How to Juggle School, Work, and Life

One of the most difficult things to do while you are in college is juggle work, life, and school. You may even find that it becomes stressful, especially when your employer wants you to work certain hours, but your school schedule conflicts and you need time to study or your children are sick and need your care. Phew!

Balancing all these things can be tricky and it takes time, patience, and planning to work. Many students, especially those in their first semester, find that they struggle to make everything work. It is vital that you work hard to set boundaries and limits for yourself early on or you are setting yourself up for failure.

School is important but at the same time, you need a social life to remain healthy, and you may need to work to pay your bills. Florida Career College recognizes that students find it challenging to balance these three things and below, you will find some excellent tips to help you take charge.

PRIORITIZE WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR YOUR FUTURE NOT JUST IN THE MOMENT

This will be one of the hardest decisions you will make but it is a decision that needs to be made. You will need to sit down and decide what is most important to you and then prioritize to make it happen. You do not want to take the, “I will go with the punches” attitude here because you are setting yourself up to put your dreams on the back-burner.

If you are someone who wants to advance your career or learn new skills, then you should prioritize school first. This means that everything should come second to your schooling. For example, if your employer is not willing to work around your school schedule, then you may want to look for an employer who is willing to be more flexible.

On the other hand, if you are someone who needs to work to pay bills, you can take a couple classes at a time to work towards your future without placing yourself in a financial bind.

REMIND YOURSELF WHY YOU ARE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL

We all get lost in the moment of life – it happens, even to the best of us. Often, we find ourselves placing other things ahead of our schoolwork because, hey, it is easy to do. BUT, if you do this, you will find yourself behind in your coursework and drowning quickly.

As you figure out your work, life, and school balance, remind yourself why you chose to go back to school. Is it because you want a new career? Is it because you have a family you need to raise? Is it a personal goal of yours?

If you keep your reason as to WHY in the back of your mind, you will find yourself balancing work, life, and school quickly and easily.

THERE IS AN END DATE AND A START DATE TO A NEW BEGINNING

There will come a point in time where you are faced with both an end date and a start date all at the same time. This may be when you graduate your vocational training program, or it may be the day you can put your training to use and quit your current job.

While you may find yourself overwhelmed and stressed as you do balance your work, life, and school schedule, know that good things are coming and will be here shortly.

NEVER LET WORK CONTROL YOUR LIFE

Working is something that most of us must do to make a living. It can be easy to become consumed in your work. Once you leave your career training program, you may slip right into a job and find yourself as busy as can be. While it can be exciting to have a new job and put your skills to use, you do not want to allow work to control your life.

It is important that you take care of yourself and spend time doing what you love too. Remember, you will be able to work for the rest of your life, but you only have a short amount of time in college and you are only young for so long – enjoy it!

FLORIDA CAREER COLLEGE CAN HELP YOU TRAIN FOR A NEW CAREER

Florida Career College provides career training programs to students that allow students to enhance their skill set and develop new skills through a challenging, yet tailored curriculum, and instructional support.

Whether you are new to college, looking to gain a new skill, or want to change careers, Florida Career College can help. We invite you to check out our available programs here or you can reach out to one of our program advisors today!