Balancing Penn Foster studies with work and family demand

There are two very important things I try to always remember when trying to balancing work and school. Responsibility which plays a big part in having good time management. If I am not responsible then it doesn’t mean anything. I have learned to be responsible and try to keep up my school work. To be responsible you must have determination. Determination to me is a very important skill when trying to stay focused on school. Part of being responsible is staying on task with what needs to be done. You need determination to complete your goals and the best way to do that is don’t forget what you are working for. For example I am finding it very hard to stay focused while working and taking care of my everyday things in life. I always remind myself of how important, what I am working for. I know that school can be tough to maintain on top of family and friends but also I know that it plays a vital part in my objective.

So staying determined in excelling in school always comes first and as long as I remember that, I can balance my life much easier. My name is Kristina. I am in my late twenties, I live with my partner and have no kids. Right now I am working at a resort doing front desk and also working at Jiffy Lube and attending school so you can say I work 3 jobs. I have a pretty set schedule wake up go to work and come home. Every day I have to try to make time for my studies. So, it is important to make the decisions selecting careers and jobs, allocating roles and responsibilities that will provide the opportunity for balance. The real task of balance takes place on a weekly and daily basis. So many people like me stress so much because of this task but they don’t know it can be very simple. Like myself lots of people do not have the time to go to a classroom when you have a jobs and/or a family to support and spend time with.

It can be very challenging when you have to work 7 days a week and attend school. I have been in an out of college and have yet a degree. Ever since I started working my second job I got really behind in school I would be stressing every night because I work every day and I am always so tired. It does tend to be difficult to combine studies and work. I personally give advantage to work over studies, because it brings money for my efforts. However, my practical experience can be improved at Penn Foster College, where I study Graphic design in more detail. Being a student of Penn Foster College, you may feel comfortable about the distribution of duties. For example, if you are busy with duties at work, I can logon at any time and access my studies were ever there is wifi. That is why I will pay attention to studies and work. If we want to provide the balance between Penn Foster studies and work, we have to learn to manage our lives.

I have always wanted to make a career in art and to better my knowledge on what I enjoy doing. I do have to say choosing to go back to school and starting at Penn Foster has been the right decision because it is a self- paced school. No matter how hard I tried to balance my studies and two jobs it never seems to work out the way I wanted it to because there’s always something and/or someone that’s there to interrupt me and once that happened well I have no interest to finished my school work at that point. Once I’m distracted and start to do something else, my studies get put on the back burner until I get that desire again to finish up my studies. As mentioned in the beginning I don’t have any kids so this is really a major plus for me. I work at the resort 4 days a week so this is when I spend most of my time working on school work. When I’m am working at the resort I usually work 8 to 10 hours trying to spend at least two hours doing homework.

For example on Mondays I go to work anywhere between eight and ten am at the resort till about six pm, then get home cook dinner and shower be done by eight pm. I try to work out a plan at least a week ahead of time but I mostly just take it day by day. Also on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I go to work at Jiffy lube at eight am to at least six pm go home shower and cook dinner usually done by nine. Thursday and Friday I am back to work at the resort working another eight to ten hour shift. Then comes Saturday back at Jiffy lube and Sunday back at the resort. Sometime I try so hard to study for a few hours when I’m home, but I end up falling asleep because I don’t get enough sleep and my body is still tired and drain, even when I get off from work I am still working at home with house hold work, my job is never done. I try to do so much and I guess you can say I am not good with balancing time and multi-tasking. I sometimes wonder how I am going to find the time and the energy to finish up the school work.

After all, I want to get through with my courses as soon as possible I don’t want to spend my time try to play catch up like what I always seem to do. I do know that It’s important to finished my studies and I am trying I am. All my other studies I finished in good amount of time, I think I’m just having problem with this specific studies because I have to write essay for this studies and writing essay was and never is one of my favorite in high school then and it’s not now, but I’m trying by best to finished it because I would like to get my degree. There are thousands of people that have struggled for many years trying to balance their studies, their workloads and living by family demands. Juggling school, work, and time for your friends can be very difficult. School and social life is like oil and water- they don’t mix. This was my biggest problem, I was always stressing I felt like I was going to fail in everything.

I was always thinking that I just couldn’t do it anymore and was very close to just quitting everything I knew I had to find a way to manage it all. So for me to you stay strong, not to get overwhelmed with work and school and manage your time right but stay active. No matter how hard I tried to balance my studies and two jobs it never seems to work out the way I wanted it to because there’s always something and/or someone that’s there to interrupt me and once that happened well I have no interest to finished my school work at that point. Not everybody will have a hard time trying to balance their lives with school and such. I honestly find it harder for me to attend online schooling verses going to a classroom and sit. Life is all about challenges and obstacles that you must face. In order to make it successful you must stay positive and not let everything get you down.

Most of all you must realize that it is very important to learn to manage stress. Stress is a part of being a student and a worker, combine both together and you can expect to be stressed out to the max. As much as I may try to prevent stress, I also got to learn how to relieve it as well. Take those much needed breaks. Give yourself time to collect yourself when it is needed the most, so you can reproach things with a clear head. Be active, maintaining a healthy lifestyle helps relieve stress and you’ll find if the more you get out and exercise, the easier work and school will seem. Take that extra ten min to walk away from work and clear your mind. Remember you are only one person and can only do some much at one time. Responsibility is one of the biggest keys to success. Stay determined to finish the studies and remember that when it is all said and done you will be doing your dream job or a lot closer to it.