How to Balance Work and Academic Writing

Over the past two decades, the number of working adults who are also attending college or university has grown significantly. Fully one fourth of college students are also full-time workers.

But with the growth in college and university students who also hold full-time jobs, there is a growing need to balance the demands of work with the requirements of education. In many cases, the tension between the two demands shows up most often when it comes time to write an essay. Students often find it difficult to balance work and academic writing.

In today’s academic world, more than 40 percent of college and university students are over the age of 25, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and that number continues to rise, projected to break 43 percent by 2020. Adults have a greater number of responsibilities than traditional college age students, and this makes it harder to devote as much time as necessary to academic writing.

The good news is that a few small tips can help you to balance these two competing demands so you can succeed in the workplace and in school.

1. Plan Your Time Carefully.

The most important tip for balancing work and school is to plan your time carefully. Don’t leave things to chance. Instead, use your phone’s calendar, or a printed calendar, or even a spreadsheet to block out your time to ensure that you have enough time for both work and school. To do so, start by blocking off the time you spend at work, including the time you spend commuting. Carefully consider how many hours you need to devote to school each week and plot them in the remaining time. You will likely find that doing so will leave you with rather little free time, but it’s important to make sure that you don’t try to put all of your college time into a single day, especially not the day work is due. Many online colleges, for example, require discussion forums to be completed on Thursdays and essays to be submitted on Sundays. That doesn’t mean that you should work only those two days. Plan time each day to ensure that you aren’t overwhelmed trying to race to finish on the due date.

2. Develop Priorities.

It isn’t always possible to get everything done, especially not on the busiest days of the week. That means that you will need to prioritize. If you have a major work project due and you need to prioritize it on certain days, plan to work ahead to complete your schoolwork before you need to start a work project. Similarly, when you have major school projects due, you might want to consider how to strategically deploy days off, vacation time, or flextime to arrange your schedule so you can prioritize these college projects.

3. Seek Support from Your Boss.

Be sure to let your boss know that you are going to school, and how your new degree will help the company. If you can make your manager into an ally, he or she is more likely to be flexible when you have an extended essay due. For example, if your boss supports your return to school, she or he might be willing to rearrange your schedule so you can have time to write your paper ASAP.

4. Combine Work and School Whenever Possible.

When writing academic essays, use examples from your work experience so you can double up on your learning. Similarly, when you are at work, try to apply concepts from school so you can put into practice what you’re already learning in class.

5. Make Time for Your Own Needs.

It can be tempting to sacrifice our basic needs to make more time for work and school, but it’s important to remember that we can’t be effective students or great academic writers without first taking care of ourselves. Be sure you are getting enough sleep and proper nutrition and some relaxation. It becomes very hard to write if you are exhausted, hungry, and stressed. Taking care of yourself is the first step to success.

With these steps, you’ll quickly find that making time for that big essay may not be the greatest challenge you’ll face as a working college student. Soon, you’ll have a work/school balance you can live with—and thrive with!