How I Planned My Study Time to Earn Two Degrees in Seven Months

When people hear that I earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in seven months at age 60, they usually want to know how I did it. I understand the question. Seven months sounds like barely enough time to get comfortable with a new password, much less finish two degrees.

Choosing the right educational model was a big part of it, but I still had to make time for the work. There were papers, projects, assessments, and subjects that required real studying. Competency-based education allowed me to move forward when I could demonstrate what I knew. It didn’t come with a tiny assistant who wrote my papers while I ate snacks. That would’ve been a different blog post.

What helped was becoming intentional about my time. I treated earning my degrees as a goal I was going to work toward, and I organized my life around that decision. Here’s how I approached it, along with some ideas you can use to build a study plan that fits your own life.

Start With the Time You Actually Have

It’s easy to imagine a perfect study schedule when you’re feeling excited about going back to school. In that imaginary schedule, nobody needs anything, the house stays clean, and dinner somehow appears. Real life tends to have other plans.

I knew that finishing quickly would require focused effort for a relatively short period of time. I was willing to make school a priority, and that decision mattered. Before you decide how quickly you want to finish, take an honest look at how much time you can give it. Work, family, appointments, and everyday responsibilities all deserve a place in that conversation.

Your available study time might be very different from mine. That doesn’t make your goal less worthwhile. A schedule you can follow will serve you better than an ambitious one that leaves you exhausted by Wednesday.

An organization tool to consider: A weekly planner with space for appointments and study blocks can help you see where school fits alongside your other responsibilities.

Give Your Study Time a Clear Purpose

“Study today” sounds like a plan, but it leaves a lot undecided. Study what? For how long? What needs to be finished? It’s surprisingly easy to spend time getting ready to study and then discover that the time you had available is almost gone.

My progress depended on completing the work required to move forward. That meant being intentional about what I needed to accomplish, rather than simply letting another week pass. In a competency-based program, understanding the requirements matters because those requirements tell you what you need to demonstrate.

For your own study sessions, try choosing a specific task before you begin. You might work through a section you don’t understand, outline a paper, revise a project, or prepare for an assessment. You’ll have a clearer starting point, and you’ll be able to recognize what you accomplished when you finish.

An organization tool to consider: A simple task pad or dry-erase board can keep your next few priorities visible. You don’t need to put your entire educational future on it. Today’s work is plenty.

[Insert Amazon affiliate link to a study task pad or desktop dry-erase board here.]

Know When to Move Forward and When to Slow Down

One of the biggest advantages of competency-based education for me was being able to move through material I already understood. I had decades of work and life experience behind me, and I didn’t want to spend months waiting for a calendar to catch up with what I knew.

But I also had to recognize when I needed to slow down and learn something. If I understood the material, I could demonstrate that understanding and move on. If I didn’t, I studied until I did. Going quickly still required being honest about what I knew.

That’s an important part of planning your time. Some subjects will need more attention than others, and your schedule should allow for that. Getting stuck doesn’t mean you’ve failed at your plan. It may simply mean you’ve reached something that deserves a bigger share of your study time.

Make It Easier to Get Started

A study plan has to work on ordinary days, too. You won’t always feel excited, focused, and ready to conquer higher education. Some days, you’ll feel much more qualified to inspect the refrigerator.

Treating my degrees as something I was going to accomplish helped me stay focused on the larger goal. I still had to do the work, but I’d made a decision about why that work mattered. Having a clear reason to finish gave the effort a purpose.

If getting started is difficult, make the first step small and specific. Open the assignment, read the instructions, or write the first few points of an outline. You don’t have to feel ready for an entire afternoon of studying to begin one useful task.

An organization tool to consider: A physical visual timer can help you set aside a defined period for one task without repeatedly checking your phone. It’s an option to consider if you like having a visible beginning and ending to a study session.

Get this planner HERE:

Put Breaks Into the Plan

Eating properly, getting enough sleep, and taking mental-health breaks mattered during my degree work. I was working hard, but taking care of myself was part of making that effort possible. There’s a point where staring at the same paragraph stops being productive, especially when you’ve read it six times and still couldn’t explain it to a houseplant.

When you plan study time, leave room to step away. Get something to eat, stretch, or give your mind a little breathing room. Pay attention to whether you’re learning or simply remaining seated out of stubbornness.

I’ve already shared some of the study snacks that helped me through my degree work. Having easy options available can make a busy study day a little simpler, and sometimes simpler is exactly what you need.

Keep Your Workspace Ready for the Work

Your study space doesn’t have to look like a magazine cover. It does help when you can sit down and find what you need without launching a search party for a pen.

My desk setup was part of the environment where I completed my degrees. Having a place for the work can make it easier to shift your attention toward school, especially when the rest of your home is full of reminders of everything else you could be doing.

If you’d like to see mine, I shared it in My Study Desk Setup: The Desk Where I Earned 2 Degrees in 7 Months. For your own space, start with what you already have and think about what would make your next study session easier.

An organization tool to consider: A desktop organizer or set of labeled folders can help keep supplies, notes, and paperwork within reach. Choose something that solves a problem you actually have, rather than something that gives you another organizing project.

One organizer I recommend: ORGANIZER

Let Your Plan Change When It Needs To

Your plan should help you make progress, and sometimes that means adjusting it. A subject may take longer than expected. A family responsibility may need your attention. You might discover that the study time you chose looks wonderful on paper and feels terrible in practice.

When that happens, look at what needs to change. You may need a different study block, a smaller task, more support, or additional time with the material. A useful plan gives you a way to return to the work after an interruption.

My seven-month timeline was my result. Your responsibilities, prior knowledge, school, and program may lead to a different one. You don’t have to copy my pace to make meaningful progress toward your own degree.

Start With Your Next Study Session

I earned two degrees at 60 because I found an educational approach that worked for me and committed to doing the work. Planning my time helped turn that commitment into progress. It gave my goal a place in my life, even when reaching it required a lot of effort.

If you’re thinking about returning to school, start by looking at the time you have and what you want to accomplish. Then give your next study session a clear purpose. You don’t need a perfect planner or an impressive collection of office supplies to begin, although I understand the appeal of a good notebook.

If you’re still exploring your options, my free Degree Acceleration Mini Blueprint can help you think through guidance, choosing a school, building your path, working your plan, and using your degree after graduation. You can also read How I Earned 2 Degrees in 7 Months for more of my story.

Seven months were going to pass either way. I decided to spend mine working toward something I’d wanted to accomplish, and I’m glad I did.