Tony Said:

How to juggle school, work, and other opportunities?

We Answered:

Welcome to life...lol ~ this is how a lot of us feel, so you're not alone. Is the class that is interfering with the job offered online? If so, take it as an online class. The best way to juggle is to make out a written schedule with every task that needs accomplished and give it a time slot. It may sound ridiculous, but I have Sunday-Saturday scheduled to every hour (now, I don't always follow the schedule but at least I know what needs done and when it needs done). I'm a single mom to a son with autism, so we thrive on routine... in addition, I work full-time and attend full-time classes + I have to get my son to and from daycare and occupational therapy, assist him with at-home exercises, supervise and assist with his homework time (generally 60-90 minutes each night), take care of home maintenance (inside and out), pack lunches for the both of us, take him to and from extra-curricular activities, etc... and the list goes on. Throughout the school week I'm up at 6:00 a.m. and generally get to bed at 3:00 a.m. Luckily, on Saturdays and Sundays I can usually get 7 hours of sleep or I'd be close to death by now. It sounds like your chaos will soon be over (if you're a senior), so you won't have to run so ragged for too long. You have to decide your priorities... if you have to take this class but it will cause you to lose your job, then you'll have to see if your job will give you flex-time or you'll need to put in your notice. If the job is your number one priority, then you'll need to drop the class and make it up through an online class, or with summer school. I leave work each day and list my priorities (out loud in the car, people passing by probably think I'm crazy...lol): what absolutely has to be done, what needs to be done, what I'd like to get done, what should get done, and what can wait. The list usually goes like this:

What absolutely has to be done:
dinner, homework for my son, showers, packing lunches, studying for a test (me)

What needs to be done:
dishes (especially if they've piled up), taking out the trash, putting up the laundry, homework for me, my son's at-home exercises

What I'd like to get done:
vacuum, dust, make return phone calls, organize the cds

What should get done:
filing, paying bills

What can wait... everything else that's on the to-do list

*** This really helps me figure out what absolutely has to be done, and what can wait for the next day... or week. Good luck! The craziness will not last forever, you just have to decide what is your absolute priority.

Gertrude Said:

An online writing job?

We Answered:

Get a copy of Writer's Market from the public library.