Working full-time while also being a student is a big undertaking. Speaking for myself, trying to manage working a total of 20-40 hours per week, taking five courses and being a part of two clubs can be overwhelming.
I know for myself that working is a necessity for my lifestyle. I am not one to take out a loan to pay my bills while in school. I personally have two jobs to pay all my bills by the end of the month. Sometimes I am working as much as I can while picking up shifts just trying to make ends meet.
But since I am a full-time student I also need to have time for school. Because of my demanding lifestyle, I navigate around my work and school schedule. I try to plan my weekly schedule for school ahead of time because professors give out deadlines for assignments due ahead of time.
Depending on each week’s workload and work schedule, I dedicate evenings and the entirety of Fridays to work on assignments for my college courses. Planning my schedule a week in advance helps to balance working an hour away every Saturday and Sunday. Having a fixed schedule gives me enough time to attend school events and be an active club member.
It is worthwhile to plan ahead to know your own availability, especially in terms of group projects and other school-related work to leave no room for possibilities for procrastination.
While speaking with Connor Rossman, full-time student who works full-time, described his busy day-to-day life as “It is constantly making decisions and knowing how to devote your time.” Rossman explained how he works around working full-time and doing school, “You need to have the discipline to manage time to get everything you need to get done before stepping into the workplace”. By keeping to a strict schedule Rossman admits to feeling less stressed and overwhelmed.
For full-time working students like me you want to have discipline and time management. Picking a day to plan the following week accordingly is the best way to keep yourself accountable with due dates and other deadlines.
