Morning, Noon or Night: What’s Your Ideal Learning Schedule?

You’ve got a full-time job, a family, hobbies and other personal commitments. If you’re wondering how you’ll find time to study for your first, second or fifth IT certification, you’re not alone. The struggle is real, but so is the solution. People learn in different ways and on different schedules. Keep reading to get ideas on how you can fit learning into your busy life.

Lunch-Break Learning

You are one busy individual! Your life is chock full of responsibilities, and you may feel you have zero time for training.

The truth is you are the perfect candidate for an IT training program. Why? Because busy people get the most done.

You’ll need to train on your lunch breaks, waiting at the doctor’s office and generally on the go, but it will be worth it when you earn a new IT certification and give yourself a competitive edge. You may just find that you have a little more time to train than you initially thought.

Learning Tips to Optimize Your Time

• Take study materials with you wherever you go in case a golden opportunity presents itself, like when your doctor is running 30 minutes behind schedule.
• Turn your lunch hour into a learning retreat. This is five hours a week of learning time. Just make sure to get away from work distractions so you can make the most of your time.
• Use time in the car or doing chores to consume content. Record yourself reading important material so you can listen later, or stream the audio from training videos while you’re doing other tasks.

Mornings-and-Nights Learning

You have a busier-than-average life, but you are rocking it! By training in the morning and at night, you can get IT certified in just a few months.The time will fly, and before you know it, you’ll have drastically increased your value as an IT professional. Perhaps you’ll ​find unexpected windows of opportunity for training ​as you prioritize learning. 

Learning Tips to Optimize Your Time

• Wake up a little earlier than usual a few days a week, and devote that time to uninterrupted learning.
• Compartmentalize your tasks. When you are at work, be at work. When you block out time for training in the morning or at night, devote your full attention to your studies.
• Delegate to others as many tasks as you can. This will free up more time to learn.

Weekend Learning

Your life is full but balanced, just as it should be! While you have plenty of responsibilities, you also have enough time to learn. You’ll be surprised by how quickly you learn and retain knowledge when you train for a few hours each weekend.

Part-time can be powerful! And who knows – you might enjoy training so much that you make more time for learning and get certified ahead of schedule.   

Learning Tips to Optimize Your Time

• When you are learning, turn off your phone. You’ll be surprised at how much more you will accomplish when you aren’t constantly getting notifications.
• Check your email after you are done learning for the day, not before. This will keep you from getting sidetracked with others’ requests during your training time.
• Plan learning times just as you would doctor’s appointments or work meetings, and treat them just as seriously.

Full-Time Learning

You’ve got a lot of time on your hands! This season won’t last forever, so make the most of it by preparing for your certification exam and establishing yourself as a sought-after IT professional.

Learning Tips to Optimize Your Time

• Get comfortable saying “no” to people. Your friends and family are used to you being frequently available. Set boundaries with your time and let others know that you will be a full-time student for the next few weeks.
• Don’t always train at home, and it can get monotonous and lead to distraction. Mix things up by going to different coffee shops or libraries to study.
• Set up a workspace dedicated to your IT certification studies. Use that space when working from home, and keep it as clutter-free as possible.

Whether you have just a few minutes here and there or eight hours a day for several weeks, there are ways to fit learning into your lifestyle. An IT certification is an investment of both time and money, and it’s worth it to prepare in the way that sets you up for success.