COVID-19 is changing how the world works, plays, studies, and communicates—at least for the time being. If you’ve recently shifted into a remote work experience, you’re not alone. While sharing your workspace with a partner or your children is certainly an adjustment, there are plenty of ways to make the most of working from home.
Studies show that working from home increases productivity—and there’s no reason that can’t go for your MBA studies too. Since many part-time MBA-seekers work full-time jobs, we've seen many of our students use their newly remote work schedule to their advantage.
Taking on a full-time, part-time, or executive MBA in addition to your job may seem daunting, but these tips will help you maximize the experience.
We’ve all heard of Zoom and Slack for remote workplace collaboration. Why not go beyond the basics and incorporate tools to make virtual collaboration with colleagues even more valuable? They might be helpful for use with your MBA classmates too.
Remote employees save an average of 8.5 hours per week by not having to commute. Add to that the time gained by avoiding distractions from your boss or coworkers, and you’ve suddenly freed up a significant amount of time. You can leverage that newly freed-up time to pursue a Full-time, Part-time, or Executive MBA.
For example, since you're working from home, you can listen to a recorded case study or lecture during the time you'd usually be commuting. Or, inspire fresh ideas for the next class by listening to a business podcast while running or doing chores.
If you're suddenly working at home more due to COVID-19, it pays to establish clear boundaries for your work and study time.
It can be easy to let work and study bleed into each other when it's all happening in the same place, which is not always ideal for productivity and concentration. If possible, create a designated workspace and a separate, designated study area. If you don’t have that much space, optimize the area to create a distinction:
Ask family members or housemates to respect your space and time during work or study hours. Shut the door, use headphones to drown out background noise, and put your phone on airplane mode or in another room altogether.
While establishing a workspace is important for avoiding distractions, you may find that you need to mix things up every once in a while. Experimenting with your study and work environment can help you get the most out of yourself:
Time management is critical for productivity on the job, especially if you’re simultaneously earning a degree such as an executive MBA.
One of the best ways to stay productive at home is to create set working hours. The same goes for working on your MBA studies. This will help you feel more structured, and the more structured you are, the more efficient you can be.
Mounting evidence shows multitasking is ineffective. To make sure you stay focused on one task at a time, use the Pomodoro Technique (or a version of it).
Many people find success using the structure of the Pomodoro Technique:
If you suddenly realize you have something else you need to do during the 25 minutes, write the task down on a sheet of paper.
If you feel overwhelmed between the demands of work, home life, and your MBA coursework, setting goals will help you prioritize and make the best use of your time. Before you go to bed, write down what you wish to accomplish the next day so that you can jump right into work or study in the morning. You can also set weekly goals and adjust your daily list as you go through the week.
Not only do lists help you stay organized and on top of it as you balance work and your MBA program, they also let you see and celebrate your accomplishments.
Remember that change is the only constant in life, and while we can’t control events like COVID-19 and the “new normal” that goes along with it, we can control how we handle them. Your new work-from-home life may be the perfect opportunity to pursue the MBA program you’ve been considering.
Not sure which program fits you best? Compare MBA programs today!