By Sara Halickman 

Balancing work and school is a skill I’ve been honing since high school. I took on my first part-time retail job at the beginning of 11^th grade, determined to save for a trip I wanted to go on. Now seven years later, I’m working at an accounting firm while taking CPA courses (and maybe still saving for some trips I’d like to go on). I think I’ve come a long way considering I’m no longer folding t-shirts and am rather auditing companies; however, the same balancing act is still required. Along the way I’ve found a few things that have worked, and some that haven’t.   

1. Evenings are not my most productive study time: nothing is worse than getting home from work at 6, eating dinner, and then having to think even harder than you did all day at the office. I’ve come to terms with the fact that most nights it’s quite likely that no productive learning is going to take place, and that’s to be expected.

2. Working out helps me keep my sanity: giving myself the time to go to the gym or take a walk helps clear my head and is a huge stress-reliever.

3. To do lists are crucial: albeit slightly old-school, I live by my Filofax and sticky note to-do lists. They keep me on track and help me plan ahead. There’s also nothing more satisfying than crossing out a list of tasks once they’re done.

4. Setting out rules helps: I make sure not to force myself to study late at night when I have work the next day, and I make an effort to not stay at work late on nights I have class or do need to go home and get some school work in. 

5. The Internet is a really easy way to get distracted: when I finally do sit down to study, I’ve often found myself perusing Facebook, Twitter, Foodgawker, or news websites that I haven’t had a chance to take a look at all day. As a result, I’ve taken to turning off the wifi on my computer when I study and keeping my phone in another room. Less distraction helps me get through that to-do list faster, and I don’t feel bad about wasting as much time.

6. Enjoy the work day: while I’m at work I don’t think about or do anything school-related. I find it’s important to keep the two separate so when I work on one I’m not distracted by the other. 

By Daniel Wong 

“You’ve done thousands of homework assignments and you’ve sat through hours and hours of lectures. You’ve accumulated various certificates, diplomas and degrees. I guess that means you’re educated, right?”

Maybe not. Read on…

When I first started University (5 years ago)  there were fewer laptops and smart phones around campus. If someone was taking notes in class it was through old fashioned pen and paper. Granted, a few people would lug around laptops (Dell seemed to be popular at the time). Professors told me about their own college experience writing papers involving real books, hours at the library going through shelves and spending time with the Dewey Decimal System. There was no handy search bar or filters. 

This year, you can hardly walk three steps without seeing the glowing apples, someone thumbing their phone, or Facebooking while they “study.” We have so many more ways to use technology and as a result, more distractions. 

There is one way I combat the bouncing icons, bleeping messages, and notifications that very easily pull me away from tasks—distraction free writing rooms. It’s a private space for writing that blocks out all the distractions. I find the atmosphere so nice that I don’t want to leave the room but reluctantly do (usually for the thesaurus). 

Try them out! Ommwriter, FocusWriter, WriteRoom, Q10, WriteMonkey (read the details from Lifehacker)

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