I am a full time student with technically three jobs. Being in college full time is already a difficult task and adding in having to work at a job, or jobs, you probably aren’t overly in love with makes it even more difficult. I am writing this article to share my own advice on how to balance a heavy and chaotic workload to the best of your abilities.
Don’t Take on Too Much
My first tip is to not overload yourself with classes or work at a job. Find your comfort level when it comes to how many credits you can do a semester. Personally, I usually prefer between 15-17 credit hours. This amount allows me to fill up my schedule with classes I need to take for my degree, but it also doesn’t put me in a situation where I can only focus on school. A good next step is setting schedule boundaries with your job or jobs. For example, I focus primarily on one job, I work around 20 hours a week there. For my other job, I set aside two evenings a week to spend a couple of hours there. And for my third job, I made it clear I will only help out as I have openings in my schedule. Think about what will work best for you. If your school schedule only allows you to work on weekends, then make that clear with your boss. In that scenario, you will want to focus your attention on school as much as you can during the week, so your weekend time is for work and your social life. It takes a lot of thinking and planning your schedule to find something that will work for you, but the best thing to do is make sure you do not put too much pressure on yourself and become overwhelmed.
Put School First and Do School Work as On Time as Possible
You should make it 100% clear to your boss or bosses that school will always be your first priority. This is something that all of my past and current bosses have been understanding about, which is usually the case. You may have a boss that is not so understanding about school, and that makes balancing both school and jobs even more difficult. In this case, I suggest you have a one on one conversation with your boss. If that gets you nowhere, you must figure out exact times you are available for work and specify you are only available during those times. As for school work, your life will be a lot easier if you turn assignments in on time or even early. I constantly have multiple essays and assignments due during the same week within the same two or three days. When this is the case, I often use the beginning of my week to start the assignments and turn a couple in early to ease up the workload. Something else I advise you invest in is some sort of planner. I don’t always keep up on writing in my own, but it is helpful for keeping track of assignments and when I need to go into work.
Don’t Forget to Breathe
I am a firm believer that self care is one of the most important things for a college student. When I get overwhelmed, it is definitely from school and work, but it is also from not properly taking care of myself. This can range from not getting enough sleep to not talking to my best friend as much as I’m used to. It is important to remember that you will only succeed if you are your best self. Maybe this means you need to get a facial once a month to feel relaxed and refreshed. Or maybe you need to go on a long walk a few times a week with your headphones in and music blasting. Whatever you know works for you, do it. Find time for yourself. With a busy schedule, I know it can be hard and often get put off for months. Personally, if I have the time to have an hour-long mental breakdown when I get overly stressed, I have time to spend that energy doing something for myself. But that’s just me. Just remember to breathe and don’t be afraid to be a little bit selfish.
I wish you the best of luck, and I assure you that you can do this. You will be so successful!