Nemanja MarinkoffLife is a balancing act. Too often are we forced to juggle multiple priorities while trying to keep our head above water. Our days are getting longer and oversaturated with activities. Welcoming nights of respite are dwindling, especially if you are trying to balance working full-time and going to college. Only one of these activities requires absolute commitment, let alone both of them at the same time, so you might just be looking for tips on how to achieve an equilibrium between the two.
Strong immunity is a priority
To achieve your lofty goals, you need to be healthy, mobile and ready for action at any given time. Working full-time while attending college is physically and mentally taxing, so a strong immunity should be prioritized. You can easily argue that it is a cornerstone of thriving in academics and your workplace.
This is where grandmothers’ advice becomes more important than you ever expected? You need to stock -up on wool socks and have a pair of snuggly boots come winter months, to keep your feet warm. Always bring along an extra layer of clothes – a coat or jacket – as the weather becomes more volatile.
Don’t replace hearty meals with supplements, just add more fruits and veggies to your daily diet and ramp up the protein intake. Bring down the carb intake, as it’ll make you feel chronically sluggish and sleepy. Drink a glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade every morning and consume both drinks and edibles that are rich in magnesium, zinc, and potassium, and you should be more resistant to colds than your peers on campus. Also, if your work is sedentary, regular workout will definitely contribute to your overall ‘survivability’ of the circumstances.
You must also not forget your mental immunity. You can’t always avoid stressing out on some things in your life, but you can always find ways to keep you peace of mind as much as possible. In case you need to talk to a mental health counselor, you can always schedule an online therapy session with one of the licensed therapists from BetterHelp.
Organize, schedule, streamline
Time is the most precious commodity. To achieve lofty goals, you have to become an expert organizer and learn how to multitask. The schedule is the master here, as you’ll have to plan out your days to a minute – and that includes free time to blow off some steam. Once you start creating a daily schedule and writing it down on paper, you’ll be surprised how much you’ll manage to achieve.
This will also keep you less scattered, and relaxed. Without a schedule, you’ll constantly think about the stakes – the job, the exams – but a precise list of consecutive tasks will put you into ‘one step at a time’ mindset. Effectively, it streamlines your obligations.
Distraction is a killer
Streamlining naturally leads to the following topic which is a particularly pressing matter in the age of the internet. Distraction is a killer of success, of your time, of happiness. YouTube rabbit holes, forum dwelling, you name it – these are actual, concrete problems that countless people face today.
This is also a fairly hard topic to discuss for a very simple reason – everybody KNOWS how damaging these distractions are, and even when the effort is there, relapses are common. Broadly speaking, the best way to avoid this is to simply make a conscious effort and persevere until it turns into a habit.
Forgive yourself when the relapses happen, but pick yourself up, try again, and again, and again until your resolve strengthens through practice. This is the only way you’ll succeed in finishing college while working full-time.
Designated study space is required
One of the important life hacks that contribute to better use of your time and lack of distractions is the creation of a designated study workspace. It might inconvenience other household members to claim a corner of the household as a study-niche, but it contributes to overall academic productiveness immensely.
Now, that being said, this place can be any location – it can even be a kitchen counter if it works its magic. The important thing is to ensure that you are in a healthy seating position. Use this designated learning space for its assigned purpose exclusively, and you’ll become very efficient at entering the right mindset whenever you sit down.
Talk to your boss
This conversation needs to happen sooner rather than later. It is understandable that you find it intimidating, even when your boss is the nicest person in the world. Most anxiousness originates from the effort to find the right words. Don’t over-think it and rip the Band-Aid off. Be concrete – your boss will appreciate it more.
The goal is to create accommodation that will benefit both parties. If the academic area you are interested in pursuing complements your calling, the boss will appreciate your ambition.
Conclusion
It is a daunting task to earn a full-blooded college degree while maintaining a full-time job. However, it is not an unfeasible endeavor. The fact that so many people manage to achieve this should be a great point of comfort for you, as well as the ultimate confidence booster. Inevitably, that sorting effort pays off, as your employability prospects, as well as workplace mobility, increase afterwards.