How to Manage a Work-Life Balance While Pursuing Your Online Degree

We understand that for some students, balancing school work with the needs of a full-time or part-time job can be stressful at times. With that in mind, here are some tips to help make your day to day a little easier while enrolled in our flexible online courses!

Time Management

At WVJC Ohio Online, we wanted to make sure our programs incorporated flexible online courses, so classes could be worked around your life and schedule!

Forbes recently posted an article with some great advice from straight-A students on how to manage your time properly while juggling school, work, and everything else. Here are a few of their best tips:

• Use blocking apps and browser plugins to help limit social media use while trying to study, do homework, or work on projects
• Buy a calendar and write down weekly tasks, including your work schedule, to help yourself visually map out time to put aside for school
• Invest more time in high-priority projects and assignments, such as classwork that is due sooner

Creating a Schedule

We mentioned how buying a calendar and writing down your work schedule and important due dates can help you find more balance in your day-to-day life, but another easy way to keep a schedule is through mobile apps! Check out some of these suggestions:

• Google Calendar – If you have a Gmail account, you know how easy it can be to integrate emails you get from both work and school into one, accessible calendar, so incorporate this into your schoolwork plan. (Free on both iOS and Android)
• My Study Life – Built specifically for students, this calendar/to-do list app makes it simple to map out your daily schedule, and also mark important due dates, tests, and more! (Free on both iOS and Android)
• Wave – This calendar app is particularly helpful, due to the fact that it can sync up to the other apps on your phone, such as Google and Facebook, and automatically add their info to your calendar. It can even send notifications to Android and Apple watches! (Free on both iOS and Android)

Beyond these apps, one of the things that separates us from other flexible online colleges is that we also will send you reminders for your chosen program to make sure you never get behind!

Getting Organized

There are many ways to get organized while you are enrolled in our flexible online courses. From picking up small habits to adding some new things into your routine, it’s sometimes the tiniest changes that can make a big difference in getting organized and being better equipped to balance work and school.

The blog “Sara Laughed” created a terrific post entitled “45 Tips for Staying Organized in College” that’s definitely worth checking out. Here are 10 of her best tips for getting organized!

1. Wake up at the same time every day, and be sure to make your bed
2. Keep your planner/calendar with you at all times
3. Make lists so you can visually see what you have accomplished, and still need to do
4. Plan out tasks, and even chores, at the beginning of every week or month
5. Save all your syllabi and create your own annotated version with all the important dates and assignments
6. Figure out what time of the day you are most productive and set aside time at that hour to get work done
7. Plan your outfit for the next day before you go to bed to save time in the morning
8. Try to spend five minutes a day cleaning (it’s easier to get work done and study in a clean space!)
9. Dedicate a certain space for work, and try not to get work done in places you are used to being distracted
10. Buy flash drives to back up your important files and docs, that way in case anything was to happen to your computer, your final paper won’t get lost

Learn More About How We Stand Out from Other Flexible Online Colleges Offered in Ohio

Not only do we provide a range of great programs, but we also give our students access to necessities such as 24/7 IT help, mobile access to classes so you can work wherever you need to, and much more.

Contact us to learn about how you can enroll in WVJC Ohio Online today!