Top 10 Best Tips For Balancing College And Work

Many students, combining study and work, learn to realize their potential. After all, only in a working environment can one gain new knowledge and invaluable experience. Psychologists and time managers emphasize that balancing college and work disciplines young people, teaches them to plan tasks and optimize time for their implementation properly, and helps them learn to prioritize quickly and correctly. 

Furthermore, every part-time job broadens the horizons and helps to understand if you need to work in a particular field or if it’s better to change the type of activity. And for students, it is essential to strike a balance here: to work at a job with a relatively flexible schedule and devote time to their studies. Of course, sometimes it isn’t easy, but this article will answer all your questions concerning this issue.

# 1 Don’t Try to Have Time for Everything

The first thing to do is to accept that it is impossible to do everything, but it’s realistic to cope with the priorities that must be determined daily. Don’t try to work and study simultaneously: each activity should have time. The feeling that you don’t have time for anything probably comes from the expectation that you can get everything done. 

But that’s the ideal situation, and the natural world is far less perfect. So do everything that can make this multi-tasking mode easier: complete plans and to-do lists, rank tasks by importance and urgency, and stay in the square of essential and non-urgent duties. Make time in your schedule to rest, sleep, and eat. Here are some tips on how to plan your time wisely.

✔️ Keep a notebook or a file on your computer where you will schedule your day.

✔️ Optimize your time by stopping ineffective communication on Instagram and messengers.

✔️ Unsubscribe from newsletters that come to your email and steal precious hours because it’s so interesting to know what is the most delicious pie this summer or what new toy to buy for your cat.

✔️ No more branches and afternoon snacks from now on. A full breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be more than enough.

✔️ Don’t waste time on the way home or the office. While driving, read books and lectures, study the documents you need for your work, and listen to audiobooks on your topic.

✔️ A bad habit like smoking also takes up valuable minutes. Therefore, the best thing is to quit this addictive activity or determine a time frame.

✔️ Computer games can reach you to the point of madness. However, it would help if you ignored them since the game of life has already begun. And the outcome will depend on how well you manage your precious time.

✔️ Unfortunately, you must forget about Friday night parties with your friends for a while. You’re mistaken if you think you’ll be full of inexhaustible energy the next day. Don’t fool yourself. You’ll wake up only on Saturday at lunch, not in the best mood and health. So, say goodbye to Friday and Saturday parties.

# 2 Assess Your Capabilities and Resources

By evaluating your real opportunities, you can set achievable goals and thus get rid of a permanent sense of dissatisfaction. In this case, self-observation helps analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t require yourself to do everything perfectly. Instead, learn to say no to someone and accept your limitations. If you’re already having a hard time, it’s probably a good idea to give up on a new project.

# 3 Negotiate Flexible Hours

Sure, some lectures are not extremely important to your future profession, but they are required to attend. Try to arrange with your professors that you will study all of their course material at home. Talk to diligent classmates and ask them not to be greedy and let you write off the lectures you will have to miss because of work. 

It would also be good to discuss with your employer the possibility of free office visits. Don’t forget to talk about your duties during lectures and sessions. So that your confidence in yourself will not suffer, it makes sense to offer to work at weekends or take work home. In this case, you’ll show your positive side because you think not only about your and the company’s interests.

# 4 Take Short Breaks in the Middle of the Day

Fatigue is a signal that it’s time to rest. And during your free 15-20 minutes, it’s better not to browse social networks or news but stay silent and relax the body. The misconception is that people can work for several hours enthusiastically, but this is self-deception. Periods of peak performance range from 15-20 to 90-120, averaging 40-50 minutes. Of course, it would help if you had breaks in between.

# 5  Give Yourself Time for “Not Useful” Things

As a rule, those who balance college and work strive for high productivity and efficiency. Even when such students get free time, they want to spend it profitably, for example, learning a new language or watching educational videos. 

However, the constant stress over time will lead to overwork and, consequently, to a loss of concentration, performance, and memory impairment. Think about how many hours a week you spent on development and seemingly useless things such as watching a relaxing movie, taking a walk, or simply talking with friends and loved ones. 

# 6 Keep a Balance Between Pleasure and Necessity

Getting pleasure from work and study is an ideal picture that may be realistic. However, some tasks are less enjoyable but need to get done. So it would be best to analyze how much time you spent on necessary tasks and those you enjoy. If the former outweighs the latter, it’s time to think about whether your career path is the one you’re choosing. Of course, there are always things you don’t like, but due to circumstances, you must do them. Thus, it’s vital to strike a balance between the things that are difficult and uninteresting for you and the exciting and enjoyable ones.  

# 7 Monitor Your Emotional State

Anxiety, irritability, and apathy seem harmful to people, although that’s not exactly true. They are signals and indicators that it’s time to stop and have a rest. In this case, one day of relaxation won’t bring you back to a resourceful state, and the reasons may be more serious. Analyze what is taking your energy: strained relationships with colleagues or perhaps inconvenient schedules. 

Think about how you can change the mode of work and communication with faculty members or top management. If you already feel that the tasks cause disgust and apathy, then the reasons for such a condition can be two: either you don’t like the particular activity itself, or you’re exhausted. 

In this case, you need to think about it and reconsider how you can organize your working process, what adjustments you need to make, whether there is enough feedback and support, and what kind of people surround you. Remember that emotional burnout means a person’s defensive reaction when the emotions are partially switched off. 

This state can occur under long-term stressful situations and when few things in life bring pleasure when the meaning of what is happening is lost. Stress is perceived as pressure and desire being lost. So you need to bring something new into your life: sports, creative activities, entertainment, new acquaintances, and fascinating places. Even a trip to a nearby region can bring relief and help you look at yourself and your life from a new perspective.

# 8 Take Up Freelancing

It is the least time-consuming way to combine your work with your studies if you stick to proper planning. Plus, balancing college with freelancing is much easier than even flexible hours. For example, art students can take up sketches for tattoos on freelancing and maintain their personal Instagram to learn the intricacies of working with clients and ensure fast and high-quality execution of the order. In addition, you’ll have even more time for your favorite work if you take advantage of writing services review websites where you can find an experienced author who will write a paper for college for you. 

# 9 Never Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

The most damaging thought that should leave your mind is, “I’ll do it later.” But, unfortunately, there is no “later” in your rhythm of life. There is only one now. Work as hard as you can now for results. It can be compared to your record book: first, you work for your reputation, and then your reputation works for you. It’s hard at first glance to combine study and work. However, by prioritizing in the correct order, the path to the diploma won’t be so challenging.

# 10 Don’t Put Your Life on Hold

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to give yourself over to your work. Remember you shouldn’t devote all your free time to work and studies. Indeed, you need to spend your precious time with your loved ones and watch your health. Then, of course, you can study, work, do yoga, and always keep in touch with dear people. However, be prepared that your energy may someday run out if you don’t allow yourself to relax from time to time and for no reason. 

Bottom Line

Combining study and work is not as easy as it may seem initially. To avoid getting caught out of enthusiasm at first and not dropping out of college, you need to know a lot of nuances. The good news is that you can achieve equal success in both spheres if you know the top ten tips for balancing college and work. And now you have that knowledge. 

Bio

Kristen Bray is a professional writer and blogger. She mainly covers topics such as blogging, digital marketing, and self-education. In her free time, she practices yoga and also travels.