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Working full-time while simultaneously furthering your education is both admirable and quite the impressive balancing act. Especially as an adult who is likely wearing a number of other hats in addition to being an employee and student.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by this work-school life juggling act and are struggling to maintain good grades in your college classes, you will want to remember these 8 helpful tips- it will allow you to manage your time and be better prepared.
8 Tips on Achieving Good Grades While Working Full-time
- Create a plan for your entire week
Utilize a planner and plan out your 7-day agenda for the following week. Include a combination of your assignment deadlines, class goals, exams and work requirements. Doing this each week will allow you to visualize how heavy your weekly schedule may be, and give you the opportunity to make adjustments ahead of time. - Block out your time
With use of your planner create time blocks for your daily tasks and adhere to it. You know that work will require 8 hours of your day- block that time out as time devoted to work. You can then note how much time you have for studying, coming home to cook, exercise, clean, etc. If you hope to study 2 hours each evening, assign a timeframe that you will allocate to studying. - Be realistic with study goals
It is important that you take an honest look at your schedule and assign your study time accordingly. For example, when working full time and getting off work at 5 pm it isn’t realistic to think that you can devote 5 hours of study time each night. You’ve neglected to include time for cooking dinner, decompressing, exercise, family time, and it may be impeding on your needed 7-8 hours of sleep. You may need to adjust your study time to just 1-2 hours of dedicated studying during your work week and schedule your longer study hours over the weekends. - Eat, sleep, and exercise
Burnout will occur more quickly when you neglect these 3 things. You must remember to eat the appropriate amount of nutritious foods to support your studying and work activities. Sleep is imperative for success in your work-school balance- you must ensure that you get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Exercising at least 30 mins per day will help you with your mood, physical fitness and stress management. - Review your class notes each day
Don’t wait until your exam nears before studying for it. Prepare each day by reviewing your notes. You can find helpful tips on more effective studying here. - Create flashcards
Repetition and review can be very helpful in preventing the loss of newly learned concepts. You can create digital flashcards through Anki or Quizlet that is easily accessible on your mobile phone. When you find downtime at work, during your lunch breaks, or while on your cardio machine, you can take a look through your flashcards and review them. - Find support
If you are having difficulty with your student role conflicting with your home life, communicate it with your loved ones. Allow your partner or spouse to be supportive. They can help make dinner, giving you time to study. Perhaps you can agree to alternating nights to cook dinner and complete household chores. Be sure that you are vocalizing your struggles to those who care about you. - Allow yourself free time
Balance is the key to success in the work-school juggling act. Without it you can easily get burned out and find yourself failing at both school and work-related goals. During the weekends find the time to do something totally unrelated to your college tasks. Go for a hike, visit a nice restaurant, do the things that make your heart happy.
Summary
Do not be discouraged if you find yourself struggling with your college courses and work. Both are difficult to handle on their own, but together it can be a huge challenge.
It may also take several attempts to achieve the perfect balance. However, there is hope and success in both arenas- work and school, is achievable.
Good luck, you’ve got this!