Parenting while in school? Here's some advice!

Advice to parents of young kids who want to go back to school:

Schedule "just school" and "just kid" time whenever possible so you don't feel torn in many directions. Allow yourself to be fully present with any one task you have to conquer.

Break your time into manageable chunks and move throughout the day. I love the Pomodoro technique for this. Here's a link to learn more. https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique

Only have 15 minutes to spend at the park instead of 2 hours? Set a timer and do it anyway. That's a memory making moment! Snap a photo or two if you must, but focus on connection during that time together. 

Here is a picture of a toddler smiling on a swing with the words: "Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch." - Walt Whitman

Plan to set up a home office in a room that has a lock on the door, and (as long as there's another adult supervising) don't open it when you hear the inevitable chaos. In fact, have a white noise machine or play music loudly while you work so you can't even hear whatever is happening elsewhere in the home. Assume there's a dance party on the other side of the door (there usually is at this house). Here's a blurry photo of a child doing a cartwheel in the living room during a dance party.

Have back up childcare waiting for when kid(s) get sick, or when you get sick. So you can actually take the time you need to recover.

Take a speed reading course. There was a crash course available through the library at my university as an undergrad, and it was so intensely helpful. It didn't just teach me to read fast, but also taught me strategies for reading smart - setting up a scaffolding in my mind for the information I was about to absorb so I had an easier time retaining the information. Pausing and quizzing myself mentally on what I read. Skimming for big words and new terms to look up before I dove in, etc.

Picture of a toddler flipping through a chapter book.

Read the book How to Write a Lot.

It really helped me when managing my time. Read it early, not just when you're writing things up at the end. The advice will come in handy. It tells you about the psychology behind writing a lot. You'll be more productive with short bursts every day than big chunks of time less frequently! This was an essential strategy for me. Taking time to THINk about my writing every single day was so helpful with productivity. It was always bumping around in the back of my mind.

Picture of the book: How to Write a Lot by Paul Silvia, PhD.

And mostly...

Surround yourself with people who believe in you. It makes a world of difference.