So, you want to work part-time while going to school. There are a lot of reasons why this might be a good idea. You can save up to pay off tuition costs, save for the future, or just have some spending money on the side. But working part-time while going to school is going to require some planning on your part. If you find yourself wanting to work part-time while going to school, you’ll want to keep these tips in mind.
1. Budget
You’re starting a part-time job for a reason. What is it? Are you working to pay for your tuition? Do you want to have money? Whatever your reason, set a budget with that number in mind. If you end up blowing the money on something you don’t really want or need, you’ll end up resenting your job and possibly quitting.
2. Make Time to Study
You’ll automatically make the time to get to class and do the assignment you have to turn in. You’ll also be sure to make the time for work, as that is scheduled in advance. But making time to study can be a lot more difficult. Block out chunks of time throughout the week to focus on studying. It might be all say on Saturday or one hour every night. Brush up on topics that you haven’t yet mastered or study for upcoming tests.
3. Make Time For Yourself
You don’t want to work so hard that you burnout. That’s a recipe for disaster. To avoid burning out, block out time in your calendar every week to spend time with friends, family, and yourself. This might mean spending every Tuesday night with your best friend, or spending Sundays not doing any work or homework. Find something you truly love to do (a hobby or activity) that you make time for.
4. Take Advantage of Resources
PlagTracker is a website that can scan your assignments and essays to find any plagiarism. The site can also rewrite those sentences to make them original (for a fee).
Pomodoro Timer lets you break up your study time into 25-minute intervals with 5-minute short breaks or 10-minute long breaks in between. It can help improve your focus.
Mint is an invaluable resource to help you keep track of your finances, budgets, and savings accounts.
Toggle helps you keep track of how much time you are spending on each task. Over time, you can analyze your time-management to see what projects are sucking too much time from your day.
Take the pain out of creating a bibliography. Input the data into EasyBib and let the site create your resources page for you.
5. Be Productive
When you have limited time for each task, you will be more likely to focus on getting that task finished. But this will only happen if you have a plan. Before you go to bed every night, write out your plan for the following day. Break your day into two or three hour chunks. Then, designate each chunk for something you need to accomplish. Some of these chunks need to include things mentioned earlier in this post (self-care, study time, work time, etc.). But you should also put the specific tasks on this list. Make sure you have all the “must dos” on your calendar for the day.
Maintaining a part-time job while going to school full time can be a challenge, but with some focus and planning, it can be a valuable experience. Use these tips to make the most of your split schedule.
Author: Kenneth Waldman is a Professional Writer and also an Editorial Assistant at Essay Writing Service. The areas of his interest include the latest education trends and technologies, digital marketing, social media. Get in touch with him on Twitter