I am exactly 1,148.6 miles from home. I came to Winona State to study Graphic Design and Dance. I came to Winona to be independent. To do all of that, I had to take on three jobs. To do all of that, I had to move off campus as soon as possible. To do all of that, I had to learn how to juggle it all. So what is my secret? Sometimes even I don’t know that.
I currently work for the Web Communications Department on campus where I am also second in command of the blogs. I also work at the College of St. Teresa in their Alumni Office. I haven’t been working much there, but will get calls to shovel snow when it comes. And finally, I also work at Hyvee in their kitchen.
I am currently taking only 14 credits, but most of my days still end at around 4pm. Most of my days consist of waking up at around 8am and going to my Web Comm job for our 9am meetings. I stay till noon, then go to lunch, only to head to my 1pm class that goes till 4. Not too bad, right? But that’s only Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesdays I have class from 9:30 am till 8pm with only an hour and a half break to quickly eat and get some kitten snuggles. Thursdays are better with me ending at 5pm, but on those days not much gets done. And Friday is my work day. I used to work from 9am till midnight but my schedule changed.
And somehow with all that work, I still find time to hang out with my roommate and play with my cat.
One of my biggest piece of advice to someone with a busy schedule would be to let your place of work know when you start to get busy with homework. School comes first, especially when you are paying a lot of money to go to it.
Also, don’t put things off till last minute. I am still trying to kick this habit since I know that next semester will be even harder since I might have to actually find a fourth job (yikes!). I will also be taking around 17 credits, all of them being gen ed courses. To top it all off, I am becoming the crazy cat lady my father told me I would be, and getting another kitten this week (hopefully – the Humane Society hasn’t told me if I have been approved yet).
But honestly. Don’t stress. I tend to be more productive when I am relaxed and not stressing than when I am super stressed. Take a breath, put on some classical music, make some hot cocoa and believe that you can get it all done in the short 13 hours we have in a day (taking out the time to sleep and eat). And don’t forget to reward yourself when something good happens, like getting a really good grade on a hard test or just making it through a really tough week. There are plenty of ways to keep yourself motivated, so find what works and keep at it!
We will get through this together!
