You’ll hear this quite a bit before you enroll at Full Sail and while you’re in the thick of your degree program: “The secret to success is having great time-management skills.” Here’s why: With Full Sail’s accelerated degree programs, you’re getting your master’s degree in one year instead of two, and your bachelor’s degree in under three. That requires a fast pace and focus, and, like all degree programs, the ones at Full Sail require serious commitment. To keep up with your program’s demands, you’ve got to have a solid handle on things.

We checked in with a few successful Full Sail grads to find out how they balanced the demands of their degree programs with the rest of their busy lives, and they shared their best time-management advice:

Jeremiah Gonda: “Never Compromise.”

Jeremiah Gonda knows the value of great time management: The Digital Cinematography grad completed his online bachelor’s degree program while working a full-time job and helping his wife, Laura, raise their five children. Today, he’s a high school film production teacher, the co-owner of film production company Storyboat Media LLC, and the proud father of seven children.

“I always kept my life in perspective by having an order of the most valuable and important parts of my life: My wife and children, my full-time job and employer, and excelling at my studies at Full Sail,” Jeremiah says. “As long as I kept the main thing my focus and scheduled out my time to ensure I gave my best to each, I was able to do it all.”

His advice for students: Give each of your commitments 100 percent. “Put the things first on your list that have the most meaning and value and work down from there,” he says. “Figure out where school fits in and treat it as serious as your other life-important commitments. Move on from that and schedule your time for each of those commitments using an app or calendar to send frequent reminders and notifications for appointments, assignment due dates, study time, and down time.”

Jeremiah adds: “Remind yourself that this is accelerated education, so it requires a temporary sprint to make it to the finish line. You have to keep a strenuous pace that would be impossible in the long term, but it’s totally acceptable and necessary in order to complete your short time of studies at Full Sail.”

Thaddeus Ray: “Set a schedule that works best for you and stick with it.”

Thaddeus Ray, who graduated from both the Entertainment Business master’s and Business Intelligence master’s degree programs, found that his biggest challenge while at Full Sail was juggling his coursework, two part-time jobs, and finding time for himself.

“You have to be very creative,” he says. “Set a schedule that works for you and stick to it. Some assignments are more demanding than others, so be sure to stay on top of them and gauge what you can get done in a certain amount of time.”

Thaddeus, who now works as a product data management coordinator for Warner Music Group, has this classic, but ever-so-important advice for students: Don’t procrastinate! “Get it out of the way when information is fresh and when you can ask great questions,” he says. “Full Sail makes it easy to achieve these things and that shouldn't be overlooked. It will make your experience that much better.”

More questions? Check out our degrees or call an Admissions Representative at 800.226.7625.