Working while Studying: Here’s How to Balance Your Life

Working while studying? Why not? Studying at a place like BINUS UNIVERSITY gives you an opportunity to gather experiences before entering the workforce. You can contribute to the community, create a small business plan, or work on projects that will be applied at public places.

However, work and study consume a lot of your time. You also still need to save time for personal activities and rest, which are important for your physical and mental health. Here are several tips for creating a balance between work and study.

• Create a List of Priorities

Working while studying demands students to do a lot of different things on a regular basis. A list of priorities helps to manage multiple tasks and deadlines. You must list the tasks into several categories, which are:

• Regular Tasks

Regular tasks are something you do in fixed or the most expected schedules. You usually know how long it is needed to finish the task and when is the deadline. Regular tasks are the “center” for you to create a list of priorities because you need to do them.

• Scheduled Irregular Tasks

Scheduled irregular tasks happen in a more random period but are still expected. You have probably received information or announcement about these tasks. Since they usually have very specific deadlines, you should know how to place them around your regular activities.

• Unscheduled Irregular Tasks

Unscheduled irregular tasks are the dreaded ones. They come unexpectedly, sometimes with strict or inconvenient deadlines. With these tasks, you must know the best way to squeeze them between regular tasks or select certain activities to delay.

By knowing the characteristics of each task, you can calculate the time needed to finish them and which one you can finish first or last.

• Remove Distractions

Distractions in the modern era are more abundant than in the past, especially since they are present in your devices. Create a specific reward system so you can keep working or studying without distractions. For example, promise yourself five minutes of social media or one YouTube video after one hour of work. However, you must stick to your work during the designated time, making sure that you finish the task at hand.

You can remove distractions by reducing the visible notification marks on your phone. Remove notification dots from apps that you only use for casual or playful things. This way, your eyes will not be drawn when they appear on the screen.

• Avoid Procrastinating and Multi-tasking

Procrastinating makes many people fail to follow their schedules and results in stress. Disciplining yourself to finish the tasks at hand will bring positive outcomes. You can finish most of the tasks within the designated time and have time to do your favorite things afterward.

Another trap you should avoid is multi-tasking. While it sounds good, it can hinder the outcome of your tasks because you do not focus on each one. Also, multi-task often ends up slowing you down. The best way to do things is to focus on one task at hand and finish one before moving on to the next.

• Maintain Healthy Diet and Sleeping Schedules

These may sound difficult during modern times, but you should try them to maintain a healthy schedule. Regular healthy eating and sleep allow you to stay awake longer and more refreshed. You can work longer in a more relaxed state of mind because of enough meal and sleep.

• Provide Me-time

Me-time is not a “fad”, but something important your body and mind needs. During this resting time, you let your mind and body restfully. Once your “battery” is full, you will be ready to tackle other things.

Balancing between work and study can be difficult, especially if you are still a student. Studying on a campus with an academic atmosphere that has high expectations is exhausting. Therefore, make sure you follow this simple guide and start loving yourself even more.