: family, job(s), life. But that’s where our FastForward Career Coaches can help. Our coaches are here to help students prioritize their to-dos and figure out a solution to some of the common challenges to fitting training into their schedules.

“We talk about a student’s schedule at the beginning – time, longevity, support system, flexibility,” says FastForward Career Coach April Pannell from Blue Ridge Community College. “We talk about longevity in regards to their personal goals to how long they want to be in school, what our schedules look like and how it fits in their personal plan for life. Sometimes our programs fit the mold for students and sometimes they don’t. My goal is still to guide them to success.”

Whether you’re enrolled in FastForward or are just looking for ways to balance your time, here are five things that could help:

• Invest in a planner. Write down important meetings and events so everything is in one place.
• Think about your daily, weekly and monthly schedules – then go back to that planner. For example, if you want to train for a new career, and you know your work will slow down in three months, make reminders to start the registration process so you can start training when you’re not as busy.
• Schedule meetings with yourself. By actually adding meetings to your calendar for things like “Do homework,” you’ve already carved out time in your day to do it.
• Consider the buddy system. You wouldn’t train for a marathon by yourself – it’d be too easy to talk yourself out of not running every week. Find someone who can help hold you accountable, and stick with them.
• Know your resources. There are organizations and tools out there to help with everything from financial assistance to child-care support.

Given your current life schedule, FastForward may not be best option for you right now – which is why our coaches are always here to help you figure out when is the time to start on a new path forward.

To learn more about FastForward, contact your local FastForward Career Coach.