How do you balance work and school?

Balancing work and school for students can be challenging, especially with part-time or full-time jobs to pay for classes, learning materials, and more. I have worked as a peer tutor on campus and it gets difficult to balance work and school. Through research and experience, I found some ways to cope with stress and felt that these could be useful tips for current and future students.

Schedule your day

You must plan your day by having set times devoted for work and ensure that you have marked important dates for your exams and assignments. Additionally, you need to spare some time for exercise and for your own downtime, whether you wish to spend it by yourself or with family.

Prioritize your activities

This is also an important component of organizing your schedule on a weekly or daily basis. There are certain tasks that need to be done before others. For example, tasks related to work or school should be prioritized, while certain times need to be allotted for house chores like cooking and cleaning.

Multitasking

With increased responsibilities, it becomes vital that we learn to multitask. This may not be easy at first, but with practice, we learn to become better at it. For example, I usually hand-wash my clothes, so I would soak them in water before my virtual class begins and rinse them all out after the lecture. It has become even more convenient with all of us doing work from home to multitask more efficiently.

Create a designated space

You must designate yourself space that allows you to stay focused when you are working on your most important assignment. Ensure that whenever you sit down to work, you have everything you need, instead of having to leave your space searching for different things such as your textbook or your notes for completing your assignment. Your learning space should be clean, organized, and have a comfortable seating arrangement. It can be decorated with some warm paints, motivational quotes, inspiring photos, and a bulletin board with all your important deadlines.

Don’t neglect your health

There is nothing more important than having to take care of your physical and mental health. This involves having enough sleep, doing regular exercise, and eating healthy by having a balanced diet. You must also be aware of when you are feeling overly stressed, so you know exactly what kind of strategies you might need to cope with stress. According to School-Life Balance by John Hopkins University, there are certain signs to look for when you are stressed such as having anxiety or panic attacks, a feeling of always having to hasten things, trouble getting proper sleep, indulging in unhealthy behaviours like drinking excessively, smoking, or overeating, and experiencing depression. The author also suggests some helpful ways of managing stress. We can start by learning to relax our body through meditation, increase our vitamin D intake with a short walk in the sun, practice positive talk, think of things that give us joy, talk to our friends or loved ones, and try to be optimistic in the most difficult circumstances.

We all deal with stress at some point in our lives caused by the heavy demands of school and work. However, we must be proactive in finding ways of dealing with stress by incorporating a healthy work-life balance.

For more resources and supports at Mohawk, please visit current students.

Written by Bushra Siddiqi - Educational Support Placement Student and Learning Support Centre Writing Tutor