Balancing School Essay

The biggest challenge for many of us is how to balance our studies, work and family demands. While we want happy fulfilling lives outside of family, work and school, we have to make personal sacrifices in order to be successful in life. Since time is precious, keeping a balance between three worlds can be a challenge. Fortunately, with proper planning, balance is possible. Every day, I have to make choices and manage my time incredibly well in order to be able to balance my online studies, my work and family demands. In my opinion family demands, work and studies balance are a process, not a static achievement. So, it is important to make the decisions selecting careers and jobs, timing children, allocating roles and responsibilities etc, that will provide the opportunity for balance. The real task of balance takes place on a weekly and daily basis, even from hour to hour . To help me balance and organize my studies, work and family demands, I bought a daily planner. The daily planner comes in very handy and I would recommend it for everyone to use it. It is very practical, its small so you carry it everywhere you go. It helps you organize your daily life, write down assignments and manage your time. Many people do not have the time to go to a classroom when you have a job and a family to spend time with. It can be very challenging when you have to work and take care of your family while you try to go to school. Penn Foster is a good decision that I have made when deciding which school to attend because it is online and the classes are self pace. The field that I have chosen is Paralegal because the job availability is high and the pay is good also. I feel that in this field I will be able to take care of my family a whole lot better and make everything easier for me and my family. I feel that the decision I have made is the right one. My family and friends help me maintain a positive attitude when I get discourage or overwhelmed. I have learned to prioritize things in my life and that helps me achieve my goals. Always plan ahead. First, the most important thing is to use your time wisely. Figure out how you typically spend your day. Make a list of time commitments that cannot be changed. Then, figure out how you spend your unscheduled time. It is important to include all the shifts and upcoming assignments and exams in the schedule. I use Microsoft Outlook calendar for time planning. It is user friendly and a convenient tool for time management. Accurate scheduling helps me to manage time efficiently whereby freeing up time to spend with my family. The first step to achieving balance in your time is to get your family to agree on what the priorities should be. Make them understand that studying often requires long hours. In these instances, support from your family has to be there. Additionally, when children are involved; you may have to re-balance your time so you have time to spend with children. Plan on having a little family time every day and schedule some special family event once a week. So you see balancing work, studies and family can be a challenging but if you put your mind to it you can to it.