As many of you know, I started school in January 2021 while working full-time as a Business Analyst for a non-profit organization. One of the things that motivated me to pursue my Master’s program was the pandemic. I started working from home in March 2020, which eliminated my commute time to work, and many other volunteer opportunities I was part of got canceled. As a result, most of my evenings were spent on Netflix and social media. In October 2020, I considered doing something useful with my life instead of watching Netflix in the evenings.
I’ve always been passionate about writing and communicating with people and was curious to learn about communication. I researched different programs and enrolled in a Master of Arts in Communication program at Liberty University. I could do the Master’s program part-time, which will take two years, or do it full-time and finish it in a year. I chose to do it part-time to enjoy the classes and not rush to finish them. I took only one class at a time and three classes per semester, which was the best decision because it helped me have a good balance.
Here are some tips that helped me to juggle between work and school effectively:
1. Consistency
I set aside at least one to two hours every day in the evening after work to do schoolwork. I remember one of my professors said that she used to set a timer for 2 hours, and if she went to the kitchen to get dinner, she used to stop the timer and start from where she left off. That professor managed eight classes in addition to pursuing some other program by setting that 2-hour time every day to work on school work without any distractions. I did not set up timers, but I tried to consistently spend time every day reading the textbook and working on the assignments for that week. I also tried setting aside time to have fun by watching Netflix or spending time with family daily, which helped me to have a balance.
2. Change in Scenery
Since I worked from home every day, I needed a change in scenery, so I used to drive to a coffee shop in the evenings to work on the assignments. As an extrovert, I loved writing my assignments at a coffee shop because other students also worked on their homework, which helped me focus better. I was also more creative at the coffee shop than at home. Since I’m an extrovert, this worked for me, but if you are an introvert coffee shop may not be the best option; you may want to find other places that will work for you.
3. Holidays
Whenever I got holidays at my job, I used to take advantage of those days to work on my assignments. While everyone else was enjoying their 4th of July at the lake, I often spent all day working on my assignments at a coffee shop. This is a sacrifice I had to make because of working full-time and doing school. Working on my assignments during the holidays helped me to get ahead on that week’s assignment.
4. Friends
I sometimes meet with other friends who are also doing school at a coffee shop or at home and work on the homework. Even though we both were not taking the same class, this approach motivated me because that friend was also fully focused on doing assignments. I couldn’t do this often because of our busy work schedules, but whenever we did that, I was productive.
5. Connect with other students
I connected with other students during my second class because of a project our professor asked us to work together as a group. That was a great blessing because I could reach out to them even after the project was done to get help. For example, I was panicking about exams with multiple-choice questions, and some students had already gone through that class. They motivated me to keep going and gave me tips and suggestions to succeed in those classes.
6. Coffee
I relied on coffee to finish my homework because I’m usually tired after a long day at work. The only way I could focus on school in the evenings was to get a cup of coffee. That helped me focus and get a lot of my homework and studying done in the evenings.
7. Reuse Templates
Another effective approach was to save a copy of my homework as a word document in a folder on my laptop in addition to submitting it on canvas or other online assignment submission tools. When future classes required us to use similar templates, I reused them instead of creating a new template. Reusing the templates saved a lot of time.
8. Rest
I had a strict rule to finish all my assignments by Friday evening and rest on Saturdays. The Bible also talks about the importance of the sabbath and resting. According to Leviticus 23:3, “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings” (New American Standard Bible). Taking that day to rest helped me not to get burnt out.
9. Ask Clarifying Questions
Most of my professors were great in responding to my questions, except for one professor who was working part-time. I usually don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions to the professors. I used to make sure my understanding of the instructions was correct before proceeding with my assignments. Liberty University has been doing this online program for over a decade, so they knew what they were doing. Having good professors makes a huge difference in being successful.
10. God
I don’t want to make it too Spiritual, but God is the biggest reason I could juggle working full-time and doing school. As I mentioned, I was so fearful about multiple-choice questions that I almost dropped out of my third class. God gave me the strength to keep going and finish strong. A lot of my friends at work also encouraged me to keep going. According to Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
It takes discipline, hard work, rest, and allocating some time to do fun activities in the middle of the busyness. It’s all about balancing everything in a healthy way. Good luck to you if you are currently working and doing school at the same time. Don’t give up. Keep going. You can do this! Finish Strong!
