Introduction
It’s hard trying to balance work, school, and life as an adult with responsibilities. I’m just starting this journey, and I’ve probably cried twice in the last week, haha. But I’m learning to adapt to keep up.
When you’re working and studying, you realize that you are only human, so you have limits on how your time, energy, and emotions are spent. As a result, it’s important to invest them wisely.
Stick around to learn about 5 Things to Expect when Balancing Work and School as an Adult, along with tips to help you survive!
1. Time Feels Scarcer Than Ever, but You’ll Be Okay
Your first couple weeks studying while working will either be the easiest or most chaotic. You may find that you’re not sure when to schedule what…and most importantly, you’ll probably find that you have less time to do everything else.
Why adult learners feel pressed for time
You as an adult learner may feel pressed for time, not only because you’ve added another major commitment to your life, but you’re also trying to maintain the commitments that you already have.
Whether that be kids, chores, friends, church, and of course…your job, you’re trying to juggle all of these within the same 24-hour period that you had before.
That’s no easy feat!
When I first started studying alongside my full-time job, I underestimated how much of an organizational shift my life would require for success.
My first 2 weeks of classes were full of light assignments, so I didn’t have to spend that much time on them. But week 3 was when everything hit hard: I had 2 research essays due (side note: I hadn’t written an academic paper for college in 3 years), and my cortisol levels were through the roof.
I successfully finished and submitted those papers, but that week reminded me how important time management is.
Average hours spent working + studying
Depending on your class schedule, the amount of time spent studying and doing homework will vary. A good rule of thumb is for every credit hour of college classes, expect to dedicate 2-3 hours each week on assignments.
For example, at the time of this post, I’m taking 2 online classes this semester. Each class is 3 credit hours. Multiplying 3 credit hours by 2 is 6 hours a week dedicated for each class.
That equals 12 hours per week for both classes. This seems to line up with how much time I spend each week, although it varies.
As for my job, I work full-time at 40 hours a week. That’s 8 hours of work a day, but doesn’t include the commute, preparation, and 1 hour lunch within each day.
So, to do the very loose math here, we’ll say that I’m doing work related stuff for 10 hours a day, and I study an average of 1-2 hours a day on the weekdays. That’s about 12 hours of working + studying per day which leaves 8 hours for sleep and 4 hours for other stuff.
Note that the study calculation above is a very rigid schedule, and I do not follow it that strictly. I make use of my weekends as well.
How to Find More Time in Your Schedule
Start relying on routines
When I say routines, I don’t only mean your typical morning or night routines. Rather, I mean routines in the different aspects of your life.
For example, ever since I started my classes, I found it useful to creating a routine at my full-time job as an agency recruiter. At 11am I review interviews from candidates. At 2pm, I schedule follow-ups.
This reduces brain scatter and panic because during certain periods I basically forbid myself from checking emails or calling people when it is not that point in my routine. It’s obviously not perfect, but it is a good thing to try.
Choose your goals wisely
You have limited time, so make sure you pick what’s important to you. You’re in a temporary period of survival mode. This means that all non-essential tasks, goals, and aspirations go out the window…at least until you get used to your new routines.
Additionally, do what you can to focus on the task at hand…even if it’s hard.
Not only does it relieve the stress of trying to multitask, escape, or not letting your boss see your tears, but it also makes the time fly by!
Not going to lie, it’s hard to focus halfway through the day, especially during busy season at my job. However, trying to run away from working on the tasks makes it worse, and 10 minutes seems like 2 hours.
It is best to bite the bullet and use the energy when you can, so that instead 2 hours feels like 10 minutes. This is especially the case with a mentally taxing job.
Make use of those dead 10-20 minutes pockets
Ever notice that you have random times where you don’t really do anything for 15-20 minutes in your day? I used to not do anything during these periods because I thought it wasn’t enough time to do anything productive.
But I was wrong.
In the mornings, I noticed that I had this random dead pocket of 15 minutes and decided to take a walk outside before work. I’m not consistent yet but walking 7 minutes out and 7 minutes back really made a difference in my physical and mental health!
Gives me a chance to take a break from screens and enjoy God’s green earth.
Do a time audit. If you find yourself doing nothing during a time you have energy, think of something to do…whether it be writing a couple sentences for a school paper, folding laundry, or like in my case, get moving!
2. Prioritization Becomes Essential, but not that Essential
Everything can seem urgent when you first start working and going back to college. So, what exactly do you focus on?
There are many different methods for this like the Eisenhower Matrix to help you figure out what to do first.
I’ve found that the best tip for adult learners, though, is to just do something…anything. Chances are that you’re overwhelmed with what to pick first, so this will help you make progress on your task list, even if it’s not perfect.
This will help prevent analysis paralysis.
Once you start making progress on your tasks, you’ll be able to better judge what needs to be done now, and what can be done later.
3. Your Energy is like Gold. Manage it wisely.
In addition to time management, energy management Is important as an adult learner. Like it or not, humans have a limited capacity, which is something I’m still coming to terms with.
Even if you have all the time in the world, if you don’t have the physical, mental, or emotional capacity to handle what tasks you have, they aren’t getting done. And certain tasks can either give or take energy.
For example, for me, talking to job applicants on the phone requires emotional energy, while working on a college assignment requires mental energy. If my energy is drained in either of these categories, I won’t be effective.
