Nervous

Maybe not a tip as such, but try to enjoy it the best you can! Going back to learning and being self-motivated is going to be hard, but think back to the reasons you signed up.

Enjoy learning new things and expanding your knowledge

Thank you! I feel excited but very nervous. I figure loads of people juggle studying with full time work so I guess it's all about time management

Set yourself a study schedule each week and stick to it ( she says having not practiced what she's just preached).

Hiya, I'm a University Lecturer and I did most of my studies while working full time too so have some experience. I'd say the vital things are: 1) Produce a weekly timetable (word table or excel spreadsheet is great) showing each day from when you are up and ready through to bed time, mine's 8am to 9pm. Fill it in with all the stuff that you have to do like be at work, collect the kids, dinner etc and then see what time is left over for non essential stuff. You then have to decide what you'll do in this left over time, watch TV, read, study etc and the amount of hours you study will depend on how much you are studying, if it's one module then about 4/5 hours is good, and the speed you study at. Once you've decided how many hours you're going to do and when, block them out on your timetable and do not let anyone talk you into doing anything else during those times. Your family and friends will soon adjust to you being unavailable them and when your stressed with deadlines etc it'll really help to know you have already allocated time. Also print it and pin it up so the whole family can see when not to disturb you 2)Produce a list/table of however many weeks you are studying (my course is 32 weeks) and fill it in with when any assignments are due. Now work backwards by 4-6 weeks and write in "begin assignment ****". Fill in the intervening weeks with what you'll do to get from one to the other like visit library, do online research, show tutor a draft etc and then you'll know what you are doing each week and where any pinch points are where maybe you have to say someone else will cook and clean that week and again pin it up 3) Take pen and paper to ALL tutorials and as much as possible attend them all 4) If it helps you stay calm and stay stress free, feel free to ask your tutor question after question such as 'am I doing it right', 'is it the right level' 'what else can I do/add' etc, we love it, honestly it is NEVER a hassle 5) Read everything you are given especially about how to submit work. Double check marking criteria and assessment details to make sure you have covered everything that you have to. I am constantly amazed by the amount of students who don't do things as per instructed like submit paper instead of an electronic copy or submit a .doc file instead of .pdf or simply miss out a huge part of what they should be discussing Hope this helps, feel free to ask me anything and good luck :-)

Thank you ladies. My first face to face tutorial is the day after my birthday! I'm so excited now! Going to have to get myself a calender and few bits to get myself organised! Thank you for the tips! I will take them all on board ?

Accept its exciting but will be hard till you get into it. You will settle into a routine. Make yourself unavailable during study time. No interruptions. With no kids that's easier. Turn your phone off. Once you get into the swing of it enjoy it. And when you're not enjoying it remind yourself why yours doing it. As each bit is comets kick your heels up and give yourself a treat like a weekend in Spain with me! ????

Late to the party as usual! I have no advice but I am starting my course at the end of this month too!! All the very best of luck to you!

Good luck! I'm currently doing a Masters dissertation around work at the moment, and it's a bit of a nightmare staying motivated. Definitely try to get into a routine and try to minimise any distractions in the room you're working in.

My first tutorial is the 6 (a day after my birthday!) im so excited and we are going to see wicked at the west end after! I booked the week off so I can sort my spare room and get properly set up ready to study! Never thought I would be this excited to write essays again!

Just wanted to say thank you ladies for your advice and encouragement! I survived my first tutorial and have already answered the first part of my assessment so already ahead! Manically cramming in so I'm ahead as I'm going to miss the next tutorial due to work but absolutely loving learning again!

Yay! Excellent!

Enjoy it. Studying is very rewarding but it is tough to fit it around work. When I did my courses I found that the last thing I wanted to do on an evening was sit down and study after a full day at work. So I used to do most of work on weekends and with the odd day's holiday. With the last module I did (which was the one I was dreading the most as I had it learn loads of maths formulas) I got up an hour early every week morning so I could study before work. This was my dad's tip as it's what he did when he did his degree while working and me and my brother being young kids. I found it easier this way as I had a set time every day but it didn't take up my free time. Also don't beat yourself up if you feel you need to give your set time a miss occasionally. If you're too tired your study won't be effective.

I hope everything is going well for you're studies, I'm sure it is a great step forward in your future career!