Balancing work and school is a never-ending tension. On the outside you might think it’s an easy task. You set aside time for school, you set aside time for work: Ta-Da! Right? I wish. I think there are three main things that cause tension to be so tricky: mentality, timing, and the rest of it all.
Mentality – If you’re like me, you can’t stop thinking about everything that you’re supposed to be doing. I’ve got a blackberry, a to-do list, and 5,000 post-it notes and I still have trouble sleeping because I worry about getting it all done. Prioritizing your work tasks and your homework tasks isn’t easy. Both have deadlines, both have consequences, both are important. For me the mental comes down to having some separation and decompression time. I think it’s naïve to say that you have to leave work at work and home at home. I bring work home and home to work—I think everyone does. Instead, try to find a little bit of mental separation and let yourself be imperfect. You’re never going to strike the ultimate balance so just breathe and do the best you can!
Timing –How can you balance producing a 10 page paper for financial accounting (stimulating, I know) and a work report in the same week? The most effective way that I have found to balance this is by NOT multi-tasking. If you focus on everything there is to do, none of it will get done. There are going to be nights that you just have to work on one thing and let the other slip. I have found that if I look at my tasks one week at a time, I can generally prioritize to fit more than one big thing in. I also think it’s really important to give yourself one night off a week. Play with your kids, watch a movie, walk your dog. Don’t think about work or school. I promise it will keep you sane.
The Rest of It All – Balancing work and school is one thing, but we don’t live in a bubble. What about family and time for fun? This topic will be covered more extensively in another blog post. I bring it up here because it’s important to keep in mind that work and school aren’t everything. Remember to save some time for yourself, and I can’t emphasize enough to let yourself be imperfect. It’s okay not to have it all figured out.
