Top Three Tips to Succeed as a Massage Therapy Student

My journey as a massage therapy student started later in life than the average student’s.  I have a degree in international business but had grown tired of office life and wanted a career that’s more active and in which I help people feel their best.  Through the years, I have learned some important lessons on how to succeed as a student. My top three tips for success as a massage therapy student are: prioritize your responsibilities, utilize all resources available to you, and take time for self-care.

1. Prioritize your responsibilities

We all have responsibilities in school and in our lives outside of school.  Many of us work and have family obligations in addition to all that we’re expected to do for school.  With all that we have to do, it can be easy to get overwhelmed.  There are several ways to avoid this.  I have a planner where I keep track of all my obligations.  Since I am taking numerous classes and working three part-time jobs, it would be impossible to keep track of where I am supposed to be and what is due without writing it down. 

I also set calendar reminders on my phone to help with time management.  Another tactic I utilize is to manage things in chronological order.  If I have an assignment that’s due tomorrow, I tackle that before I worry about the assignment that’s due next week.  If I have a large project that is coming up, I schedule time to work on it throughout the semester, so it’s manageable.  These techniques have helped me feel like I can handle things without feeling too stressed.

2. Utilize all available resources

When I began this program, I did not have a strong science background at all.  I had actively avoided taking science classes beyond the basic requirements when I was in high school and college, so I completely panicked when I had to take anatomy and kinesiology.  When I was in class and when I was reading the textbooks, I felt like I didn’t understand any of it.  I decided that panicking was counterproductive, so I needed a plan of action to see what resources were available. 

I asked questions after class if I didn’t feel comfortable asking during class.  I started studying with a classmate, and now we have regular study sessions.  One surprising resource that I found was YouTube.  I had been struggling with understanding the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction, and I could not wrap my head around it.  I found videos posted by professors from various universities who explained it with illustrations and animation, and I was finally able to understand how it worked.  There are so many resources available; you just have to look around and find what works best for you.  

3. Take time for self-care

My final tip is to make sure that you take time for self-care.  It is so easy to think that there is no way that you have time in the day to do something that’s just for you.  I felt like this when I started back to school.  I thought that between my work, home, and school responsibilities, I just didn’t have time to do things for myself.  What I quickly learned was that not taking time for myself actually led to decreased productivity in my schoolwork. 

I began organizing my days so that I was done with schoolwork by 8:00 p.m. so I could wind down and read a few chapters of a novel before bed.  I also scheduled times to go to yoga classes, and I treated this as being as important as the times I was scheduled to work.  If we don’t take care of ourselves, nobody else will do it for us.  We will be less successful in our endeavors if we don’t maintain a healthy life balance, and we are at a significant risk of burnout and unhappiness.  By taking time each day to do something that promotes our mental and physical well-being, we will be more effective in everything we do.  

In summary, the techniques of prioritizing, exploring resource options, and practicing self-care can promote success as a massage therapy student.  I hope that these tips help you on your journey as much as they have helped me.  Your future in this rewarding field is bright!