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4 Tips for Balancing School, Work, and Life During the Holidays

The holidays are here and with them comes office parties, family events, and tasty cookies! Spending extra time with loved ones and finding amazing gifts you know your family will love is part of the holiday fun, but it can be hard to balance these extra activities when you have a school, work, and family life.

How can you get everything done without becoming overwhelmed during this special time of year? Keep reading for our top tips to balance school, work, and life during the holiday season!

Tip #1 – Stay Organized

Our first tip for getting everything on your list completed during the holidays is to stay organized, because it will make you much more efficient. To do this, use your calendar to plan and organize everything that needs to get done during this time. With an app like Google Calendar, you can even set alerts to remind you when it’s time to complete a specific activity.

For school, add your class schedule, due dates, exam dates, and any other important tasks to your calendar. For example, if you have an exam coming up, block off time on your calendar to study. Next, add your work schedule, holiday events, and family activities to your calendar.

After adding everything to your calendar, you’ll know exactly when and how you’re going to get everything completed. You may need to reduce or change your commitments if you are overbooked.

Tip #2 – Use Time Management

Our second secret to balancing school, work, and family life during the holidays is to have good time management. When blocking off time on your calendar for specific things, make sure you’re realistic about the amount of time each activity will take to complete, and be sure to give yourself enough time.

As you plan your activities, ensure you have not overbooked yourself and committed to too many things, because this can leave you feeling stressed and exhausted.

Prioritize the most important things that need to get done for school, work, and family. After doing this, if you are short on time and something must be removed from your schedule, you can eliminate something with a lower priority and still complete the important stuff.

Tip #3 – Get Ahead

Try to get ahead as much as possible during this busy time of year, so you will have more time for fun holiday activities. Working ahead at your job and completing schoolwork before the deadline is great ways to get ahead.

For example, if you’re working on a project that’s due around Christmas, try to complete it early so you’re not overwhelmed while trying to finish it by the due date. Procrastinating and waiting until the last minute to complete something is a bad idea because it can lower the quality of your work and you may easily become stressed and irritated.

Tip #4 – Practice Self-Care

You’re organized, using good time management, and getting ahead for the holidays, so now it’s time for some self-care! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed during this time of year, but remember the holiday season is meant to be a cheerful time with friends and family.

Two of the most important ways to practice self-care during the holiday season is to get enough sleep and eat healthily. With so many scientific studies showing the negative effects of not sleeping enough, don’t give in to the temptation to sleep less just to get things done. We all know it can be challenging to eat healthily during the holidays when surrounded by so many delicious foods and desserts, but try to eat healthily to keep your energy levels high.

The holiday season is a busy time, but don’t forget to take time for yourself to rest and recharge. If you need to, add your self-care time to your calendar to ensure you actually relax. Doing nothing may sound counterproductive but recharging your energy will make you feel much better. Don’t forget that it’s okay to say “no” if you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Balance School, Work, and Life with United

We designed our career training programs to align with your busy schedule, so you can balance school, work, and family life. At United Career Institute, we offer fast track career training, hands-on learning, personalized attention, and small class sizes to help you begin a rewarding career in healthcare.

Learn more about our fast track Practical Nursing, Medical Assisting, and Medical Office Administration programs and request information now to start your path to a great career!