Online degrees may offer many amazing opportunities, but they can be stressful. This is particularly true for those completing a degree full-time. Full-time degrees usually don’t offer the space and flexibility to work while you study. Still, in exchange, you can graduate faster and get started with your next career aspiration that much sooner.
All degrees can be stressful, especially if you’re returning to education after a long time of being out of it. The good news, however, is that many health and wellness tips will help you beat stress so you can learn better and succeed:
Speed Up Your Education
You may be surprised at the options available that will help you cut down the time it takes to complete your online degree – even for those already taking it full-time. The simplest way is to use the credits you already have to fast-track your degree. Accelerated degrees are very common and can help you save time by simply avoiding retaking classes you’ve already done. The UIndy hybrid ABSN program, for example, lets you complete a BSN in just 15 months instead of the usual four years it takes for most full-time students.
Health and Wellness Tips to Beat Stress
When it comes to starting a second career, accelerated degrees are the way to go. From there, you will want to use these health and wellness tips to help you succeed:
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Improve Your Health
Your health is your cornerstone. If you consistently get a great night’s sleep, eat well, exercise, and work to maintain a balanced body, your mind will immediately have the support it needs to learn and challenge itself. Improving your health can be an entire process, particularly if you lived with unhealthy habits or dealt with chronic stress beforehand. That’s why you should always work on improving your health routine before starting your degree.
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Slow and Steady
A little bit of effort every day will go a long way. This applies to attending lectures, studying, and completing assignments. Work out what you need to do before certain deadlines and stretch it out so that everything you do is in small steps rather than large, daunting chunks. Stress often comes when we feel overwhelmed, so take small baby steps through your degree instead.
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Take Breaks
Take breaks and do more for your health and well-being during them. Work for two hours in the morning, then break for three in the afternoon for lunch. Go back and do another two hours on your degree, break for dinner, and then revise for a half hour or hour and then relax for the rest of the night.
Breaks are great for your productivity and well-being, but to get the most out of them, you’re going to want to rehydrate, eat a healthy snack, and try to get out and move to clear your mind and stay active.
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Vary How You Study and Learn
There are many ways that you can engage each sense while learning to commit information to memory better. You can test yourself by talking aloud; you can use visual cues to help you link information in your mind more easily; you can listen to create audio notes. Vary how you learn so that your brain engages the important information through many different avenues. This is how you can learn more naturally and keep that information committed to memory without the need for cramming.