How to Combine Studying While Working

Many professionals choose to pursue part time education whilst working. This decision is one that requires careful deliberation as it involves spending vast amounts of time studying after work. For individuals that choose to do so, there are several tips below which can help them balance their work and study load.

1. Organization: Individuals that wish to pursue further education whilst working are advised to master their organization and planning skills. In order to stay ahead at work as well as be a diligent student, it is advised that you delegate at work and only take on a workload which you can handle. Setting goals for certain periods of time will help you achieve them and be successful in both being a student and a working professional.
2. Time Management: Delegating tasks is helpful however, there will be certain jobs that you will be expected to complete as part of being a productive employee. To achieve the best possible productivity, you should try to divide your time between work and study. Maintaining a good balance between the two will help you establish boundaries between work and studies.
3. Study Leave: Informing your employer about your studying plans will ensure that they are aware of your situation. Most employers will support and understand your decision, offering paid study leave (up to 20 days) during exam time.
4. Funds: In the event that you are working at an established firm as a full time employee, informing them of your decision to study whilst working can lead to potential sponsorship from the company. Employers are likely to financially support their employees obtaining an additional qualification as it will benefit the company in the long term.
5. Stress: Working as a professional can have negative effects on your health, physically and mental health. If you are pursuing an education whilst working, you should be prepared for stress having an impact on your work. In order to deal with stress and avoid it having a detrimental effect on your overall productivity, it is advised that you inform management of issues you have and address them in time.
6. Free time: Working and studying simultaneously can have an effect on your life and it is important to combat the stress and pressure by maintaining a positive attitude towards both. Individuals are advised to allocate time for relaxing, meeting with friends and enjoying time with family to ensure that they are not engulfed within their study-work routine. By setting aside some free time, you can make sure that you unwind and gain perspective on life before letting the stress and anxiety of work and study get to you.

10 hot tips for studying while working

It's very satisfying to continue studying, training and learning. But it's not easy, either. Here are 10 tips to help you along your way!

1. Plan your work well. Find out what your deadlines well in advance and put them in a place where you can easily see them, either at work, or at home, or both.
2. Make good use of any time which might otherwise be wasted time, such as reading on the train, listening to an Open University programme in the evening (which you taped the night before) instead of watching the usual rubbish.
3. Remember to get the balance right. Look after yourself. It is exhausting studying for a professional qualification while you're studying. Eat properly, get exercise, get rest and continue to socialise where you can.
4. If you think you're going to have a problem meeting a deadline, or you've had a family or work emergency, let your course tutors know. They are very human, and will understand the pressures of trying to balance work and study at once. Tell people if there's a problem sooner rather than later.
5. Remind yourself constantly of what doing the study will mean for you. Have a very clear reason to do the course. If your reason to do it is weak, your motivation to sit down and study will suffer.
   
6. If you can, tell your boss what you're doing. Studying shows you're serious about your personal development and growth as an individual.
7. Remember that there are lots of mature students going back to part time or full time study. See this as an opportunity to expand your network.
8. Set up a spot where you feel comfortable working. Use anything which will help you focus: timetables, your goals written on a wall, coloured pens, mind maps, flowers at your work space. Think about the time of day you study best. For some people, that may be first thing in the morning, say at 4:00.
9. Make good use of the careers service in your organisation. If you're studying long distance, find out what facilities the training or education provider has for you, too. Take advantage of the services they offer while you can.
10. Be prepared to say no to requests you'd normally take on either at home or at work. Remember, you need to look after yourself. Remember, you're worth it. When you're studying, make it clear that you're not to be interrupted unless it's a life and death emergency!

Effects of Working and Studying at the Same Time

Have you ever worked and studied full-time at the same time? If you have, have you achieved success in either? Absolutely, the answer is no. Taking classes full-time while working a full-time job is daunting; however, it sounds a challenge, so many people try it, but they cannot because it ruins their lives. Multitasking has negative consequences: bad social life, lack of sleep, and tight timetable.

