Working while at university can be challenging to say the least. At times you may feel as though you just don’t have time for everything, and this can have a detrimental impact on your career and your study. If you want to make sure that this doesn’t happen then here are a few tips that will help you to create a more efficient schedule and a clear, healthy work-life balance.
Plan your Schedule and find your Work-Life balance…
The first thing that you need to do is invest in a planner. This will help you out a lot when planning for the week or even the month. It will also help you to fit your coursework around your classes and your job too.
When planning your schedule, it helps to make sure that you keep it as flexible as possible. When things come up, such as a crisis at work or even a challenging assignment, you know that you can move things around a little bit to help yourself out.
Something like a bullet journal is fantastic as it combines planning with self-care and wellbeing as well as complete flexibility over layouts, organisation, and notes. I have got the perfect guide to get you going on your own bullet journal.
Have a Routine
If you want to give your best performance at university and work, then you need to have a good routine. Wake up at the same time every day and also try and keep your circadian rhythm too.
Eventually, you should be able to wake up feeling energised and without the need for an alarm clock. Repetition really is key here, so try and go to bed at the same time without fail. Sure, it may be tempting to stay up late and study, but it won’t be doing you any favours and it may even make it more difficult for you to give 100% the next day. When you go to bed, you also need to make sure that you are getting enough sleep. Sure, waking up at the same time every day is great, but not if you’re only getting 5 hours per night.
You should work on building up a sustainable and healthy routine over time.
Don’t Procrastinate
If you want to find the right balance between work and study, then you have to make sure that you don’t procrastinate. If you do, then you will be letting your to-do list grow and you will also be giving yourself an intimidating amount of work to catch up on. As if that wasn’t enough, you will find it even harder to find the motivation required to get it done.
If you want to help yourself here, try and accomplish as many tasks as you can, ahead of time. Time management is key to being a successful student. This will help you to reduce stress and it will also give you the chance to study more efficiently.
There are so many resources out there that are designed to help you study, so don’t be afraid to use them. They can make it easier to revise.
Prioritise
As time goes on, you may need to shift your priorities. It’s so important that you organise your work in a meaningful way based on the projects that you have.
If you want to benefit yourself, make sure that you check your curriculum so you can see which of your exams are the most important. You can then make sure that you don’t book any extra shifts around this time, so you can give 100% of your efforts to your course.
On the flip side, if you don’t have any extra exams coming up then you may be inclined to take on extra shifts at work or you may even want to cover an emergency shift.
By prioritising, you’ll be able to find out which days are best for you to work and you won’t end up letting anyone down either.
Make some Time for Yourself
Sometimes, you may feel so torn between university and work that you just can’t make any time for yourself. This can leave you feeling worn out and it may even make it harder for you to concentrate during the day. Try and spend more time with your friends, or even take a moment to unwind by yourself.
Run a long bath, or even try and put your feet up with a good movie. Treating yourself is so important because it gives you the chance to leave all that stress behind.
This is where self-care routines are crucial to maintaining your work-life balance whilst studying all at once.
Study Online
If you are finding it far too difficult going to university and working at the same time, then studying online can be a great option. You can get access to a huge range of courses and sometimes it can help you to be much more flexible with your time too. Also, attending university online can also be cheaper.
Eat Well
A balanced diet is important for every single student. Studying will take up a lot of your time and energy, so you have to make sure that you are fuelling your body with all the right foods.
It may even be worth preparing meals in advance, so you can make sure that you are eating well without having to worry about spending all of your time in the kitchen.
Of course, if you are finding it hard to know which meals are easy to cook then try and focus on things like pasta, lasagne or even chilli. These are great reheated, and you can freeze them in portions too so if you end up working late, or if you find it difficult to find the energy to cook at night, then you have nothing to worry about there.
Work with Friends
If you have friends at university, it’s certainly worth trying to get them involved with your planning.
Studying in a group can be a great way for you to get the best result in the shortest space of time because you can bounce off one another. It can also help you to concentrate better, as you’ll have other people to keep you on track.
Study groups are ideal because you can chat with others about subjects that you find difficult, while also contributing your own knowledge to subjects they may be struggling with. Your university will probably advertise the study groups that are available, and this is a fantastic way for you to really push yourself in your educational venture.
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