Manage Time When You have a Part Time Job in College
With the cost of attending college spiraling upward every year, more and more students are struggling to foot the bill. Even with the extensive financial assistance supplied by many universities, students often have trouble making ends meet. Many students must work part-time while going to college. This is a great way to make some extra money and reduce the sting of tuition payments, but it can be tough to manage so many commitments at the same time. This article is intended as advice to students who want to know how to learn to manage time when you have a part time job in college.
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Making a Monthly Schedule
The best way to learn how to manage your time when going to college and working part-time is to plan out your time each month. Figure out when you will be working so that you can schedule time around your work hours. For instance, if you need to work the night before a test, plan that into your studying schedule so that you can be well-prepared for the test without skimping on work hours.
Making a schedule is also a great way to ensure that you have enough time to fit in everything you want to do - from studying, to socializing, to working. Working part-time doesn’t necessarily mean having to give up time with your friends, but it does mean planning things out. For instance, if you know you’re going to go out to dinner or a party on a particular night, plan to get your work done early that day. This will allow you to stay on top of your school work without sacrificing too much time with friends.
The best way to make a monthly schedule is to sit down at the beginning of the month and write in your known obligations. Many workplaces plan out the working schedule on a monthly basis, so this makes matters quite a bit easier. Look ahead at school work and write in any deadlines coming up. Then go through and write in days and times for studying, hanging out with friends, and working on any projects.
Limit your Hours
This advice will depend on how much money the individual student needs. In general, don’t take on more hours of work than you can handle. For some students, this could mean working no more than 20 hours a week, for others, 30. Working too much can make it very difficult to stay caught up with school work, and may make you too tired to really dedicate yourself to your schoolwork. Remember, you’re paying for college to get a good education. If you’re spending all your time working and no time studying, then you probably aren’t getting a good education or good grades, making the effort something of a waste.
To sum up, learning how to manage time when going to college and working part time isn’t too hard. It just requires a little dedication and planning. Anyone who creates a monthly schedule and doesn’t take on more work hours and extracurricular obligations than they can handle will do fine in school.