What you can do to manage your energy as a working student
Track energy patterns for optimal productivity
Figure out what tasks or events in your schedule drain your physical, mental or emotional energy reserves. Then, ration.
Since I know that reviewing a recorded interview from a job applicant at work drains my mental and emotional energy, I like to do these early in the morning when this energy is the highest.
Then, towards the middle and end of the workday I do fewer taxing tasks to reduce my effort. Sometimes all I can do is less than bare minimum, sometimes I give 60-80%.
Regardless, I do what I can to make sure I have enough energy left for later to study and do homework for my college courses.
Schedule short breaks and recharge periods
Sometimes you’ve got to take longer than normal bathroom breaks to recharge. If you work in a fast-paced work environment like I do, the work never ends. So, make sure you take breaks and give yourself grace.
Also figure out what activities help you check out of life (other than scrolling). For example, playing video games with my husband, or going out to eat helps me to rest my brain.
Protect your social energy, and don’t be guilty about it
If you’re not a die-hard extrovert, you will most likely need to cut back on the social time. I would consider myself somewhat of an extrovert, but I don’t hang out with many people these days.
It requires a lot of effort to schedule something, and I am not willing to dedicate time or energy to doing that right now. I love my people, but I need some me time in this season of locking in. It’s still good to check on your peeps via text to make sure they’re okay.
I say this to say, do not feel guilty if you don’t hang out as much with people right now. If you have people that give you energy, you can mark them as exceptions (my example: my husband and my mom).
4. Sounds cliche, but you need to be flexible.
You probably hear it everywhere. I glazed over this advice until I actually had to use it. Life rarely goes as planned, and you’ve got too much stuff going on to worry about how you’re going to force life to stay on track.
You might have unexpected work deadlines, school tasks, and personal events pop up, that all of a sudden become non-negotiables. What I like to say when these happen is, “Not my favorite.” Then move on to adjusting my plans.
Having a “go with the flow” mindset will be your best friend through this season. You have to mentally prepare for the unexpected in order to stay sane.
And once you get used to it, it’s not that bad 🙂
How to have an adaptable schedule as a busy adult
Build buffer time into your schedule.
Don’t schedule out every single minute of every single day. You may have a day you need to relax and recharge instead of studying, so make sure you leave some leeway in your calendar.
Save your PTO days at work until you really need them.
I’ve caught myself starting to burn out, and I’ve used that time off to rest before it got really bad.
Also avoid staying later at your job than your normal work hours (especially if you’re salaried). Sometimes staying late will still need to happen, and if it does, that’s okay!
Lower your expectations of yourself and the effort you can give.
As of this post, I’ve got at least a year and a half of my full-time work and full-time college schedule left, so I’m locked in for the long term.
Again, the importance of rationing your time and energy shows. You probably won’t be the top of your company or the top of your class during this season, but that’s okay!
Be proud of yourself for showing up and giving what you can. You’re choosing to make yourself and your family better with your decisions.
5. Growth Feels Slow, Time May Seem Stagnant, But Keep Going
It may often seem like you’re not making the progress you want to make. Or that the time is dragging on. Shoot, you may even want to quit some days!
But remember, in about 2-4 weeks you’ll look back on today and see how much you’ve progressed in your journey.
I’m struggling with this now, but it’s forcing me to be creative when passing the time, and it’s growing my patience.
Adult learners often feel like they’re behind in life
At this point, most of my peers have already graduated from college. Sometimes I wish that I would have finished my bachelor’s when I had started it 5 years ago.
However, this hindsight thinking is a trap. You can’t do anything about what happened 5 years ago…you can only make decisions about right now and your future.
Think about everything you learned in that time frame…what good things would you have missed out on if you didn’t make the decisions you did?
I wouldn’t have met my husband if I hadn’t dropped out of college when I did. I can’t imagine a life without him.
Consistency is more important than speed
Showing up every week and giving 60% will get you farther than showing up only 2 weeks and giving 120%. Trust me, I’ve tried it.
Certain skills, decisions, and experience only come with time and consistency.
How to maintain momentum
Track your mini achievements.
If your work + school season lasts at least 3 months, break it down into monthly or even weekly wins.
I use my dashboard in a program called Obsidian to keep track of everything, but you can use your notes app, planner, notebook, or a wall calendar 🙂
Celebrate milestones, even small ones
Made it to work on time when you wanted to skip? Celebrate.
About to finish that 2-page history paper? Go and get you some ice-cream.
I find that it’s the little wins and celebrations that help keep me going. Give yourself permission to do something you enjoy when you complete something important on your task list. You can even make a list with some ideas for rewards that you can use later!
Conclusion
So, let’s recap: 5 Things to Expect When Balancing Work and School as an Adult are:
- 1. Time will be Scarcer Than Ever, but You’ll Be Okay
- 2. Prioritization Becomes Essential but Not That Essential
- 3. Your Energy is like Gold. Manage it Wisely
- 4. Sounds cliche, but You’ll Need to Be Flexible
- 5. Growth Will Feel Slow, Time May Seem Stagnant, but Keep Going.
My final tip for you:
Make sure to prioritize showing up rather than making everything perfect. This is a season of survival mode, but you can find enjoyment in the little things too! Find ways to celebrate your progress and try to enjoy the moment.
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