by Bethany Stricker, Charis midwifery student, CD, student midwife

Bethany working on her Charis midwifery academics

I don’t know about you, but everyone who I have ever talked to in distance programs, whether doula, midwifery, or lactation counseling, has difficulty making time to study, meet goals, and stay motivated. There is quite a learning curve as we begin our studies. How overwhelming to attempt to fit one more thing into our lives, as much as we love it and are excited to begin! The desire to learn is there but life is always getting in the way: clients call, emergencies happen, facebook is tempting, the kids demand our attention, and the looming laundry pile reminds us of all of the other things we need to do, besides study. How are we supposed to make time and not stress about what we are supposed to be doing and what we aren’t doing? Most of us feel exasperated with ourselves believing a lack of discipline to be the root of our problem; the truth is, just “trying harder” is not the answer. Changing the way we study, is. Below is a list of tips and tricks I have compiled, with the input of my peer partners, over the course of my students years as I have tried to make the most out of my study time.

1) Set Goals

It is important to begin with goals, then form a loose schedule to meet those goals, and then figure out what may be barriers from meeting those goals. Let’s begin with making your goals. When do you want to be finished with your program? S.M.A.R.T. goals are very helpful:

S - specific, significant, stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, time-bound, timely, tangible, trackable

How quickly you plan to complete your course is up to you, but keep the above in mind- they should be specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic, time-based, etc. Most doula, childbirth educator and midwifery students should aim for completing their academics in 3 years. It may take more or less time for some and it may not count clinical work, but having a goal will help you create your schedule and a plan for productive study time.

An example; let’s say you want to complete your studies in 3 years. There are 19 modules, plus anatomy and physiology in the Charis midwifery academics program, 12 modules in the Charis doula/childbirth educator program.  Each module will take 1-3 months, (less for the doula/CE program, more for the midwifery program) and A&P usually takes 4 months, spending an average, of at least 20 hours a week on school. You would have some wiggle room as it allows for births and on call time plus vacations and other times you may want to take a break from studying.

List your modules, estimate a time it will take.  You can see the breakdown in months and goals.  Ask past and present students how much time each module took for them. You can begin to figure out how much each class or module might take you. Plan accordingly.

I listed all my modules, here is a partial example:

Module 1 - 1 month

Module 2 - 1 month

Module 3 - 1 month

Module 4 - 1 month

Module 5 - 1 month

Module 6 - 2 months

It is likely your schedule will look different, but the important thing is to have one. Just having something written down will help you manage your time and see the big picture. It is so easy to think “I will be a midwife….so long from now! It doesn’t matter if I do xyz today instead of study!” In this area, the slow and steady truly do win the race. It is slow going, or seems that way, but 3 years can fly by very quickly. You must use each day well or 6 months will pass and you will wonder why your module isn’t finished. Even if you only study for 30 minutes each day, it will help you progress.

Once you have established goals for finishing your studies, break them down into smaller steps: how much do you need to study each month, each week, and each day? 20 hours a week, as mentioned above, is average for someone wanting to complete the midwifery academics course in 3 years. 10 hours a week would be plenty for the doula/childbirth educator course for someone who wants to complete it in 18 months. For me, on the midwifery track, 3.5 hours per day, 6 days a week, I need, with more on the weekends if I miss a day or have a birth. If catch myself falling behind schedule, and realize I am not going to complete a module by my goal date, I may have to work more on a particular day to finish my module this week or this month. As you complete work, you may find your schedule adjusting as you figure out what works for you. Some modules may take more or less time than you anticipate. That is ok! Keep changing your schedule till you find what is best for you. Remember: “There are only four ways to make change- start doing something new, stop what we are currently doing, do more of what we are currently doing, or less of what we are currently doing.” Keep your momentum going! Don’t stop!

