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Being a full-time student and part-time employee can be quite a challenge, but it is the reality for many people. Whether you are paying your tuition, rent, or just basic essentials, everyone needs money and not everyone can get away with not working 8 months of the year. Personally, I never had that luxury and spent my four years as a college student also working or interning part-time. Along the way, I learned quite a few ways to be successful when juggling both!
Scheduling and Time Management
Scheduling and time management are the most important things when it comes to balancing work and college. My favorite way to manage my time is through planners. Throughout my college experience, I used a variety of planners; I really liked using a daily spread planner that broke down my day into half-hour increments. Yes, this may seem excessive, but I was a busy full-time student who juggled an internship three days a week on top of being active in a sorority and maintaining a social life. My planner of choice is the Manifest Planner linked below! This planner broke down EVERY aspect of my daily life from meal plans to workout splits, preventing me from missing or forgetting a single part of my day. I also enjoyed using websites like Notion to plan out all of my assignments at the beginning of the semester, so every due date was in front of me. Although this took time in the beginning, the payoff was very worth it when it came to keeping myself organized.
Manifest Planner:
https://themanifestplanner.com/collections/physical-planners
Dovana™ Planner:
https://www.agmpromotionalproducts.com/:quicksearch.htm?quicksearchbox=EYWBE-LRWWM
Set Designated Time Aside for Yourself
A car doesn’t run if it runs out of gas, and you won’t be able to run if you let yourself get drained. It is so important to make sure you set aside time for yourself to decompress and recharge. Whether it is time to exercise, read, or just take a nap, it is essential to schedule this time instead of constantly focusing on the work and school in your life. If you use a planner like I previously mentioned, it will be easier for you to see chunks of time that you can use to just focus on taking care of yourself.
Pick a Day to Get Your Life Together
Even though I am no longer in school and am only working, I still do this! I have one day a week where I get everything in order in my life: laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. If you get these things done one day a week (mine is Sunday) you will only have to do a quick maintenance daily which will take five minutes instead of an hour, leaving you more time for things you like to do! You may hate that day at first, but you’ll be thanking yourself later in the week when you have a clean space and a full fridge.
These three things are my most important tips when it comes to balancing being a full-time student and a part-time (or full-time) employee in college. Obviously, everyone has different things that work for them, but this is what worked for me in my four years of college!