All the things we do in life are to improve the way we live. We study, work, play sports, and make choices just to have a better social life. People who challenge themselves to work and study full-time will end up with a very bad social life especially those who are ESL students because of their English barrier. They will not have the time to be around their families and friends. They will not have time for themselves too. They will not be able to do the activities they used to do such as: playing sports, hanging out, partying, or even shopping. Their lives will be routine as living in a circle, waking up, going to school, going to work, coming back home, doing homework, sleeping, waking up, going to school, and so on. They will live in a circle which will cause them to hate their lives.

Lack of sleep is the biggest problem that working college students experience. They work eight or more hours a day, come back home, spend four or more hours doing schoolwork, and then they try to sleep for three or fewer hours a day. Doing this every single day will harm their health and their brain. Lack of sleep is the major cause of heart disease and high blood pressure. It kills the mood too. Working students will be having bad headaches and tiredness all the time. They will be having bad moods even talk to their families and friends. Lack of sleep impairs attention and thinking. Plus working students will not be able to comprehend easily. They will be all the time in bad mood, under stress, and in extremely bad health.

The most important thing in life we have is time: without maintaining it, life will not exist. Studying and working at the same time will burn your time and will make you busy all the time to the point you will not feel yourself to be living. It will make you busy all the time; thus, it will also be a complicated duty; to control school and work. For example, suppose you have some tests and a lot of homework, so you will have to skip some classes and take some days off work so you can study and do schoolwork. Sometimes you will have to skip classes because you didn't have chance to do the homework. Other times you will skip classes because you have a test and you didn't study for it. Working students get fired because they try to take advantage of their free minutes at work to do schoolwork. So lack of time will ruin both of them and you will not succeed on either one.

Working and studying at the same time can miss up your social life, your health, and your time. Even managing your time and putting in a lot of effort to accomplish priorities, yet taking classes full-time and working full-time job at the same time still difficult and has a lot of challenges and disadvantages. Focusing on either school or work is the best thing can a person do. It will make this person succeed and achieve instead of ruining everything.

Working and Studying at The Same Time

Students who work and study seem to enjoy the best of everything. They get their education and at the same time are able to keep their jobs and get a pay check. However, it isn't as easy as it sounds and studying at the same time as working is probably one of the hardest things you'll ever do in life. Here are some tips to help you.

1

Have good time management. Set up a daily or weekly plan for yourself and ensure that you set aside time for your studies daily. Vary the study times to fit in with other commitments such as family, sports etc. Be aware, and accept, that your weekends are likely to be eaten into by at least some regular study. Depending on your commitments and need for sleep, early Saturday or Sunday mornings can be a good choice to allow you free time later on both days for family, religious observation, sport, friends, other activities etc.

2

Get yourself motivated by staying in contact with your classmates. Use the e-mail to share ideas and brainstorm responses to assignments. When studying and working, it can be easy to lose motivation without constant student contact, so make the most of technology to "cybermeet". Try to catch up before or after classes occasionally to put faces to the names.

3

Set goals and reward yourself when you attain them - this is a great self-motivating habit. One great goal is time off from studying!

4

Set up a quiet place for study away from home life distractions, such as the television, phone calls or other family members. Always keep your textbooks, notes, computer etc., in this one place for easy access and retrieval when needed. It saves worrying where things are after a long day at the office, store or workshop when you're feeling tired!

5

Make room for play. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl. Play rejuvenates our soul and gives us greater purpose in life. Get out there and enjoy yourself; continue a hobby, go hiking, see a film, spend an afternoon lying with the kids playing Lego Martians on the floor. These are moments as precious as anything and while you are playing, your mind is resting but subconsciously computing the study you've learned and is also rejuvenating your working self. Always put down recreation time in your timetable.

6

Enjoy the crossover between work and study. Full-time students may appear enviable to you but they are missing out on the key ingredient that is pushing you - work experience. Already working provides added value to your study, by providing real-life insights and examples that can help you better understand your studies. Even if your work and studies are completely unrelated, work is still providing you with the skills of prioritizing, managing, balancing tasks, time-management, dealing with colleagues and customers etc. All of this is invaluable when compared to the inexperience of a full-time student.

TIPS:

Ask your family and friends to be understanding; you have taken on a lot for the duration of the studies and they may not see much of you at times, such as when you have assignment work, see your professor/teacher to make arrangements to catch up on the missed work or lecture. Don't assume the professor will understand at exam time. Be upfront from the start of the course.