How many times in life do we psych ourselves up for something and then don’t follow through with it?
 
Well, that was me at my gazillionth attempt to talk myself out of pursuing graduate school. WHY cause needless torture? Are the responsibilities of a full-time job, motherhood, homeownership, and dog parenting not challenging enough?
 
Well, they are! BUT, well, here we are!
 
After miraculously finding the time and energy (who said coffee isn’t the world’s greatest!) to complete the graduate school application, letter of intent, and all other requirements, the waiting game begins! Then one day, BAM! The phone rings and you’ve been accepted!!!
 
First immediate feeling? Excitement!
The following more intense feelings? Absolutely paralyzing panic!
 
Then your brain tries to process it, you tell your spouse, tell the kids, and panic some more.
 
BUT now you’ve done it and you can’t back out. It is GO time! It is time to carve out a plan to be successful.
 
In my short time in graduate school, I have learned that being a full-time employee in a demanding role, and parenting while setting aside 15 to 20 hours per week for school work can seem impossible when you’ve already got an overwhelming amount of things on your plate. But poor planning produces poor performance, and we are not here for it!

How to make it? PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING!

1. Use your family calendar
2. Always carry your materials (laptop, textbook, etc.) with you everywhere you go
3. Set aside time to replenish

 
Using the family calendar is a key part of being a successful graduate student. BUT when you are managing activities and everyday life for three people and a dog, the calendar becomes a tool that manages time and also creates ease. Managing your calendar by including all the family events, inclusive of your own commitments, deters planning of conflicting events (UNLESS, you’ve figured out how to be in two places at once). For example, if Sally has a birthday party at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, you probably don’t want to leave all your assignments to complete on that one day.
 
Following that same example, if Sally has to attend a birthday party and she is going to be running around with her other toddler friends for 3 hours, that is a great time to pull out your textbook and engage in some of the classwork. While being a graduate student with a full-time job and having a family, the use of your time in moments like these will get you through.
 
I also found that planning once a week for the week ahead creates ease and deters the feeling of anxiety. Typically, on Sunday night after the house is quiet and all the schoolwork is submitted, I sit down with the calendar and my laptop open to the schoolwork outlined for the upcoming week. This helps me to carve out the times of the day I will utilize each day for schoolwork. It’s also a reminder of how much sleep I will get that week!
 
With that being said, while being a mom, a wife, an employee, and a student are all privileges that come with hefty time commitments and responsibilities that we are all grateful to experience, YOU are first. It is essential to be successful in any aspect of life (especially when you are managing so many different things) that you take time for yourself. Take time to rest; book yourself a massage, carve out time for a nap, make time to have dinner with your friends once a month, etc. – whatever that looks like for you individually.

Regardless of how much planning you may do and how much you are able to complete successfully, remember that if you are not well-nourished mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc., all the other pieces are affected. In the spirit of successfully managing the responsibilities of being an adult and a graduate student, YOU come first.

If you are able to, always remember that I say, GO FOR IT! DO IT! ALL of it. Whatever your dreams are made of, YOU can do it! I am.
 
– Louisa Anderson
 
Louisa is a Master of Jurisprudence student in the School of Law.