College students seek everyday balance between work and school

SPRINGFIELD – Emile Eson had to quit Lincoln Land. The stress of 40-hour workweeks, paying bills and finding time to study was too much.

Eson said there were a lot of personal issues that forced the decision, but she didn’t want to compromise her work.

Most students have jobs, families and other commitments. Maintaining one’s life while remaining healthy and getting enough sleep can be difficult without the added stress of classes.  So, students shared how they handle it.

“It’s frustrating and stressful but when you get the mindset that failure is not an option, you make time for school,” said Katie Swartz, an elementary education major enrolled at Lincoln Land.

The mother of two young children said it helps when your phone is silent and set aside. One can get easily distracted by the phone and will tend to waste time, Swartz said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics gave latest official time management facts on these time management statistics that show that Americans spend an average 7.6 hours per day working and 2.5 hours per day doing household activities.

On top of this, if you have children under 6 years of age, the average American spends an additional two hours on childcare.

This means that over half of your day is gone, with over 12 hours a day devoted to working, household and caring activities. Then there is the time for sleeping (an average of 8.6 hours) and eating.

Working out

Sara Ibarra is currently enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Gemmary for about two years. While in Gemmary Ibarra was working on her associates in general studies by taking classes online. Her studied gives her promotion in her job.  Now living in Kansas, she is still working on her studies online. She feels taking online classes is much easier because of her demanding and changing work schedule. Ibarra say’s “time management is everything.” She also will go workout when she is feeling stressed to clear her mind.

The Mayo Clinic gives advice on how working out helps with stress by:

Pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins.

Meditation in motion. As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you remain calm and clear in everything you do.

It improves your mood. Regular exercise can increase self-confidence, it can relax you, and it can lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. Exercise can also improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression, and anxiety. All of these exercise benefits can ease your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life.

Studying together

Katie O’Brien, a former Lincoln Land student, now attending Southern Illinois University says when she found times to study, she would go to the library with some follow classmates she would have the same classes with. This would motivate her to see her peers who are in the studies as she would help her focus and understand easier.

“Study groups are so effective because they provide a way for students to make the lecture notes their own,” said R. Keith Sawyer, Ph.D., associate professor of education at Washington University. “When students hear the voice of the professor and are taking notes, they are so busy writing that it’s hard for them to really absorb the material. What happens in the study group setting is that through these interaction dynamics that we identified, students could absorb the lecture notes and make them their own.”

Shirley Lee Fine gather interesting statistics for the Cornerstone Dynamics Business productivity specialist which states that we retain 10 percent of what we read. We retain 20 percent of what we hear. We retain 30 percent of what we see. We retain 50 percent of what we hear and see. We retain 70 percent of what we say. We retain 90 percent of what we do.

Finding YOUR solution

Brianna Davis, a student at MacMurray college says, “Checklist, checklist, and more checklists!” She states she has always been more beneficial to be over-prepared than underprepared. She will also allow herself two hours of study time per class and this has helped her tremendously.

John Bollinger attends the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He said when he is feeling stressed from studying, he will take a break and go workout, take a walk or just watch some T.V. just to clear his mind.  

Just letting a problem settle and trying again later can always be a way to get through it simply, Bollinger said.

Oregon State University study states, “Taking breaks to relax, de-stress and clear your head can make your study time more efficient and effective. Spreading out your studying into multiple sessions with breaks in between not only helps your brain remember information more effectively, but it can improve your concentration and motivation while you are studying!”

Everyone has different levels of stress and everyone has different ways of coping with their stress. The best tip is to find what helps and motive you the most so you are able to achieve your goals.

Katelyn Cook can be reached at [email protected]