Advice About How to Juggle Work And School

Managing Your Days Off

Question: "What are some things I can do now to make sure my work and school juggling act goes smoothly?"

One of the best things you can do is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Your physical health is essential to being successful at work and at school and will help you reach your academic and professional goals.

• Eat a well-balanced diet
• Exercise at least 3 times a week
• Consistently get a good night's sleep

While eliminating all stress is unrealistic when you are responsible for a lot, keeping your stress levels to a minimum will drastically affect your performance. Staying organized and maintaining a realistic schedule will help keep stress at bay.

Anticipate that you will need some time off and schedule that break sooner rather than later. Although saving your vacation time for a trip in the summer may be ideal, using those precious days throughout the year may be a better choice. Taking a regular vacation day every month may be just the break you need to keep going with your busy school-work schedule.

When it comes to sick days, though, avoid the temptation to call off "sick" when you are not. With a busy schedule and the stress from trying to manage it all, your body will likely get run down at some point. This makes you more susceptible to every virus out there and it is unrealistic to think you can avoid getting sick.

If you used up your sick days to catch up on homework, you will have to suffer through work when you should be in bed, sleeping off your illness. Save your sick days for when you really are ill so that you will be able to bounce back from your sickness and recover sooner.

Handling Stress Wisely

• Stay organized and plan out your assignments, domestic and parental duties
• Avoid putting pressure on yourself to complete every task on your to-do list (you are only human!)
• Take mini-vacations throughout the year for rest and catching up
• Plan and schedule your days off as soon as possible
• Save sick days for illness—avoid using them to catch up on errands/homework
• When you are sick, stay home and allow your body to rest and recover

Handling Pressure from Work

Question: "My boss just asked me to work late tonight, and I can't because I have a class assignment due. How do I say no without looking like my job is not a priority?"

The key to telling your boss no? Avoid saying "No." Instead of saying that you can't work late tonight because you have homework due, simply say that tonight won't work for you. Quickly follow that statement by saying what you can do.

Offer to come in early the next morning or work through your lunch-hour instead. Choosing words that relay a positive message, instead of a negative one, will keep you looking like the top-notch employee you are.

Also, should your boss know that you are taking classes? Carefully consider if it is in your best interest to inform your boss that you are going back to school. If you are concerned that you may be passed up for promotions because of an assumed departure down the road, keep your student status to yourself.

If you share this information your boss may naturally assume that you will start slacking off and look for proof of this. Don't provide any such proof. Refrain from doing school work while you are at the office (no matter how slow your day is going). Don't get distracted by worrying about a test and start making mistakes at your job. Stay focused on work when you are there and maintain your good employee status.

When Work Projects Need to Take a Backseat to School

• Avoid using the word "No"
• Volunteer to stay late, come in early, or work through lunch
• Tip! Be careful about telling your manager that you are going back-to-school. It may be considered a red-flag to your employer.

Dealing with the Cold Shoulder from Co-workers

Question: "Ever since I started going back to school my co-workers seem to be treating me differently. How should I handle this?"

Obtaining a degree online often means that you will change jobs or careers when you have completed your program. You may be moving up within your current company, or switching careers entirely. Either way, this means an upcoming change in your current work environment that affects those around you.

Your co-workers may take is personally and be upset, assuming that you will be leaving them down the road and start to feel "abandoned" by you. They may also be jealous that you are taking steps to build a better life, while they will be stuck on the same career path.

Although they may genuinely be happy for you, there may also be concern that you will have a difficult time juggling work and school. For your co-workers, it may mean having to cut down hours, leaving them to pick up the slack. The best course of action is to keep the lines of communication open.

Avoid complaining about the duties and projects you currently handle. Also avoid acting gleeful or happy about the prospect of a new job. Keep up with your current responsibilities and maintain a positive attitude. Also, do not make too many changes in the way you socialize with your co-workers.

If you typically have lunch together you may want to reconsider skipping out on them to study instead. Although studying during your lunch hour may help with tonight's homework assignment, adding to your co-workers' feelings of abandonment may result in a miserable work environment for a long time. Keeping the status quo as much as possible will help your team maintain a positive outlook.