Deciding to take the initiative and accept the job was easily one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

I was hired for my first job two weeks after my 16th birthday. It was at my local Walgreens that was located right around the corner of my childhood home. I applied on a Sunday, the day before my 16th birthday because I knew that they weren’t going to look at applications on the weekend, and I was so eager to get a job.

A week later, I had my interview and it was the first interview I had ever been to. Luckily, I knew exactly what steps to take to get the job and the next day I was notified that I had gotten the job. I know for many people getting a job at a drugstore isn’t the most ideal job, but for me, as someone who thought everyone got jobs when they turned 16, I was ready for some real work experience.

Fast Fact! Prioritizing your tasks is a game changer! It helps you stay organized, manage your time, and meet deadlines!

Although not everyone gets a job in high school, I truly believe that it was one of the most beneficial things I could have done while in school. Not only did it feel good to make some money, but I learned so many interpersonal skills that have benefitted me to this day and will continue to be important throughout my career. I learned about proper communication between an employee and boss, as well as between an employee and customers. I built great connections and friendships with the people I worked with that have touched my life forever. I also learned how to manage my time between school, work, and social life, which is what I’m going to be talking about today.  

With registration coming up, I thought it was important to give my fellow Panthers some insight on how they can prepare for their new semester while incorporating a job and/or internship. For today, I have included how I manage my time as well as how some of our peers manage their time efficiently between work, school, social activities, and proper mental health practices.

Ivy Magruder ‘22 (Author)

BA, Business Administration, Marketing, Psychology

(She/Her/Hers)

In addition to my studies as a Business Administration major and Psychology minor, I also work an on-campus work-study job at the Office of Career and Professional Development as a Peer Advisor helping peers out on their resumes and cover letters as well as writing blog posts like this! I love to have long hours at work so I can dedicate a decent amount of time to my work and get things done without being interrupted. I do the same with my classes. I love to have back-to-back classes with 10-15 minutes breaks in between for snacks or bathroom breaks. This way, I can be focused on my classes and my classes only.

Although I take school very seriously, as we all should, I also take mental health very seriously. This means that sometimes I watch TV and hang out with friends instead of studying simply because I mentally and emotionally cannot take on any more school responsibilities for the day, especially on Mondays and Wednesdays. Do not feel guilty for taking breaks like these. 

Below I have included some more advice regarding busy schedules and staying organized:

1. What would be the best advice to give other students regarding balancing a busy schedule?

“Don’t bury yourself with work. I’ve seen too many people take on too many responsibilities at once and then they are giving less than 100% in all of these responsibilities. I also think it is important to stay super organized. Make lists and set reminders. This way you can never forget and you can visually see what things need to be done and when.”

2. How do you prioritize certain tasks like work, school, and having an appropriate social life?

“To-do lists! I actually have three separate notebooks for school, work, and my blog that are filled with my daily and weekly schedules with daily to-do lists. I like to prioritize certain tasks based on how much time I have. If I have a few hours, I like to get the harder stuff out of the way first, especially if it is due first. After I get those bigger jobs done, I start on other tasks that are due later and won’t take as much time. The act of checking off those tasks on my to-do lists makes me feel so productive.

As for social activities, I prioritize those based on how I am feeling emotionally on the day. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have a jam-packed schedule from 9 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. and sometimes I need a little time to either wind-down or hang out with friends. It’s a nice way to get my mind off all the other things I need to do.”

3. Do you use any physical planners or electronic programs that help you stay organized?

“Yes. I use both electronic and physical planners. In addition to my 3 physical planners, I have a Google Calendar that is very similar to the Excel schedule above. It has every class I’m taking and the specific hours, any homework I have due on the day and the time it’s due. I also include any quizzes and tests I have on certain days in the app. This way, if I don’t have my planners with me at the time, I have my phone to check when I’m out and about.”

4. What are some common tasks/activities that you see yourself doing every week to maintain a busy yet healthy lifestyle?

“I try to work out a few times a week, although I don’t force it. I’m very adamant about listening to my body. If it is a specifically stressful week, I will either wind-down with some TV or workout in the morning and/or evening to let off some steam. I also like to get my work done really early so I have more time during the week to hang out with friends and family or do whatever I want to do.”

5. Do you prefer packing all your classes back-to-back or spreading them out throughout the week? Why?

“I prefer packing all my classes back-to-back no matter what. I also aim to have at least one day off of school each semester. The past two semesters I had Tuesday and Thursdays off and this semester, it’s Friday. This way, I have an entire day or two to catch up on homework and study without worrying about what class is coming up. I can also use these days to work longer shifts to take up a large chunk of my hours needed for the week. One of my biggest pet peeves is getting interrupted when I’m in a strong working mood, and packing my classes avoids this.

I also prefer morning classes because I noticed that when my classes are later in the day, I tend to waste my time in the mornings either sitting around or sleeping in and I have less time to get in the work grind and complete tasks.”

