Choosing to take a massage home-study course to further your education has its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, you don't have to fight for the classes you want or the times you desire. And with some research, you can get any instructor that best fits your learning style.

On the other hand, with this new freedom comes the drawbacks of not having a rigid class schedule--and life's common difficulties can often take center stage over your educational needs.

You are ultimately the one in charge of how and when you choose to study. In the end, the only person you are going to hurt is yourself and your professional development if your studies remain incomplete.

When and if those other things in life begin to get in the way of your studies, home-study courses can begin to seem more of a burden than relief.

Learning how to manage your time isn't difficult, but it is a skill that can be learned with self-discipline.

Time management will help you prioritize your daily responsibilities and make time work for you. It simplifies your self-discipline because you always will know what you should be doing and when. By laying out what you are to do each day, you will be able to easily find time to incorporate home-study classes into your schedule and hopefully make your life a little bit easier.

This is the second of two articles that will provide helpful tips to enhance your time-management skills.

Time-management tips

• Don't procrastinate. Make your studies a priority. Your education deserves your time and attention, so whether you study a little bit every day or hit the books three days each week, make sure you put aside enough time in your schedule to complete your home-study program without cramming.
• Utilize time-management tools. The to-do list mentioned in the previous story is a good start. But also use other tools, like weekly planners or scheduling software to help plan on a larger scale.
• Keep it realistic. By creating an extremely rigorous schedule, you set yourself up to fail. It will cause the quality of your work to suffer and frustrate you because you aren't meeting your goals. Spread out your responsibilities over time and refrain from exhausting yourself.
• Set a routine for yourself. This way, you get into a rhythm and will refrain from procrastinating. Establish regular blocks of times each day devoted to work, personal errands and studying. And then stick to your schedule. You'll know exactly how much time you have to accomplish everything and be far less likely to let one of your responsibilities impede on the others.
• Take breaks. During the day, especially while studying, if you have large tasks that take a lot of time, don't try to work straight through for hours on end. Instead, break up the time with a few short 10- to 15-minute breaks.

--Jeremy Maready

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