Everyone has demands placed on their time. Some have more demands than others. SDM students have elected to add to their current set of commitments. Academics is only one aspect of the student’s life that will be affected. Your family, employer (if you have one), and community commitments will all have to be addressed. You must learn to manage your time. One common way to phrase this is “You can do whatever you want – you just can’t do it all” (unattributed).
Everyone places priorities on different aspects of their lives. The truly talented can “juggle” the time requirements of "Self", Family, Employment, Academics, and Community so that peak demands for any one don’t collide with any of the others. The student is at the center of the picture. It is extremely important to maintain your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Time for sleep and exercise are easy to cut but have long-lasting consequences. It’s far better to take time out to maintain your health than it is to recover once it’s lost.
For those that are sponsored – support and understanding from your employer is essential. In some cases your supervisor may have not been involved in your selection. In any case your supervisor and co-workers are going to see your priorities change in ways that don’t always line up with what needs to get done at the office. How this relationship is handled is critical to your continued participation in the program. There is much more to the SDM program than taking classes and writing a thesis. SDM is all about “Life Long Learning”. The program places time requirements above those of the classes – namely Business Trips and Student Council Committees. Each of these stakeholders deserves your best efforts. SDM spins you up to prepare you for academia during the January Program – It’s up to you to “spin down” after you complete the degree requirements