2) Set A Time

Next, figure out when your study time is going to be each day. Most of us need a flexible routine that can be easily interrupted by family or births. I do well studying in chunks of time between appointments; an hour here and there keeps my brain interested. A friend of mine finds that she works best getting up at 6am, starting her school work at 8am, finishing at noon and then free for other work, family, or friends. She also finds that she must do her school work first and everything else later, in order to avoid procrastination. It won’t work to leave her school work till the afternoon or evening when she is tired. I know some moms-of-many in the Charis course study in the evening when all of their children are in bed, while others block off their schedules to spend time at Starbucks or Paneras every week when they have childcare available. Some will study all on one day where the rest of us do a little each day. It will look different for everyone, but the premise is the same. You need time in your schedule to study and you will have to to figure out where to find it. It won’t materialize on its own!

I am an apprentice at a busy birth center and I have learned that, if I have five minutes, I must do something! You can’t wait for a whole day or a whole afternoon or whole hour! If you are waiting on someone for something, take those five minutes and work on something. Look something up. Go read a page in your book. Take a book with you and stop getting on your phone. Give yourself something to think on when you exercise, cook, sew, and even shower!

3) Create A Space

Since you will be studying for a significant amount of time over the next year….. or five…. it is important to make your space. You need to figure out what works best for you. Do you need to be by yourself or is a public place like Starbucks or the library better? I often find the presence of other people to be distracting and yet I know I won’t get on facebook if I am at the library. Figure out what makes you the most productive and stick with it. Several students have told me ‘study music’, like this, is helpful, especially if you need help concentrating in a room full of people. In addition to your study environment, consider creating a space where all of your books are together and can be left out, if you need to leave and come back to them. This will save you time and hassle. I, personally, find that utilizing a standing desk helps me to stay alert and have more energy as I study for several hours each day. It also prompts me to move around and throw in occasional stretches, increasing blood flow and decreasing my risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Google it for more info. Standing to study is my personal trick for getting the most out of my study time. It doesn’t matter what music I play or what else I do; standing really helps.

4) Plot Your Minutes

Once you have your schedule, your space, and your time allotted, you need to figure out how your are going to best utilize it. Research shows that our brains can do a focused task for 30 minutes and then need a 5 minute break. You know that ‘brain dead’ or “my brain is mush” feeling you get after studying for hours straight? Using time this way reduces your retention of the information you are trying so hard to learn. Instead, try doing a focused task for 30 minutes, and then stretch, take a walk, sew, or do another hobby for 5-10 minutes; then you can come back to your focused task and continue with optimum productivity. This is called the “Pomodoro Technique” and students say it is the most helpful tool in staying productive over hours of studying.

Here’s how it worked for me today: My schedule included 6 hours of study time from 3-9pm, but I didn’t study straight through - that would be a sure way to waste time! I studied for 90 minutes, and then did 30 minutes of sewing. I studied for another 90 minutes, then did some squats and push ups and washed my car. Then, I went back to studying. If I had attempted to study straight through, I would have ended up on the floor, staring at the ceiling, totally blank on what I just read, or doing something mindless on social media with no concept of time. Break up your studying with short breaks and do things that are also on your list during those breaks. Research says we need to take these breaks to get the most out of our time. Most people need to include complete relaxation during their breaks or an activity that gives their eyes a rest or some exercise that gets the blood pumping again. You want to do something in your break that is going to make your next long study time productive. Bonus points when you can also check something off your list to help you feel better about studying for the majority of the time.

Also, Eat the frog! Do what you least want to do first. Avoid procrastination like the plague! Today, for me, it is that one encyclopedia entry that seems very uninteresting and has been starring at me for two days. It may be a bigger frog for you but whatever it is, find what is stopping you from starting and just start!

