Tips for balancing school and work

Trying to find a balance between managing school assignments and work can be difficult, challenging, and as result cause high levels of stress. As the Spring semester progresses and more assignments are due, it may seem that the stress will continue until the semester comes to an end.

However, there are ways to try to find a balance in managing everything that being a college student entails.

“I try to balance between school and work by focusing on school during the week and only working on weekends,” Karianie Gonzalez, a student at Lehigh Carbon Community College, said. “I make sure I have my school work finished before the weekend approaches so I don’t have to worry about it then.”

Working only during the weekend isn’t possible for every student, so finding ways to manage your time well becomes essential.

When looking for balance, these tips can help:

• Know how much time can be devoted to each task

• Keep an updated weekly and monthly schedule

• Set aside specific times throughout the week to focus on certain tasks

LCCC’s campus has counseling services available to help students with these issues. The counselors are mental health therapists that try to help students establish balance and self-care.

“The first thing is coming in and talking to us. Everyone is different and has different stressors,” Lauren Falgout, a counselor at LCCC, said. “We can help with identifying coping skills when things become overwhelming.”

Falgout also recommends that students utilize the learning support center because they can give study and time management tips. These services are free to LCCC students and are there to help balance the stress of being a college student.