Hey there my blog readers!  I’m so sorry, that it has been a bit since I last posted but I have been super busy with the whole post graduation job search.  Actually, since my last post, entitled “Troubles of Getting A Job,” I was fortunate enough to receive a job offer!  It isn’t in healthcare but it is a great opportunity for me to learn some skills needed for the future as well as provides me time to dedicate to doing my volunteer, shadowing and extra-curricular hobbies as well.

I recently had been asked a question about the best way to balance employment and academics.  I figured that I would share with all of you what I shared with this individual.

The first question you need to ask yourself is what kind of workload you have with your job.  I’m going to assume for this post, that those reading this are full-time students but balancing that with a job can be tricky depending on if you are a part-time or full-time employee.

Part-Time Employees

Personally, I spent my whole undergrad time with a part-time job so if you fall under this category, then I can definitely relate.  I really recommend working part-time for anyone able to do so, only because it enables more time to dedicate to getting good grades and doing extracurricular activities.  The most important thing you can do is make a plan and strategize the things that you need to do in a given week.

Here are some of the things that I did in order to balance everything while at college:

• Monday through Friday’s were dedicated to school
  • I went to class. work a few hours at my job and then the rest of my fee-time was dedicated to studying/ doing homework.
• Friday nights through Sunday was my time to do the other things I needed to do
  • participate in extracurricular activities, hobbies, volunteer 
  • Ultimately Monday through Friday was work/school time while the weekends where activities and rest time.  With this plan I was able to succeed and get a lot done each and every week.  Your circumstances may make it so your weekly plan is a little different then how mine was and that’s okay!

Full-Time Employees

There are some of you reading this post sad that you don’t have the luxury of time because your current expenses require you to work full-time.  While it may be a little trickier for you to do all of the things that you want to do, it is certainly possible.  If this describes you, then I would learn to get really good at planning and organizing a weekly schedule.

Here are some ideas that you would want to consider with making a weekly schedule:

• Prioritize your schedule with the most important things first
  • Go to classes, work, study/ do homework and sleep
  • The next important things further down the list are volunteer, shadowing, etc.
    • still do these but do them only when you have the time
• Take a semester off or use summer breaks to focus on those shadowing hours, volunteer projects, etc.
  • You will still be a full-time employee but you won’t be in school at that time so use that time to do other things while you have more time

For Everyone

For both part-time and full-time, it is sooo important that you make a schedule and stay organized.  One of the things that helped me survive college, started the day I decided to invest in a planner.  I still use one today and I appreciate it cause it keeps me organized.

The thing that I want you all to remember is that it is important to get sleep each and every night.  Trust a recent college graduate, like myself, when I say that your brain doesn’t function well if you stay up into the wee hours of the morning studying for a test or doing homework that is due the next day.

That is all that I have to share with you guys today!  For the reader that reached out and asked me this awesome question, thank you!  If anyone has any questions that they would like me to write about or if they have something they would like to add, please feel free to leave a comment below or feel free to contact me.

Oh and Happy New Year to all!