Lifestyle | 4 tips to balance working and studying

I've gone through my entire education, right up to degree level, without working alongside my studying (minus holiday jobs and voluntary weekend work). However, 2 years after my degree I decided to go back into education as I wanted to retrain in digital marketing. In those few years out of education I secured a retail role, which I was offered after an entire year of applying to jobs, so it wasn't something I was going to give up easily! So I am now studying and working and here is how I go about it.....

If you already have a job, like I did, and then decide to start studying be honest with your boss and explain how your availability will change. Try and keep them informed as you find out more information e.g. days you'll be studying, term dates etc. so you don't become a nuisance when they're making the rota. Vice versa, if you're studying first and then decide to take on a job you should talk to your tutors and make them aware of the hours you're going to be working, in addition to your course, so you can make an informed decision if it's doable.

In order to sail through your time of studying and working simultaneously you're going to have to plan your time meticulously.  The first thing I did was to get a calendar to write all the days I would be at college, which for me is Monday and Thursday, I then knew I wanted to secure 3 shifts at work so that I'd still get 2 days off each week. I decided to give my availability as Tuesday, Friday and Sunday to my work for a few reasons; the first being that I wanted to get a weekend day off so I could spend time with my boyfriend, the second being that I needed to ensure I had a day off after each of the days of college so I could do any homework set on those days and thirdly Wednesday was a good day to split the week up and a day most of my family members were free. Then once you get into the swing of being at college and working you can organise your time even further by putting aside time to do your homework etc.

Very recently I took on a third role to do for only a very short amount of time but that really taught me how important it is to be organised, as I had kept up to my date with my to do list etc I could take on a fantastic opportunity, which I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.

Take time for yourself! As I am writing this, this is actually the first day off where all I've had to do was homework and relax for the last 6 weeks! I don't regret being busy, as I didn't fall behind with work etc, but I was definitely beginning to feel a bit run down and exhausted!

Although you may not want to feel like you're letting your friends down by not seeing them a lot, this is definitely not the time to be a 'yes man'. Performing well at college and work has to be your top priority, so they may see that you're out of college at 5:30pm as you being available to socialise but in reality that time could be used to work on an assignment etc or for much needed 'me time' so you're fresh and awake for your next day!

So there are a few tips to help you with working and studying - I hope they're handy! Let me know if you have any for me :)

KEEP SMILING