Education: How to Succeed When You Have to Work and Study

The secret to any sucess is:

1. balance

2. expectations

Balance is important because as you go through life, you add on and take off different factors like a boyfriend or girlfriend, a spouse, a part time job, a full time job, a child, an illness, a raise, being fired — the list goes on and on. When adding work to study or study to work, you need to find a balance between the two — and the rest of your life like staying healthy (eating, sleeping, exercising), socializing, etc.

Expectations (and compatible expectations when you are in a relationship) are as important as balance. Sometimes, it’s impossible to know what your expectations will be or how they will change — no matter how much counseling, talking, and preparing for your marriage you do before hand. People aren’t machines and they change their minds about things. They also realize things they didn’t, later rather than sooner. This makes plans and expectations variable. If you expect to be able to balance an 80 hour work week and an accelerated one year graduate school program you may have unrealistic expectations that will lead to your failure.

As you become more mature, you’ll be better able to know what you are able to balance and what reasonable expectations are. This is a process.

Here are some tips to make the balance of work and study more graceful:

* You have to eat and eat well to work well and learn well. Change your eating habits to incorporate healthier and easier food. If you can afford take out every day and night, switch to a healthier restaurant. If you need to cook your own food, switch to frozen, microwavable foods, and pre-washed, pre-packaged foods to make life easier. Nobody grades you for having home cooked your meals.

*Visit a warehouse store and stock up so you’re never out of healthy food like bottled waters, juices, cans of soup and frozen vegetables and pizzas.

* Make sleep a priority. Allow yourself a nap if you can. You’ll be surprised at how much energy you get as a result.

* Don’t forget to see friends and family. This is an important part of keeping yourself healthy. Even if it’s a thirty minute coffee break at the local diner with a friend three times a week, you’ll feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

* Simplify your clothes shopping. You’ll feel better if you have clothes you like, that are clean, and that fit. Use online shopping services, or make a monster shopping trip to stock up on what you need, so you’re not caught short with nothing to wear.