Work School Balance...It IS Possible!

Balance is KEY!

People are always asking me how I find the time to go to class, work on campus, volunteer with different clubs and find time for friends and family. I'm not magic, I don't have super powers... although that would be super cool! I'm just one of many students that have figured out how to balance work, school and my personal life. It's not impossible to find a way to balance your commitments it just requires that you take the time to get organized and stay on top of everything. Here are my top 5 ways to find Work-School Balance!

5. Get an Agenda and USE IT!
--Whether it be your phone, tablet, computer or actual pen and paper, find some way to write down and organize all the various things that you have going on in your life. Write down things like: When you have class/ study time, when you have work and or volunteering and any family commitments you might have. When you write these things down be sure to make a note of HOW LONG they will take you to complete, be sure to include COMMUTE time between each location as well. This will help you to understand just how much time spend doing these activities.

4. Set Priorities
--Now that you have a list, rank them in order of importance from MOST important to LEAST important. It might seem like an easy thing to do but I PROMISE you, it's harder than it seems. Once you have a prioritized list you can start to think about how much time you want to dedicate to each item on your list.

3. Make time for yourself
--Once you've set a time limit for each of the things on your list, be sure to include some time for yourself. **Study time does not count as time for yourself!** Making time to take care of yourself is really important to make sure that you don't burn out over the school year. Keep in mind that

2. Identify your free time!

Find time for FUN!

--Now that you've written down everything and set time limits look at your schedule. Look to see how you're spending your time, are you spending your time in the way that makes you happiest? Are there things in your schedule that take up more time than you'd like? Are there things that you wish you had more time for? Do you see any blocs of free time that you could potentially fill with other activities? If you can try to reorganize your schedule in order to allow you the time you need do the things you have to as well as the things you want to do.

1. Be Realistic and Accountable with your time.
--Remember that there are only 168 hours in a week, that means that you can't do everything for as long as you'd like. You have to realistic with the types of activities you and how much time you dedicate to each activity. Be accountable, if you say that you're going to spend 3hours studying then make sure that you spend 3 hrs studying, no one is going to be checking in on you so you'll have to make sure that you follow through on the plans that you make for yourself. Try not to bite off more than you can chew when it comes to activities!

I've used these tips to help me plan my time and make sure that I can complete all the things I sign myself up for. If there's anything else you want to know about finding balance or you have tips you'd like to share feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole