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Practically speaking, are there resources to help balance a sport, 18 hour semester, job, and social life?

I will be a freshman in college taking an 18 hour semester, participate in a NAIA Division 1 sport, get a job, and go out with friends. I would like to know what administrative staff might be able to specifically help with this. I am also wondering what specific things I can do as a student that will help me maximize my time. #student #help #job #business #work-life-balance #college #time-management

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Johannes’s Answer

Absolutely! It will be challenging and require you to be very disciplined, but it is possible. When I was in college, I was very active in my school's sports program and I was a member of a touring choir on top of a full class load and 20 hours of work per week. Many times, balancing all of that caused me to sacrifice sleep, but you can certainly minimize the sleep loss by meticulously planning your day out. I strongly recommend sitting down and mapping out how much time you want to spend per week on various activities. Be as detailed and comprehensive as you can. For example, Sleep = 45 hours per week, Class = 18 hours per week, Studies = 40 hours per week, Meals = 10 hours per week, etc. Include time for hygiene, laundry, driving, etc. too. Then once you have all your items mapped out, start putting them on a calendar. You will probably learn very quickly that you allotted more hours for your week than actually exist. At this point you will need to prioritize and maybe move a few hours from some areas to others. Also be sure to bake in some "you" time. If you don't take care of yourself, you will be much more likely to burn out.
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Rosemary’s Answer

Rachel, I had a very similar experience when I was in school. I was a double major, played division 1 sport in the fall, worked part time to earn some money and had social life and still had fun! Your best resource is your own time management and avoiding perfectionism. I had to get really clear, what was my 1st priority, 2nd, 3rd, etc. I treated classes and homework like 'work' and left my dorm in the morning, went to classes for the day, went to the library to do homework. Went to practice in the afternoons. Went to dinner. Went back to the library until about 8-9 pm to assignments done, so the evenings I could socialize with some friends and get a good nights sleep. Taking breaks for meals and getting enough sleep each night helps. Worked weekends when I did not have weekend tournaments, would reserve at least 2-5 hours of homework/reading on the weekends. I knew that it was for a finite period of time and would not last forever. Typically, my GPA during my busy fall semester was higher than my 'not so busy' spring semester. Understand your priorities, set up a schedule and give yourself some breaks and you will figure it out. Good luck!
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Simeon’s Answer

You will have to choose between those objectives at some point. Unless all your classes are going to be easy, I'd recommend not taking eighteen hours and planning on sports and extra curriculur activities. If you want to prioritize a heavy course load, it can be done. I took heavy course loads in both undergraduate and graduate work. Do some research with fellow students, professors, and ratemyprofessor.com to see which courses are going to be the most difficult. I'd advise jumping into some of the harder coursework right away and intentionally put off taking your easier freshmen/sophomore level courses. In my experience, many of those lower level courses are just there to pad out the degree. Try to spread out your most difficult coursework so that you are not taking more than two difficult classes in any given semester. Do what research you can when you have a choice of professors to see which ones are easier as well. Some professors get a complex about making their courses intentionally difficult; avoid them as there is very rarely an actual payoff for that difficulty. See if you are able to do any coursework during the summer to spread out your work further. It's technically taboo, but if you have professors that aren't bothered by it, try using your easiest classes as additional time to study for your hardest classes. If you need to work, try looking for work-studies in dorm lobbies or campus libraries, as they will often give you permission to study during the long lulls on the job.
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Andy’s Answer

Rachel, I can already tell that you've set out to get the most out of this life, which is great! And you will! I would advise a dual/balanced approach: (1) Plan ahead to allow you to fit all of your desired activities (including social and down time - don't forget about these!) into any given week or month. Putting things on an electronic calendar (your BEST assistant) will enable to you to maximize your participation and streamline your days/nights. And yes, I recommend an Apple watch or similar that syncs with your calendar to keep you on track. (2) Take it one day at a time. Don't be afraid to divert from your busily scheduled life to take advantage of opportunities that come up on short notice. Know that it's okay to cut something out or say no, occasionally clear your calendar, send regrets for a previously committed engagement, etc. It's important to allow yourself to experience the spontaneous joys of life and opportunities that only arise because you're in the right place at the right time. As I look back on my college years, they were some of the busiest and best years of my life so far. The habits you build now will carry you into the next chapters. Best of luck to you, Rachel!
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