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Working a job and attending school can each stand on their own as full-time occupations. However, from time to time, many college students find the two time-consuming activities overlap, and the results can be exasperating.

 

Whether tight finances mean you had to nab a part-time job between classes or a stellar career opportunity crossed your path before you even had to pull together your resume, if you find that you’re juggling the responsibilities of both school and work, here are a few tips to help survive the madness.

Ease That Financial Tension

If you find yourself needing to work during every spare minute in order to cover your expenses, you should make sure that those expenses are as minimal as possible. One of the first things you should do is create a budget — if you haven’t already. Your work isn’t finished once you have a budget, though.

 

Budgets are a great starting point from which to see your expenses and what money you have available. Once you have all of that written down, it’s time to go over everything and see where you can save some cash. Even the tightest budgets typically can be reduced in one way or another.

 

For instance, if you find that you’re eating out a lot, consider cooking more in your dorm or apartment. If you have subscriptions to Hulu, Netflix, andAmazon Prime, cut two of them out and only keep one at a time. If you drive your car more than is necessary, try to reduce your use or even consider getting rid of the car entirely and relying on a combination of a bicycle for short distances and a rideshare app for longer ones.

Find Ways to Manage the Stress

No matter how well you slash your budget, if you’re working and going to school at the same time, you’re likely to feel quite a bit of stress. Rather than stressing or acting out in unhealthy ways as a reaction to the pressure, make sure to look into methods to manage the stress correctly.

 

The truth is, stress and the anxiety it can so easily produce aren’t inherently bad or indicative of failure. They’re normal parts of life, and as such, they can be managed just like any other life event. When you feel that stress creeping in, you can address it in several different ways:

 

• Get some exercise.
• Spend time, even if it’s just a little time, meditating on a regular basis.
• Make sure you’re eating well.
• Practice mindfulness and having an attitude of gratitude.
• Get some lavender essential oil and a diffuser.
• Don’t be afraid to communicate with family, friends, or medical professionals.

 

While there are many ways to manage stress, the most important thing is to acknowledge the stress when it appears and then take steps to manage it effectively and in a healthy manner.

Look Into Freelancing

If you’ve decided that you need to pick up some extra work, but you haven’t set out on the job search quite yet, you may want to consider freelancing. Some freelancing options include:

 

• Writer
• Editor
• Proofreader
• Photographer
• Tutor
• Virtual assistant
• Marketer
• Web programmer
• Graphic designer

 

And there are many, many other options besides these.

 

If you’re wondering if freelance is worth it, it certainly can be, though it depends on what you’re looking for. For example, there are many excellent and obvious perks that come with traditional full-time jobs.

 

However, part-time jobs, which are often what college students are going to be looking for, can be a bit lackluster in comparison, offering fewer perks and less job security. And when you contrast part-time jobs with freelancing, the latter can actually be just as lucrative as most part-time jobs, if not more so. In addition, freelancing has its own set of positives, including:

 

• Working on your own hours.
• Only taking on work if you want or need it.
• Having control over your rates and income.
• Being able to increase and decrease your workload depending on each semester or break.

 

While it often requires hustling in order to get the job done, freelance work can help you develop your skillset, diversify your portfolio, and bring in some extra cash on the side while still tending to your academic responsibilities.

Explore Flexible Work Options

If you’ve already landed a traditional job or freelancing simply isn’t in the cards, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. In fact, in recent years millennials have blazed the trail when it comes to flexible work schedules. The prioritization of work-life balance, along with a push for remote work and adjustable work schedules have made it possible to fit many different kinds of work into nearly any lifestyle.

 

Even if your job doesn’t clearly state that the schedule is flexible, you may want to consider asking your boss or supervisor if any of the work can be done remotely. There are many ways to track work online these days. The modern era is also rife with work collaboration apps like Asana and Trello to enable teams to continue to work together even when they’re not physically present in the same space.

Take a Deep Breath

If you find that you’re a student who has to take extra work on the side in order to get through college, you can take solace in the fact that you’re not alone. Working is often part of the college experience these days, and it’s no wonder, as the national student loan debt — which stands at a staggering $1.5 trillion— bogs down college students more and more each year. Even if you’re not struggling financially, you may have decided to take on extra work in order to bolster your portfolio, gain experience in your field of study, or simply because you’ve found an excellent opportunity that you couldn’t turn down.

 

Regardless of the reason behind the decision, remember that there are many ways to minimize the negative effects of having such an overcrowded schedule. Properly managing stress, penny-pinching wherever possible, and looking for freelance or flexible work options that can adapt to your class schedule are all ways to help keep the insanity to a minimum and give yourself.