It was with excitement and trepidation that I started my first Modular Executive MBA weekend in April.

The induction weekend the month before had given me a good taster of what was to come and my cohort was split into groups ready for the teamwork required ahead.

Four months on and I can’t quite believe that we’ve finished our first block of lectures and handed in our assignments already. It has certainly been intense, but I’ve already got so much out of it, more than I thought I would at this stage.

However, there have been hurdles I had to figure out along the way.

Find an equal footing

Firstly, due to the intensity of the learning, we bonded within our cohort group very quickly; supporting each other, understanding everyone’s work or personal commitments and identifying each other’s strengths.

It had been a long time since I had done project work where we were all on an equal footing, so it took some adjustment to realise that no one person was in charge and we were all equally responsible for completing the work together.

Be ruthless with your time

Secondly, I tried to figure out how to fit studying around my work and family life. While I had a study timetable worked out for my readings, the element I hadn’t counted on was the timelines for the group work; an assignment was due around the same time as the next block of lectures which had prerequisite readings.

Learning quickly that I had to be ruthless with my time, I concentrated on what needed to be done and made sure to go back and fill in extra readings if I had the time.

Put weekend activities on hold

Thirdly, I identified what I needed to change or give up in my personal life to accommodate my new study commitments. As my husband and I have a young child, I knew the majority of my study would need to happen in the evening, which meant I was unlikely to have any time for TV.

However, I soon realised I would need time during the weekends as well. We worked out a schedule where we both had some personal time during the weekends, but this meant I had to give up the baking and gardening I usually did for relaxation. But something had to give. I figured these sacrifices were only for a short period of time and the end result was worth it.

Learn to adjust your sleeping pattern

The fourth thing that suffered was my sleep. While I can function on six hours sleep a night, I can only maintain this for a few days at a time. Thankfully there were only a couple of intense weeks where my sleep suffered in the lead up to deadlines and lecture weekends. I learnt to adapt my sleeping pattern according to my programme timetable.

All in all, I am impressed with how much I have learned over the last few months and the connections made with my cohort. I’ve noticed I am more confident in dealing with things outside of my comfort zone at work and look forward to the year ahead!

Katheryn Needham
Modular Executive MBA (2020)