Hilary Lee ‘21

BA, Strategic and Corporate Communications, Chinese, Anthropology

(She/Her/Hers)

Apart from school, Hilary works at an on-campus work-study job and has an off-campus internship role at Recover Health. As a Strategic and Corporate Communication major and Chinese and Anthropology Double Minor, Hilary finds her schedule to be very busy, but still manages to appropriately manage her time wisely. Even though this isn’t noted in her schedule, Hilary also attends club meetings for Food Recovery Network on Monday and Wednesdays if her internship allows it.

Although her classes are not back-to-back, Hilary has found a way to incorporate external roles in addition to school and homework. Any off-time that she has in between her school and off-campus responsibilities, she spends getting extra work done, or with friends if all her weekly tasks have been completed.

Below, Hilary has included some advice for other Panthers who may be anxious about adding some extra responsibilities to their school schedule:

1. What would be the best advice to give other students regarding balancing a busy schedule?

“I think the two most important things to keep in mind are workload and priorities: making sure you’re not taking on too much- that you’re balancing between taking breaks and being on the grind- and finding the best way for you to organize your priorities so that you don’t lose track of assignments and tasks.”

2. How do you prioritize certain tasks like work, school, and having an appropriate social life?

“For me, before I enter into any period where I’m working for a few hours, I’ll make either a mental or physical to-do list so I can assess which tasks are more urgent or need more time, and then organize my priorities that way. I also try to make it a mission to schedule some non-school time with friends at least 1-2 times a week!”

3. Do you use any physical planners or electronic programs that help you stay organized?

“I have a Trello board I use for my school work and internship work! It’s been really helpful because I have a To-Do list, an in-progress list, and a completed list, which helps me keep track of where I am with each of my tasks. I can also add descriptions, bullet points, mini to-do lists, and due dates so everything’s visually mapped out for me. It’s typically used for project management, but I think it’s an awesome tool.”

4. What are some common tasks/activities that you see yourself doing every week to maintain a busy yet healthy lifestyle?

Some common things Hilary does every week: 

  • Goes through her Trello board and adds the week’s deadlines

  • Attends Marketing meetings on Monday and Wednesday morning with her internship supervisors

  • Cooks dinner 1-2 times a week for her family to unwind and destress

  • Unwinds with some TV if it’s been a particularly stressful day

  • Pauses every few hours to get some water, stretch, walk for a bit

  • Schedules time to meet about her club/visit professors’ office hours

  • Work calling with friends to stay productive and catch up with them

5. Do you prefer packing all your classes back-to-back or spreading them out throughout the week? Why?

“I was supposed to start commuting this semester, so I would honestly prefer packing my classes back-to-back. But even outside of that, I think it helps me delineate when to be on ‘school-mode’ and when to be in ‘work-mode’.”

Alejandra Barba ‘24

BA, Integrated Educational Studies

(She/Her/Hers)

As an Integrated Educational Studies major, Alejandra separates her time evenly between school and her off-campus job. Unlike Hilary and I, Alejandra works at a job that does not take place on-campus which can come with more challenges regarding time management. Despite this, Alejandra leads with a great example and works in large chunks throughout the week. After scheduling her classes, she can now decide what hours she is available to work at this off-campus job and, from there, schedule her study and homework hours.

As you can see from Alejandra’s schedule, she also has a few hours daily that are not dedicated to work, school, or social time. These times in her day are great ways to catch up on work, study for upcoming tests, or take a nice break if needed.

Below, Alejandra has given some pointers regarding balancing her time between taking classes at school and working an off-campus job:

1. What would be the best advice to give other students regarding balancing a busy schedule?

“I would advise students to buy and use a planner. I look at what I must do days, weeks, and months ahead of time in order to plan out my tasks and prioritize deadlines. Having a mental picture of the days you have to work, turn in deadlines, or take care of personal errands really helps you stay organized and avoid feeling unprepared or overwhelmed.”

2. How do you prioritize certain tasks like work, school, and having an appropriate social life?

“I make sure that the most important things are prioritized in my life. I must remember that school is more important than work, so I made sure to communicate that with my manager at my interview in order to establish the fact that work comes second. When it comes to spending time with friends and family, I make sure I don’t have any pending assignments that are due soon so that I can enjoy my time with them and not worry about turning something in.”

3. Do you use any physical planner or electronic programs that help you stay organized?

“I prefer using a physical planner because it feels good to physically cross off tasks rather than checking boxes off on an app However, I do use Google Calendar for urgent reminders such as Zoom meetings.”

4. What are some common tasks/activities you see yourself doing every week to maintain a busy, yet healthy lifestyle?

“I make sure to give myself time alone every week. Even though going through a pandemic seems like you would have a lot of time to yourself, I tend to feel overwhelmed from all the people I have to interact with in class and work, so a little break helps keep me sane. I make sure to take at least one hour every day to stay away from screens and stretch, exercise, or read something I enjoy.”

5. Do you prefer packing all your classes back-to-back or spreading them out throughout the week? Why?

“I prefer spreading my classes out throughout the week so that I can have more open availability for work and enough time during the week to study and do homework. Even though several Zoom classes a day can be taxing, I like getting lectures over with and having the rest of the week to complete the class work.”

For another example of how to organize your daily schedule, check out this TikTok I found by a med student who is studying for their upcoming Neurology exam. It is a perfect example that many of you may find helpful when including study times into your semester.