SPRINGER SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Finally, studying for a professional development qualification is hard work. Very hard work. Working full time and also studying at professional level is the equivalent of having two jobs at the same time. This means that you will inevitably become tired and listless and probably irritable, at least on some occasions, as you work through a long course of studies. The result is that your motivation level will fall as it becomes more difficult to study effectively in this condition.

The first, most important, most critical, step is to recognise and accept that maintaining a consistent level of motivation is impossible. The second, equally important step is to accept that although motivation levels will fluctuate, the extremes of high and low can be controlled. The third, equally critical step is to plan and take positive action to counter the influences that will be attacking your motivation levels.

This action should be planned as early as possible, ideally at the very start of your studies, but it is never too late to implement such action. The specific actions are, individually, simple ones, and relatively easy to implement. The difficulty is in maintaining these actions, integrating them into your approach to your studies, to your work, and to your personal and home life, so that they become part of your lifestyle, rather than occasional, irregular activities.

Before you start your studies, talk with your family or partner about the course of studies and why it is important to you, and to them. In some cases it will be appropriate to take their views into consideration before you decide to go ahead. Be as certain as you can be, through research, asking advice, consulting specialists, that the course, the qualification, is appropriate for your personal development, and that it fits in with your plans.

Select a course provider, college, business school, university, that offers a format, a style, an approach, that you will enjoy being part of. Check with current and previous students. Ask colleagues and friends who have also studied by distance learning about their experiences.

• Set up a Personal Study Area, which you can organise and use for your studies. This should be a place where you will be comfortable, properly equipped, relatively undisturbed and where you can switch into “study” mode. Help yourself to avoid distractions occurring. Make it clear to family and friends, in the discussions you have with them, that once a timetable of study has been set and they have agreed that it is reasonable, they must not try to distract you. Turn off your mobile phone. Don’t have a television set visible from your personal study area. Take defensive action to prevent distractions occurring, such as contacting work colleagues before they contact you.
• Plan your studies so that you study at times that suit you, but also are times that don’t clash with times when it is important that you are with your family, partner, or friends. Keep your family, your friends, your partner, your work colleagues, your manager, appropriately up to date with your progress. Build in time for leisure and pleasure. Make sure that you take it! You will return to your studies fresh and re- invigorated. Plan your studies to take into account, and leave room for, working on tests, assignments, and revising for exams if required. Don’t set yourself unreasonable targets. If you can't study for more than an hour at a time, don’t plan to. Plan to work in 30 minute sessions. If you can't study effectively in the early morning, don’t plan to. Plan to study later in the day, or in the evening. If you can't actually manage to study for more than 8 hours a week, don’t plan to.
• Build some of your study activities into your everyday life. For example, if you are studying for a professional management qualification, read a business newspaper or journal instead of your usual newspaper, look out for business focused programmes on the television and radio, read business and management books to gain background knowledge and understanding, talk with your manager and specialists at work to see if you can be included, perhaps as an observer, in management meetings.

Talk regularly with your Tutor. Good distance learning providers will have tutors who are accessible on a regular basis, and who will talk with you in the evening and weekends as well, at least for emergencies. Use email, instant messaging, and the telephone, appropriately but regularly.

• Equip yourself with the best study aids that you can afford. Your PC or Laptop doesn’t have to be the latest model, or the most powerful, and it’s not necessary to have the latest versions of software, but if it regularly crashes, or you lose valuable work, that can be very demotivating. Make sure that you have good quality anti-virus software (this should be kept up current through regular updates). Losing completed coursework and other files and folders because of a virus can make the most sane person suicidal! Don’t risk it, our own experiences and those of many of our students tell us that viruses are a real, ever-present danger.

Keep fit and healthy. This is crucial. You need to take regular exercise, eat a balanced diet, try to avoid too much alcohol. It is well established knowledge that poor diet and lack of exercise has a very detrimental effect on concentration levels and on achievement levels.