Back to School! - Tips for Balancing Work & School

August is here - the time for band camps, football practices, pre-season NFL games, and the back-to-school shopping season!

In today's work environment, the back to school season is no longer reserved for those with school-aged children. Many adult learners in the work-force are also headed back to school, with the sometimes daunting task of balancing their professional work loads and their school work loads.

For those of you who may be headed back to school or even those of you that may be considering the challenge, we offer these tips to assist you with balancing work and school.

1. Be Organized. Keep your school materials and work-related materials separate and in designated places. This should help eliminate any confusion between the two. Also, keep one calendar, and note all deadlines for school and work-related projects. You may consider using tools available in Outlook, ACT! or other calendar programs to assist you in planning your work and organizing your schedule.

2. Be Flexible. Obviously, you will have some inflexible parts of your day, such as your work and class schedule. Fit your school assignment time into those time slots when you are not at work or in class. Build a routine around those blocks of time that you can stick to, but be flexible to adapt those times when the inevitable crises arise at work and/or at school. Block enough time so that when these events occur you can shift your study time to other available time blocks in the week.

3. Communicate. It is extremely important that you communicate your schedule to your employer, co-workers, clients, family & friends. One way to do this is through an online calendar that you can share or provide a URL to. (Google provides this with a Google account which is free.) This will allow everyone to know your schedule and help them set proper expectations. Not everyone will understand the demands that working students face. By pro-actively communicating your schedule and responsibilities you can help to eliminate potential conflicts.

4. Manage Stress. Yes, manage it! The demands of work and school combined will inevitably create stress. Accept this fact, and then do everything you can to relieve and manage that stress. Some examples of ways to do this are:

• Take Breaks
• Be Active & Healthy - Run, Workout, Walk, Sleep & Eat Well
• Vent - Have Someone to Talk to
• Enjoy Life - Take in a Ballgame, Go Out for Dinner, Watch a TV Show
  

5. Be Realistic. You can't fit two hours of work into one hour of time, no matter how hard you work or how smart you are. When setting your priorities and planning your work, be realistic. Also, if you do not accomplish "everything" at first, stay positive and re-set the goal or shift other plans. Try to maintain a "thankful" spirit; after all, you have a job and a chance to gain additional education.

6. Remember the "Why"! Keep your goals fresh in your mind! Sure, working and going to school can be tough, even frustrating, but you're doing it for a reason. You may want to write your reasons down in your school notebook and re-read them often. Or, put objects that remind you of your reasons on your mirror or in your locker. They may be goal-related photos or simply a post-it note with a written reason. When things start to seem "tough", these will remind you why you must keep going!