Balancing My Part-Time Job and School

During the Covid-19 pandemic, my schoolwork started piling up more and my job became stricter with rules and regulations. The amount of shifts I have also increased. I had no time to prepare for this. I never would have thought that a pandemic would happen during the busiest and most important year of high school. I began getting more assignments and tests in school. At work, I was getting more shifts because my co-workers were taking a leave of absence due to the pandemic. I had to learn to balance my job and school work. I didn’t have the time to complete things like I used to. I was put under more pressure and given more responsibilities. However, this gave me the opportunity to improve my time management and organization. 

At first, I was extremely stressed out due to the fact that I was not used to the amount of work given to me. It just kept piling up. Honestly, It seemed to never end. It felt like when I finished one assignment five others were assigned right after that. So, I decided to start planning a schedule in order to help me complete my homework and be able to rest from a day at my job.

While working around my given schedule from work, I have given myself days and times to do my school work. For example, if I work Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, I would work in the appropriate amount of time to do my assignments. So, I would take three to five hours out of the days I didn’t work to complete my homework, study the material, and even work ahead if I had extra time. 

It was not easy to adjust to this new lifestyle since I am so used to having more availability. My school life and work life completely changed. It almost felt a little too cramped for a while. I had to grow accustomed to the new way of things and I did not have a choice. But, who doesn’t like a  challenge, especially; if that challenge can help you grow and better develop qualities that can be of further use in the future. Obviously, at times, I get stressed or scheduling doesn’t always work out if I get called into work because someone can’t make it. However, that is why I give myself more than 2 hours to do schoolwork. Because, if I do get called in, I used those extra hours to go a little further ahead with my assignments so I’m not behind. I found it to be better to do a little extra work since you never know what could interrupt your schedule. 

Everyone is different when it comes to coping and adjusting to something new. For me, I found that planning ahead and creating a schedule has helped me in my current situation with my work and school. I am less stressed, less tired and I even have time to myself. This method works perfectly for me and I’m surely becoming more adjusted to my new lifestyle.