By the Ecampus student success team
April 21, 2017
Maintaining stability in your already-busy life after adding school to the equation is key to student success. Luckily, once you’re admitted to Oregon State Ecampus, you’ll gain access to the Ecampus team of student success counselors who can help guide you on your way.
Here are five tips we suggest to maintain a work-life balance:
Be realistic about time commitments
One of the most frequently asked questions that we hear is about managing time. Between working, taking care of a family, staying connected to friends and school work, time becomes a luxury.
Before applying, consider all of your current time commitments. We recommend using the time worksheet to lay out a typical week to get a good picture of where your time is spent. This can help you make an informed decision about where school will fit.
Prioritize
Think about priorities in terms of both people and tasks. Who are the people you value? What are the most important commitments you currently have?
By prioritizing the people and tasks in your life, you can decide where to focus your time and energy. This helps you to be more productive, but also to be present when you are with the people you value. You will be able to make a more informed decision about the priority of school in your life.
Make time for yourself
What do you enjoy? What makes you happy? For some, that can be exercising or meditating. For others, it is volunteering or spending time outside.
Whatever you do that brings you joy, make it a priority and build in time for it. That will help keep your stress level low and allow you some time to reflect.
Start small
What is a small change you could make today that will make your life easier or more enjoyable? It could be as simple as limiting your commitments or setting a goal to take a walk at least once a week.
Think about something large – and then break it down into small pieces to tackle one piece at a time. Once you build a habit, move on to the next piece.
It’s OK if you cannot do it all
Most of the time, the only person who expects you to be able to do it all is you. Sometimes the timing is not right for adding school, and that’s OK.
Taking a closer look at your schedule and commitments should help you to decide whether this is the right time to add school to the mix. If it’s not, don’t get discouraged. The opportunity may be there in the future. Whether you choose to focus your energy on family, school, career or some combination of them all, true success is deciding to commit your time to what you feel matters most.
And when you are ready to jump in, the Ecampus student success team is here to help you succeed. We understand the need for balance, and we can help you navigate the steps to get there.
Learn more tips from the student success team by visiting their blog.
