Balancing education and work life

Katie

Balancing education and work at the same time isn't always the easiest thing - especially when it's your first time! It can involve planning, time management and a lot of motivation.

So it might be the summer now, but if you're going to be balancing education and a job for the first time in September, then you might want to check out our latest Instagram post.

Click here to check out our post with some top tips!

And let us know down below what your tips are for balancing education and work. Did we miss any?

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Amy22

I'm so glad you made a thread on this actually because eventhough technically I'm not working as such and its more of an internship I'm going to be doing in September. Technically I guess it's still counts as working because I'm going to be working at a local company but also the college I'm part of for it isn't actually in the college it's in the workplace as they got a designated learning room where we met in the morning and then reflect in the afternoon on the stuff we have done in the day.

So I guess I am kinda balancing work and studying at the same time but through an alternative route in a way. Overall I am super excited to start the internship because overall its aimed at neurodiverse folk like me and the aim is to try and get us into full employment because that is something I'm struggling with right now. While the company itself is primarily an office based place and as some of you probably know I have got an interest in TV and film, this place could potentially open up more doors for me down the line.

The company itself is a public health and hygiene company. They create hand dryers (they even made a silent one!) Hand sanitiser, air freshers basically anything you have seen in a toilet it's been made by that company. It was super funny because when my job coach told me about the internship (that's how I found it out basically) I'd thought it was a company that train you to do plumbing and fix toilets 🤣 not that is a bad thing because it's a good skill to have actually, but can I see myself fixing a clogged toilet? Probably not 😂. Knowing me the toilet would be even 10x more clogged and I would be calling for another plumber to come fix it 😂. Moral of the story don't ask me to fix your pipes xd. But I could do some good market research for you or customer service as that is what I will be learning there.

When it comes to balancing out work and study, I always try to make sure I have enough time to do things I also enjoy especially when I get downtime. Obviously I am aware that for others that downtime may be spent studying whether your in college, university etc. However it's still important you can have time for yourself as well and to make sure you are relaxing and taking breaks. Personally this is something I struggle with and it tends to be primarily because of my hyperfocus on a given task.

Katie

Heyya @Amy22 thank you so much for your insights here! Yeah internships definitely involve work even if it's for a specific fixed period of time. Work life can look different for everyone - some might have worked at the same company for 20 years, others may be doing an apprenticeship or little bits of work experience here or there. Either way you're on your own journey! You'll gain so many new skills and experience during it and you'll also be juggling your college work - that's a lot all at the same time.

It's so positive that this internship is aimed at neurodiverse people too. I must admit I didn't know this was an option so I'm very impressed with how inclusive it is. I do think regardless of what job/work experience you do, even if it isn't specifically in the industry you want to be in, you'll learn plenty of transferable skills like time management, problem solving, working as a team, working independently etc. So, even though your internship is with a public health and hygiene company (and lucky for you you won't be expected to unclog the loos anytime soon!), and not a TV and film industry, I'd be very interested to hear what you've learned when you've completed it! We're here if you want to share your internship journey with us come September.

You're also so right about making sure you have enough time for your own hobbies and self-care. It's so important to avoid burning out by looking after yourself - whether that's taking a short break to have a cuppa or spending a Sunday sat on the sofa watching telly! I hear that you do find this a little tricky sometimes as you can get hyperfocused on specific tasks. Have you found anything that helps you manage when you're hyperfocused?

Amy22

Katie wrote: »

Heyya @Amy22 thank you so much for your insights here! Yeah internships definitely involve work even if it's for a specific fixed period of time. Work life can look different for everyone - some might have worked at the same company for 20 years, others may be doing an apprenticeship or little bits of work experience here or there. Either way you're on your own journey! You'll gain so many new skills and experience during it and you'll also be juggling your college work - that's a lot all at the same time.

It's so positive that this internship is aimed at neurodiverse people too. I must admit I didn't know this was an option so I'm very impressed with how inclusive it is. I do think regardless of what job/work experience you do, even if it isn't specifically in the industry you want to be in, you'll learn plenty of transferable skills like time management, problem solving, working as a team, working independently etc. So, even though your internship is with a public health and hygiene company (and lucky for you you won't be expected to unclog the loos anytime soon!), and not a TV and film industry, I'd be very interested to hear what you've learned when you've completed it! We're here if you want to share your internship journey with us come September.

You're also so right about making sure you have enough time for your own hobbies and self-care. It's so important to avoid burning out by looking after yourself - whether that's taking a short break to have a cuppa or spending a Sunday sat on the sofa watching telly! I hear that you do find this a little tricky sometimes as you can get hyperfocused on specific tasks. Have you found anything that helps you manage when you're hyperfocused?

Aw thank you so much, just saw this on my email notifications today and knly just got back to proper read. Oh I am defo going to be sharing my internship journey with you because I think it will be nice to keep you all updated on things.

In terms of things that help me manage when it comes to hyperfocus this is a really good question because actually for me I find that process quite hard. I don't know really because I think normally I have someone who would tell me you go to go for a break or reminds me to hydrate etc because my brain doesn't just think "Oh its time to hydrate or time to have a break".

Katie

@Amy22 ahh I'm looking forward to hearing about your internship journey! Only a few weeks to go woop woop

Amy22 wrote: »

In terms of things that help me manage when it comes to hyperfocus this is a really good question because actually for me I find that process quite hard. I don't know really because I think normally I have someone who would tell me you go to go for a break or reminds me to hydrate etc because my brain doesn't just think "Oh its time to hydrate or time to have a break".

Ah I get you - it sounds like maybe when you hyperfocus because you are literally so focused, you can't think about anything else, such as taking breaks so you sometimes need to rely on others to remind you. I wonder if you have a go-to person for that or if it's just who's around you at the time? This is a really interesting perspective and thank you for explaining more Amy!