Chapter 3: [Infographic] Top 5 Ways To Have A "Balance-ish" Between Work and School

Working at a job and maintaining a good GPA is a constant tug-of-war battle for working college students. Every student is seeking to strike a perfect balance, in which each commitment is given an equal amount of attention and effort. The only problem is that a perfect balance is impossible, as you may encounter some days where you may have to give more attention and effort to one commitment over the other. 

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Even though you may never achieve that perfect balance, I have developed the following top five ways for you to have a "balance-ish" between work and school:

1. Establish Your Priority.
2. Create a Realistic Schedule.
3. Do Not Give 100 Percent To Every Commitment.
4. Avoid Distractions.
5. Take Breaks.

Establish Your Priority

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Before you can achieve a balance between work and school, you must choose which one will be your top priority. In other words, decide whether work or school is more important to you, and determine which one best aligns with your values and current situation. Establishing priorities brings more order and structure to your life, enabling you to accomplish tasks associated with your top priority first, then the tasks associated with your subsequent priorities.

Create a Realistic Schedule

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Be sure that you leave enough time on your work schedule for completing academic assignments, and on your class schedule for completing work responsibilities. If you create a schedule with rigorous courses and long work hours, you will be taking on more than you can handle, creating an imbalance in your work-school life. If possible, sign up for an average number of work hours and choose courses with an appropriate level of difficulty and a small to medium course load.

Do Not Give 100 Percent To Every Commitment

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Remember, you are not Superman or Wonder Woman. I have learned that you cannot give your all to every commitment. Personally, I tend to give my all to every academic assignment or work task.

When I invest 100 percent of effort to school, I do not have enough time or energy to put forth the same amount of effort into my other commitments. As a resolution, I have tried to set deadlines for myself, which helps me to limit the time and effort that I spend on school and job tasks. So, try to still give your best effort towards each commitment but only put forth 50 to 70 percent of your all.

Avoid Distractions

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To strike the most ideal balance between work and school, you must avoid distractions including parties, cell phones, and social media. You do not have to cut off these distractions entirely but try to limit the screen time and number of social events that you attend. Limiting these distractions will give you more time to spend on fulfilling your work and school requirements and maintaining a balance between the two.

Take Breaks

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The most important method to maintaining a balance between work and school is to take breaks. Make sure that you allocate time to rest from fulfilling your commitments at work and school. This will give you a chance to recharge and refocus your mind on achieving your goals in a way that helps you strike the most ideal balance between work and school.

If you ever forget the above top five ways to achieving a "balance-ish" between work and school, just take a look at the below infographic to jog your memory.

If you adopt these methods, I trust that you will achieve more balance between work and school. So, throw down the tug-of-war rope and pick up one of the methods of living a "balance-ish" life. Enjoy living "balanced-ish!"

Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Let me know how you maintain a balance between work and school.