Is it difficult to work while you are studying? It definitely can be, since balancing work and study can both feel very stressful. On one hand, you want to gain experience by updating your resume and getting involved in something that will help you be independent. On the other hand, you have to keep your grades high, maintain your good student profile, and avoid burnout.
More and more students decide not to want to depend on their parents anymore. They wish to spend their money on what they want and not worrying about someone else’s money. As a result, so many young people start finding jobs in any place that could give them stability. Cafes and bars are the most common ones. If you visit a universitarian city, like London, the majority of the waiters are college students.
At some point, managing work and study will get difficult and students begin to freak out. They’re packed with stuff to do at college and at work and don’t even know where to start. Therefore, this article has the purpose to help young students to handle these many activities going on, by revealing some key tips that will be useful to anyone in the same situation.
Here are some tips and pieces of advice.
- Prioritize! One of the most effective things to do is prioritize what’s important. Not everything in the daily to-do list is urgent or fundamental, and learning how to establish that will have positive consequences on your organization. You could divide all your tasks in some categories: the most important ones will stay on the top, the least important ones will stay at the bottom. For instance, 4 potential categories might be:
- Important and Urgent: Do these immediately.
- Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these for later.
- Urgent but Not Important: Delegate if possible.
- Neither Urgent nor Important: Consider removing these tasks entirely.
Setting deadlines and organizing the schedule in this way will improve your balance organization.
- Set a timetable. Set fixed hours for work and study, and try to avoid wasting time by using the other’s time. Use tools like Google Calendar or a planner to block out study hours and work shifts.
- Get a free pass! When it comes to managing that amount of work and time, people tend to become less productive because they are unable to find a reason to keep going and go on. This is the reason why it is essential to create a planned distraction time, where you can have some time for yourself to get energy for your usual busy schedule
- Sleep: sleep for at least 7-8 hours per night. Lack of sleep causes problems to your productivity.
- Workout: Exercise decreases stress and anxiety.
- Create a Distraction-Free Zone: Whether you’re at home or at work, create a space where you can concentrate fully on the task at hand.
- NO! It’s important to recognize your limits. Taking on too many responsibilities leads to burnout and too much stress that will have effects on your well-being.
- Be Selective with Opportunities: It’s okay to reject opportunities that don’t align with your goals if it means to gain some special personal time for you.
- Stay Calm. Sometimes life will make you face hard times when you feel there’s no way you will get through it. Learning that all these tough commitments will shape your character and grow as a person in both personal life and work, is an opportunity to set your focus back on what is really important.
- Congratulate yourself! Reflect on your small wins by appreciating all the goals you achieved without even noticing them. For instance, getting a good grade, completing a work project…
In conclusion, Balancing work and study feels overwhelming to a lot of students, and this is totally comprehensible. Actually, taking action by working and studying at the same time to become more independent is admirable. With the right mindset, tips and strategies, it is possible to create an effective organization that allows you to handle time, job, and college. Prioritize, set boundaries, manage your time wisely, and don’t forget to take care of yourself. By embracing all these methods, you’ll get to success pretty easily and will avoid burnout.