Balancing School Work and Life

If you are attending college, you probably have lots of things happening all at once. I work two part-time jobs as well as attend college full-time and attempt to have a social life. Scheduling things gets complicated, but it’s a balancing act. Here are some tips that I have learned over the years.

Priorities need to be determined. While school is important, so is working. I schedule school as a priority and work as a very close second. Every week is different, however as my workloads change between homework, housework, and my job.

Figure out a schedule and stick with it. For me, Tuesdays and Thursdays are spent on campus most of the day, while the rest of the week is focused around scheduled work hours. I try to schedule hours throughout the week to devote to homework, studying, and online work. I try to spend a few hours every evening with my boyfriend and friends. Sometimes this time gets sacrificed however as I run out of time.

Remember to devote a solid 6-8 hours every night to sleep. There are so many bad things that happen as you sacrifice your sleep. As you are working hard and putting stress on your mind and body, it needs time to recover. If you lose sleep, your stress levels can increase, you can lose focus, and your immune system also suffers.

Take care of your body and it will take care of you. Remember to also find time to exercise, eat right, and drink plenty of water. Sometimes it can be difficult, but grab a friend and make it an opportunity to socialize as well. Invite a few friends to a Zumba class, go early to stretch and gab.

Set aside some solo time as well. While taking a long bath, reflect upon how things are going in your life and if you need to make changes to anything. Reflect upon what you really want to do with your career, and look up more information about it. Sometimes you may want to dip your toes into it, I'd suggest taking a paralegal course to learn more about becoming a paralegal. If you discover you didn't enjoy the class, try to determine why and use that knowledge to move onto another career.