A question about multi-tasking

I know this may sound silly, but I want to ask before I go to bed. Hopefully, there will be some answers by the time I wake up. If I have asked this before, I apologize. One of my main worries about this distance education journey is that I will have to focus all of my energy into it, with little to no time for other things. There is a lot of stuff that I want to learn. Some casual. Other that requires formal training. Being someone that has a hard time staying focused, I wonder, will I be able to get a degree, that will provide me with a certain level of financial security that I currently lack, while at the same time, moving forward towards my own goals? There are some skills I want to adquire (web design, photography, martial arts, EBay, drawing, etc), but I truly wonder if my brain will be able to handle the information overload. I guess what I want from you guys is some assurance that it can be done. That getting a degree, making money, and adquiring new skills, are not separate paths, to be followed in a certain order, but that they can go hand-in-hand, all part of the same road. I hope what I wrote made sense. Looking forward to your answers.

 

It looks to me almost like you have two questions:
1. How can I keep up?
2. How can I acquire practical skills while completing a sound liberal arts education?

To the first:
I have two kids, both under two. I work a demanding job that often requires 12 hours days. I still manage to find some time to study, usually while kids are asleep.

To the second:
If you take classes that teach the skills you desire and apply those as credits toward your degree program, then that's a good chunk of your answer. Otherwise, you have to apply yourself and take those up separately. As an example, I used to be studying for two subjects at a time-- usually a computer related certification through self-study while studying for a college course or CLEP exam.

I used to be of the notion that I had to chase "hot skills" all the time, but in the process I found out the hard way that degrees really, really count. Get that degree out of the way and the rest should follow much more easily.

 

Everyone is different and what works for one doesn't always for for another. What works best for me is keeping to a tight schedule. There are some aspects to my schedule that do not change often, like my work hours. Other things, such as academic assignments, have spcific deadlines and so I figure out when, exactly, I'm going to do that work. Then I fit in other things around those anchor points in my schedule. I have a calendar with everything on it and it's prominently displayed in the kitchen so that I can't forget. I would suggest that you use some of your activities (like the artistic and athletic pursuits) as stress managements activities. They can be just as important as anything else, especially when you think about sustaining your efforts over the long term. You have to remember to have some fun.