Work or Study? A Student’s Guide to Multitasking

Students go to college to acquire knowledge, build up skills, and earn a degree. So, it makes sense to focus 100% of your time in college on studying, which is what most young people do. But, on the other hand, with the growing costs of education and other basic things, how can you even survive through college without a job?

Work or study? This is one of the most common dilemmas facing modern students. In this guide, we will tell you everything about the pros and cons of working in college, multitasking, and finding the balance.

The Pros and Cons of Working While Studying

It’s never easy to be a student. It often takes nearly 100% of a student’s time, leaving no space for other things. This is the first major drawback of working in college. Being busy with all the schoolwork, young people barely have time to get and do their jobs. The good news is that this issue is easy to solve. Using a trusted service like https://buyessaygo.com/, students can delegate part or all of their assignments to professionals. As a result, they will get more time for work and keep their grades high.

What about other pros and cons? Obviously, having a job as a student, you can gain plenty of benefits. This includes:

• A stable income;
• A chance to expand your skills;
• New knowledge;
• Professional experience;
• A chance to reduce your student debt.

On the other hand, there are some drawbacks too. As was mentioned earlier, the biggest one is that you forfeit the time you could spend on your studies. Also, trying to work while studying also makes you de-prioritize your free time, rest, extracurriculars, and social life.

Multitasking: Definition, Pros, and Cons

Since the drawbacks of working while studying are less significant than the pros, many students decide to give it a shot. And they instantly face a variety of challenges in balancing out these two endeavors.

For many, multitasking becomes a solution. In a nutshell, this term means just that – doing multiple things simultaneously. By doing so, students feel like they can achieve more and find the so-needed balance in life.

Indeed, the pros of multitasking are impressive:

• Higher productivity;
• Smarter time management;
• Faster and better reaction to urgent and complex things.

On the other hand, trying to do multiple things at once can also have certain drawbacks:

• Increased responsibility;
• Compromised memory;
• Greater risk of mistakes;
• Higher levels of stress.

Eventually, according to numerous studies, most people become 20%-40% less productive when trying to multitask. But are there any ways to do it right?

6 Tips to Help Students Multitask Effectively

Although many believe that there is no way to multitask effectively, it’s not quite true. In fact, there are quite many smart techniques that students can apply to succeed in several endeavors simultaneously.

Namely, below are some of the best tips that should help you succeed both at work and in school at the same time:

Prioritize

First and foremost, to get on the right track in everything you do, you have to define your priorities. As a working student, you will have twice the workload. So, if you want to keep up with everything, you have to know which chores require your immediate reaction, which can be delegated, and which can wait for later. This should really help you manage your schedule the right way.

Set Realistic Goals

Probably the best tip anyone can give you about multitasking is to know how to manage your goals and expectations. Often, trying to combine working with studying, young people strive to earn thousands of dollars and remain high achievers. At this point, it’s important to understand that biting more than you can choose will only cause more stress and worry. As a result, you will be less productive. However, if you can set realistic and attainable goals, you will be able to do more.

Plan Like It’s Your Job

Apart from prioritizing and setting goals, planning is also a crucial part of multitasking. To stay on the right track in both your job and studies, you have to know exactly what will be going on every day. You have to plan all your duties to ensure that you don’t miss out on something important.

Give Yourself More Time

Let’s say you have test prep, a few essays, and several job-related tasks to complete in a week. Of course, you could plan to finish everything in a day or two. But it will be too stressful and, thus, counter-productive. In reality, it’s much wiser to plan only a few daily tasks and give yourself more time to complete them. This will help you reduce stress and eventually be more productive.

Cut Off Distractions

When you are tasked with plenty of job-related and school-related things, it can be easy to get distracted and start procrastinating. In fact, the more responsibilities you take on, the more tempting it can be to get distracted. In order to resist this and stay efficient in everything you do, you should ensure that there are no distractions around when you study or do your job. Without getting distracted by unrelated stuff, you will spend less time on every task. As a result, you should be able to do more.

Don’t Neglect Rest

Finally, if you want to balance college and a job, it can be easy to face burnout. Therefore, you should never give up on having proper rest. Take care of your body, eat well, get enough sleep, and don’t forget to have some fun too! Doing all of this will help you reduce stress and stay productive in the long run.

The Bottom Line

Although there are some cons to multitasking, it can become a life savior to students who want to get a job while in college. If you are one of them, this guide should help! Use the knowledge and tips we shared with you here to make the most out of everything you do. Good luck!