Why summer can be the hardest time to study, and three tips to keep you on track
Starting from the basics when upskilling is essential for building a strong foundation, enhancing memory retention, and preparing effectively for exams. While it may feel slow, starting with the basic leads to greater success in achieving your career goals.
A common challenge we know our students face is staying motivated with studying over the summer months, and this is completely understandable. Having to balance your studies with time away on holiday, continued work commitments, or additional childcare when the kids are off school – or maybe all of the above – can make things more complicated than usual.
Not to mention, summer is a time when most of us shift our focus from indoors to outdoors, and from our desks, books, and laptops to enjoying the sun. From school breaks as a kid to summer holidays abroad as an adult, the majority of us have become accustomed to slowing down over the summer, or at least when it comes to work and study.
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As our Head of Education, Mark is passionate about ensuring Learning People delivers world-class curricula and training for people who want to launch or progress their careers in IT, Coding, and Project Management.
However, maintaining some consistency over summer, even if your study schedule looks different from usual, has huge benefits when it comes to staying on track to achieve your ultimate goal: to change your life for the better through upskilling.
Read on for advice on how to keep making progress without sacrificing a relaxing summer.
How to Stay On Track with Your Studies Over Summer
1. Adjust your study schedule
Remember, your study plans can be adjusted according to your life and commitments – that’s a key benefit of self-paced, online learning.
It’s fine if your study schedule looks different from normal over summer, as long as you’re planning in at least some time to keep learning. Our students are all invited to a study planning session upon enrolment, and encouraged to adjust their study plan when needed.
You shouldn’t feel bad about leaving your laptop at home when you go on a vacation; our advice would be to book in your last study sessions before you go away, and then the first one for when you get back, so you’ll easily get back into the rhythm.
You could even set a lighter goal for the summer; if you can’t dedicate as many hours to learning, maybe you could set a smaller goal to book the exam for a specific certification. Then you can still feel a sense of achievement once autumn arrives.
2. Change up your setting
If sitting at home indoors is starting to feel demotivating, you could try studying in a new setting. Sitting in a bright, sunny cafe with a nice drink, or outside in the shade (as long as there’s good wifi) could be enough to give you a mood-lift when studying.
If you have any family or friends who are studying or working from home over the summer months, you could set up group sessions to make the experience more encouraging and social.
3. Remember your goals
The time and energy that you are affording your studies now, as well as the significant commitment you’re making, are driving you towards your goal of securing a new career and a better life.
Reminding yourself of your major and minor study goals is one of the best ways to encourage yourself to keep going if you feel a lull in motivation, over the summer or any time.
It's okay to take a break from your studies. Some rest can improve your focus, and we all deserve a bit of fun in the summer!
Why Summer Can Be the Hardest Time to Study
Similar to the winter holidays and Christmas, summertime brings with it a hectic and exciting social calendar for most people. With holidays, travelling, and gatherings often planned for this time, it might feel like there is simply too much to do when trying to plan in study time.
Many people also tend to take a well-earned break over the summer – as they should!
Again, if you need to make changes to the intensity or schedule of your studying at this time, that’s completely fine. Keeping up small, consistent efforts, in any way that’s manageable for you, will be better for your progress than dropping your studies completely over the summer.
The big picture: Where could you be next summer?
Any effort you make now towards completing your training brings you one step closer to gaining certifications and landing a job that you love. Starting or changing to a new career is a lot of work and effort, but the payoff is literally life-changing.
It’s not something that happens overnight, and the timeline isn’t the same for everyone. But depending on your rate of study and your job application strategy, you could very well be in your new job or very close by next summer.
Find more study advice
Explore our study guides for more support during your learning journey.