Earning your Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree will give you the skills and knowledge necessary for business success, and it requires a lot of time and effort on your part. While you can expect this degree program to be challenging, there are ways to make sure you keep up with your studies and meet your educational goals. The following tips can help you succeed in your MBA degree program.
1. Create Long-Term Goals to Stay Motivated
Although setting short-term goals can help you stay focused on upcoming projects and assignments, long-term goals are a great way to stay motivated throughout your degree program. As you work toward earning your MBA, set long-term goals that can encourage you to stay on top of your studies. For example, your long-term goal might include opening your own business or being promoted to a higher position in your company. Reminding yourself of these long-term goals can provide you with the motivation to keep going, even if you’re feeling overwhelmed or impatient during your degree program.
2. Find a Hobby That Energizes You
Having a hobby that you’re passionate about can take your mind off school from time to time. This can be beneficial if you’re feeling occasionally stressed while working on earning your MBA. Your hobby also gives you something to focus on outside school, which can help your brain recharge and feel refreshed. If you don’t have a hobby already, think about what you’re interested in and find a relevant activity. For example, consider learning to play an instrument or take dance lessons if you love music or doing gardening or nature photography if you love being outdoors.
3. Create Benchmarks to Measure Your Success — Not Your Classmates
When you’re coming up with benchmarks for your MBA program, make sure you focus on yourself. Don’t set up benchmarks based on your classmates and their personal or professional progress. Doing that can easily lead to frustration and unnecessary stress, which can affect your ability to keep up with your studies. Your benchmarks should come from your own abilities, skills, and experience. Determine your progress by comparing when you started your MBA program to where you are now. Keep “before you” in mind as your benchmark rather than comparing your progress to your classmates.
4. Find Time for Relaxation
Being able to relax is essential when you’re in an MBA program. Keeping up with class lectures, school assignments, projects, and exams can be stressful and exhausting when you don’t give yourself time to rest. Setting aside time for relaxation can help ease this stress and put you in a clearer frame of mind to tackle schoolwork again without feeling burned out. During your relaxation time, avoid thinking about school as much as possible. Ideas for how to relax include doing some leisurely reading, joining an intramural sport, taking a walk around your neighborhood, meditation, and soaking in a tub.
5. Create Good Study Habits
Having good study habits can make it much easier for you to do well in your MBA program. Your study habits can include where you do schoolwork, how you approach it, and how much time you spend on it. You might find that you tend to focus on schoolwork better when you’re sitting at a desk or table at home rather than lounging on the couch. Your study habits might include spending a certain amount of time each day reviewing what you’ve learned and making sure you keep distractions to a minimum, such as turning off your phone while studying.
6. Do Career Research
An MBA can open many doors for you in terms of jobs, so it’s important to do your research to narrow down your options. This kind of research can help you decide on a career path once you have your MBA. While doing career research, you can look up information such as the job outlook and salary range for certain jobs in that field. You can also look for information on what a typical day on the job is like and what kinds of skills are needed. Having this information can help you set career goals and choose a specialty within your MBA program if needed or desired.
7. Eliminate Distractions
While working on your MBA degree, you’re bound to face many distractions. If you’re attending in-person classes, you might be distracted by your commute to and from school or your fellow students in the classroom. If you’re in an online program, your distractions might include family members trying to get your attention or making noise while you’re studying. Your phone and other devices can also be distracting. You might avoid some of this by choosing an online program rather than an in-person one and finding a quiet room to study in at home.
8. Time Management
When you’re wondering how to succeed in an MBA program, time management plays a key role. Being able to manage your time helps ensure you complete schoolwork on time and keep up with class lectures. Falling behind on your classes or your schoolwork can make it difficult to do well in your MBA program. Keep in mind that managing your time might be more of a challenge if you’re working full-time and attending in-person classes. Choosing an online MBA degree program might make time management easier, since your school schedule will be much more flexible, and it eliminates the commute to campus.
9. Don’t Be Complacent
You might not realize that being an MBA student comes with many benefits. As an MBA student, you might have access to conferences and other events that fit your career goals. These can provide opportunities to learn more about the kind of work you want to do with your MBA degree. You’ll also have more opportunities to network with professionals in your industry, which can lead to more job or business opportunities. Take the initiative to look for these types of events to talk to business leaders while you’re earning your MBA.
10. Stay Positive
One of the most important tips for succeeding in an MBA program is to maintain a positive attitude. Although school might occasionally become more challenging than you expected, staying positive can help you achieve your goals, complete assignments, and ultimately thrive as an MBA student. Having an optimistic outlook helps put you in the right frame of mind for success in school, your career, and life.
If you’re planning to earn an MBA and are currently exploring your options, please contact UTC for information on our available programs. Our Gary W. Rollins College of Business offers MBA degree program options for full-time students, full-time workers, and anyone else who is interested in earning this type of degree. Our MBA degree options include a 100 percent online program and a program that includes a hybrid of online instruction and in-person classes. Let us help you find the MBA program that works best for you.
Sources
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/mba-prep