5) Eliminate Your Obstacles

After you have made your time as productive as possible, you still may have some barriers to completely productive studying. Do your hands hurt after many hours of studying and typing? Get this dvd and avoid carpal tunnel. Do you find facebook and social media to be distracting and an easy time sucker? (If you are like me, you may not have the discipline to avoid them completely.) Check out these apps that can block chosen websites for 30 minutes or all day, totally up to you. My productivity has gone up significantly by installing and using these apps. At the end of the day, do you find you were not as productive as you had wanted? Review what you want to do the next day and how you will do it differently than today. Consider some great morning and evening routines. Using a standing desk, blocking facebook, and “pomodoro-ing” is what helps me; a great morning routine will be just the ticket for others.

If you are having coaching calls, keep a running document of questions for your coach. This will help you to have more meaningful coaching calls and have more of your questions answered. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn and it will lead to more conversations on different subjects that you had not thought to ask about. I keep a running document of questions, it is easy to find on my computer and I can type faster than I can write. I think this is better than keeping a piece of paper and writing down your questions. It is likely that you will not write down as many questions and you may lose the piece of paper.

6) Fuel Your Brain

Also, consider what might be physically detrimental to your study time. Do you drink or eat a lot caffeine, sugar, or simple carbohydrates? That will cause wild blood sugar cravings and if your blood sugar crashes when you are trying to study, nothing else you do will help. A whole foods diet with a balanced amount of protein, fat and, complex carbohydrates will keep your blood sugar stable and your energy optimal as you study. Keep healthy snacks on hand to prevent reaching for the sugar or coffee. Also, don’t forget to stay hydrated! Dehydration is harmful to the body and also makes study time more difficult. If all else fails, take a walk around the block and spend some time in the sun. How long was it since you had one a pomodoro break? Don’t be afraid to take an adaptogenic herb or homeopathic remedy either. If you have damaged adrenals or high stress, either of these things may help you get the most out of your study time over the long term.

7) Remember Your Purpose

Lastly, remember why you are doing what you are doing. The world desperately needs more doulas, lactation consultants, childbirth educators, and midwives. We love and respect life and that is why we encourage parents to make informed decisions for themselves and their children. God’s heart is inherently pro-life and we want to offer services that encourage parents to develop that heart too. It is easy to become discouraged as we study hour after hour, week after week, and wonder if we will ever reach our goals. Don’t forget that this work is important; doing any task God’s way is important and changes the world. Some of us will begin our course of study and not finish because the Lord had other plans. This is when we must remember that we will bring him glory when we trust him, even in the hard times that we don’t understand. Others of us will have barriers to study or apprenticeship that will make us want to quit! We will have to persevere even when it isn’t easy. This is when we must remember it is not just about the goal, but also what the Lord is doing in our hearts and the hearts of others. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) The biggest tip of all is, pray. The 21st century is different from many others in that we have access to so much information and the standard continues to rise for childbirth professionals. We have many more blessings but many more challenges as well. Much more is required of us than in the past. The Lord knows this. We are pursuing a path that is outside of the cultural norm and perhaps without support from family or friends. Don’t forget to talk to the Lord - about the money, about your frustrating encyclopedia entry, about your dreams. Supernatural help will make your study time the most productive and the least stressful.

For those who hope to begin their study soon, I hope this article will give an encouraging, yet, realistic picture of some of the challenges you may encounter. For those who are in the trenches studying and apprenticing, I hope you find this article helpful! Any of the above suggestions can be applied to any course of study. Please contact me with any more of your own ideas, tips, or tricks!
 

Bethany Stricker has been enrolled in Charis Childbirth program since 2011 when she started with the doula/childbirth educator program. She then enrolled in Charis Midwifery Academics program to further her education and serve her doula clients better. After a few months, she attended her first home birth and the rest was history! She is now attending births as primary midwife under supervision and plans to sit for the NARM exam in the summer of 2016. At this time, she is living and apprenticing at Family Birth Services in Grand Prairie, Texas. In her free time, she loves sewing, healthy cooking, reading, swimming, and loving on friends! She can be contacted at bl.stricker@gmail.com or 571.230.7866.