Techniques to Help Keep You Organized 

Although having a job while furthering your education can be stressful and may seem impossible to manage, there are numerous techniques that can help you navigate the challenges that you may face. It is all about trying out different techniques to find what best works for you and what helps give you a sense of ease. Below is a list of some recommended techniques to try out based on expert interviews and peer reviewed academic articles that can help you be successful at managing this lifestyle. 

1. Time Management  

   Time management is so important when it comes to trying to balance many things in your life. Make sure that you are not waiting until the last minute to do assignments for your classes. Speaking from experience, sometimes it may seem easier to just push off assignments and say “I will worry about that later”. However, all that does is ultimately give you more stress because it is constantly in the back of your mind that you have that assignment to do. Try your best to at least start chipping away at assignments right when you get them assigned to try to eliminate any added stress that you may give yourself by procrastinating. In an article written by Michigan State University, it explains how making a bullet point list of all your can help you stay on top of your assignments and extracurricular activities. This is the easiest way to keep track of due dates and deadlines to ensure that you do not fall behind.  

2. Set a “Nothing” Day Weekly  

   In the midst of having a crazy, loaded schedule, it is so important that you take a day or two out of the week to just give yourself time to relax and have some self care. This can look different for everyone depending on what relaxes you. This can mean doing a face mask, working out, cleaning, binge watching tv or even just hanging out with friends. By doing this, you are giving yourself time to reset and regroup from your crazy schedule. You are also giving yourself something to look forward to!  

3. Create a Detailed Schedule  

   At the beginning of each week, create a detailed schedule with all the assignments that you have due that week and include your work hours. This way you will be able to carve out enough time for all your school related activities as well as work related ones. This allows for you to create reasonable academic and work hours so you do not tire yourself out. An article written by the PLOS Computational Biology explains that rule number one is how long hours do not equal productive hours. By creating a detailed weekly schedule, you avoid having long days which will ensure that you will have more reasonable, shorter days while still getting everything done that you need to. You will also want to assign your “ nothing” days at the beginning of the week so you know what days to leave blank on your schedule.  

   In an interview with Dr. Maggie Gill, a professor at North Central College who holds a PhD in neuroscience, explains how her number one tip for students who have a job is to plan and organize your assignments. She stated that most research shows that by planning all your assignments, important dates and deadlines helps decrease stress and anxiety levels due to the fact that you will feel more in control of your life. Investing in a good planner will make your life so much less stressful knowing that you have all your days already planned out effectively. The best planners that I have found are the Erin Codren planners. I have found, through much trial and error, that this brand of planners is the best for college students who are juggling many different responsibilities. The link to their website is here: https://www.erincondren.com 

4. Keep a Clean and Organized Environment  

   The space around you can truly make or break your mood, especially if you're in a bad one. If you are feeling overwhelmed and you come home to a messy house, apartment or room it is only going to make you feel worse. It is so important to ensure that you are keeping the space around you clean and organized so that you feel like your life is more put together. If you are finding that it is hard to find time to clean up your space, work at least 30 minutes into one or two days on your schedule to clean your space. This way you do not have to worry about having time to clean since it will already be built into your schedule. No excuses around here!  

5. Create a Support System 

   Having a support system while you are going through these lifestyle challenges is the best thing you can do for yourself. Even if it is only one person, you need to have someone you can go to when you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. According to The University of Edinburgh, their study explains how the students' need for a support system is much higher than other important factors when it comes to navigating the school and work life balance.  

Feeling Overwhelmed? Try This!  

When having such a jammed back schedule, it is easy to fall into a mental rut because you feel overwhelmed or like you are living the same day over and over again. Personally, I get this feeling around the winter time where I feel like nothing exciting is happening and I find it extremely hard to get motivated to do my daily tasks. It is important to remember that it is completely normal to feel this way and it is okay to feel like this. The key is to find something to spice up your normal day. This can be something as little as getting new ingredients to make a homemade coffee to start your day off or find a new hobby to do at the end of your day. The purpose of finding new things to incorporate into the beginning or end of your day is to motivate you to get out of bed each morning and to look forward to these small things everyday!  

If this does not work for you, The School of Applied Psychology gives the suggestion that an increase in motivation can also steam from future career aspirations. They claim that if you remind yourself of what you are working for and what you want to achieve, motivation should result from that constant reminder. In fact, in an interview with Dr. Alexis Chamber,  a professor at North Central College who has a PhD in psychology, says her tip for students with a job is to always remember your goals and what you are working towards. She encourages students to never lose sight of what they want at the end of the day. Furthermore, in an interview with Giselle Ramirez, a student from North Central College who works a job while attending college, says that her biggest motivator is “ Taking time to breathe and remind myself that my efforts right now will benefit me a lot in the future.” This may seem like a simple thing to do but try it out and see if this helps give you motivation to get through the tiring days! 

To Wrap Up: It is OK to Feel Overwhelmed  

It is understandable that being a college student while trying to manage a job can be stressful; however, it prepares you for a fast paced, busy life. By being able to handle these two things at the same time and still maintain academically successful while getting an income, you are only benefiting yourself and setting yourself up for a successful life. Also in the interview with Dr. Alexis Chambers, she explains that the job experience alone can be a huge benefit for students, even if it is not in the field they want to go into. She explained how she had a job in college and even though it was not in the field that she wanted to major in, she still thinks back to the job and remembers all the skills she learned from that job.  

Most importantly, you need to understand that you are not alone through this experience. There are thousands of other college kids who are doing what you are and who are most likely feeling the same thing you are. According to an academic study by the European Journal Study of Education studies, it states that 50-60% of all university students do some type of part time job. This statistic should help you feel more at ease considering the fact that many of your friends and classmates are probably feeling the same way you are. Any type of stress, anxiety or overwhelming feeling is just temporary and is only making you a stronger person. The key takeaway is to find the right job for you, create a healthy work/school balance, incorporate techniques into your life to help with the feeling of being overwhelmed and next forget what you are working towards!