9 Simple and Yet Surprising Tips to Help Balance Your Studies, Job, and Family

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young-Henry Ford

Learning is an ongoing process, and we can’t simply stop because we have a job or a family. Continuing with your education or seeking new skills every day has numerous benefits. You not only become more productive but also increase your confidence in the workplace thus becoming a valuable employer.

Juggling between work, studies and family can be tricky, and we often feel drained, stressed, and one may end up posting poor grades at school or underperforming in the workplace. It is even more complicated for those who are married, or single mothers who have to balance between work, studies, and family.

Today, I am going to share some of the tips I have learned over the years that have made me human despite the busy schedule over the years. Picture this; I am currently doing my Ph.D. in econometrics and empirical economics, I am a family man, online tutor, blogger and a social media consultant. How do I balance all these and still have enough time to have fun with friends and even remain human not a zombie?

The following tips can help you attain and maintain a balance between studies, work, and family to make sure you feel human

Get Enough Sleep

“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep”- E. Joseph Cossman

I know you may be wondering how enough can sleep help you finish your essay, complete assignments, or reduce workload in the workplace! Having an adequate sleep is a key part of living a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your mind, heart, weight, and more. Sleep will enable you to restore energy and concentrate throughout the day. Therefore, you should set enough time to sleep (Approximately 6 to 8 hours a day) so that you can wake up and face the day with enough energy.

Keep an Updated Schedule

It is yet the end of another busy day, and it is like you have not accomplished anything significant at the office, school or home. You are not alone in this it also happens to many others. Faced with endless meetings, urgent last-minute task, and frequent interruptions, you can easily be busy the all day without making any significant progress on important projects and goals.

Planning your day activities can help you achieve your goals and priorities of the day with less struggle. There are many tools and apps that can help you plan the day to day activities. Take advantage of these apps or the traditional calendar app on your phone to mark upcoming professional and academic deadlines. Remember to set aside specific times throughout the week to focus on things like assignments, family, laundry. Also, plan for sudden work crises as well as last-minute overtime requests.

Stick to a routine

Keeping an updated schedule but not sticking to it is useless. After work, you can do your assignments before preparing supper, go to bed early, wake up on time, and study before preparing your children to go to school. What I mean is develop a reasonable schedule that will work for you and stick to your routine.

Prioritize

“The principle of priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.”-Steven Pressfield

Organize your day to day tasks in a meaningful way based on when projects, papers, as well as other work events are due. Recurring things like studying, homework, or day to day routines like cooking and gym are easy to schedule ahead of time. However, projects at work or papers tend to sneak up on you. Adjust your schedule and deal with what is important first.

As a student, it is critical that you check your syllabus to see the cluster weights of different assignments and prioritize to work on important assignment first before those that have little marks. Completing major projects reduces your anxiety making you more relaxed and balanced.

Choose the most suitable learning mode

Technological advancement has changed our way of learning. Today, there are different learning modes that you can choose based on your career, schedule, etc. You can choose to take online classes which do not require you to commute from home to school every day. Online classes and tutoring are more flexible compared to the traditional sit-ins and you can easily and conveniently access study materials at home or work during your spare time.

Work Smarter not harder

Kill two birds with one stone by taking advantage of your working situation as a marketing class project. Write study notes on index cards so that you can study them at small intervals instead of longer time blocks. Use online resources such as Quizlet which offers online learning tools, study resources, and digital flashcards. These study sets help you work smarter by comparing what you have learned and share knowledge with other students taking the same course with you. You can also outsource some of your assignments and essays to custom writing companies such as Paper per Hour with seasoned and experienced academic tutors and essay writers to help craft a model paper for you.

Work Ahead

Take advantage of your free time to study and complete assignments to avoid last minute rush. Procrastinating your work will only grow your to-do list increasing the amount of work you will have at the end of the semester. It will be harder to get motivated to start working on your studies once your work has piled-up. Studying and working on your assignments, and papers will help reduce the stress that comes because of last-minute rush thus giving you more time in future to hang out with family and friends.

Watch out for Burnouts

Burnout makes you lose the feeling, motivation or simultaneously feeling cynical about studying or work. If your academic results or job performance begin to flag, then it is time to take action. Some of the tell-tale signs for burnouts include falling asleep in class, losing interest in studies or job, drinking excessive amounts of caffeine and inability to concentrate on anything. If you have burnout, then it is about time that you take a break and concentrate on other things that often motivates you.

Have some time to enjoy with family and friends

Yes. Have fun, let loose, watch that movie you have all wanted to go and watch as a family. Spending time visiting family, friends, or even just taking a moment to relax by yourself is important for your well-being particularly reducing burnout and giving you the motivation to go back to work or study.

Be sure to find some time out of your busy schedule to treat yourself and clear your head once you have completed the important tasks.

The simple advice that I have shared with you might not take away all your stress. But it will save yours from being a nerd while still maintaining a busy schedule.

Next Step

If you want to earn good grades and avoid plagiarism, check out the article “Ultimate Plagiarism Cheat Sheet”