Weddingbee boards

Because I'm hoping I can keep my sanity this semester. I just finished my first week of classes and I'm so overwhelmed. I'm taking four classes and work five days a week. I work early mornings and my classes are four days a week, early afternoon and late evenings. I sometimes don't get home until 9pm from one class, have to go to bed to get up at 4AM for work, go to my 1:30 pm class two hours after work, I have a few hours, then back to class. I'm not used to the sleeping schedule, the heavy reading involved with my science class, and I'm trying to balance that with the other chores and things I know I need to do at home. 

Hubsand is super supportive, but sometimes I don't think he realizes how overwhelmed I am until I snap.

How are you managing?  

Well I am not quite as busy as you, I made it a point to not work soooo much. However, I am going to school full time and I have two part time jobs plus planning our June wedding. To be honest I do not read what I am supossed to and I manage to get by. I do not have time to read EVERYTHING I am required to so I skim the chapters read the important stuff. I focus my attention on the lectures in class, and I make sure I go to class. Speak up in class, ask  questions, and get really good at writing. In my experience a prof will remember who you are if you speak up and write really well-you might get a better grade cause of it.  My GPA is at a 3.56 right now so I do allright. I am also the type of person that needs a lot of down time to recuperate and clear my head, so the schedule gets to me too. I take it one day at a time and do my best. Seems silly, but I often (almost every day) visualize myself in my cap and gown walking to the stage to get my diploma with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. That helps me stay motivated. 

Another thing I just thought of, anyway you can cut back on your work hours? I would also add to take the week off before finals week if you can that week tends to be worse than actual finals week. 

@Jamie42003:  Not really. We really need the money. DH just got braces, and after the wedding I feel like things have gotten crazy with bills and such. Even though we are debt free just things add up lately. 

@sleepingwithnuns- Well you will be okay, you'll have to get into a groove, and the semester will be over with in no time. Plus it sounds like you will have the weekends to rest and do homework. 

@Jamie42003:  no I work every weekend. I generally have two days off during the week from work, but have class that night. Today is one of those days. I was trying to do homework today but can't concentrate at all. 

I do think once I get into my groove things wil get better. I've done this before, just need to do it again! 

I'm almost in the same boat (and have been for the last two years). This semester Im working Friday - Monday, and go to school from 9:30 am - 8:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So I work 32 hours and am taking 5 classes. So far I am absolutely loving going to class only two days a week instead of five. Plus it saves crazy money on gas. Now that I'm nearly a senior classes are getting crazy. I have 16 papers to write, 4 of which have a 10 page minimum. My time is at a premium.

Here's a few things I've learned over the past two years to cope with this-

• Don't let yourself skip. I let myself skip too much in semesters past and I always end up doing very poorly in one class. Wasted money and time.
• If there is any way you can work one day less, or even a half day, do it. I lasted about two weeks with a full course load and 40 hours. My brain refused to work and I had to drop a day. Trust me, any penny pinching is worth the sanity you retain.
• Your brain NEEDS time off. If you try to used it 100% of your waking hours its use greatly diminishes. On your days off work sleep in. Watch an hour of tv before you start in on studying. Schedule 20 minutes before you sleep for reading a book. Whatever allows you to veg. Weddingbee.
• Do homework/studying during breaks at work. People at work think I'm crazy for doing this, but I get two twenty minute breaks. That's 40 minutes of reading I don't have to do when I get home. I get to relax at home.
• Selective studying. This may take a week or two, but figure out which classes you HAVE to read the entire chapter and which ones you can skim through. I know in my Interpersonal Comm class my prof takes the slides directly from the chapter so I don't need to read it. My Organizational Comm class and Creative Writing class the first thing we do is take a quiz over what we are supposed to have read. I need to read those chapters in full. My Math prof suggests problems for the sections- I do them if I have trouble grasping the concept. If its easy peasy I skip them and save it for test review.
• Keep organized. I have a binder with my own schedule written out for the entire semester. I know what is coming and how far in advance I need to start thinking about things. I have all my syllabi in there. Any handouts. Readings. Its all in one binder that fits in my (very large) purse. It allows me to get papers written well in advance. My first 10 page paper isn't due for a month and I'm already working on it. Maybe for only 10 minutes at a time, but the ball is rolling.
• As for you being stress and your husband- when you're feeling stressed, alert him. Its great he is supportive. Just tell him hey, this week I've got a huge paper/project/exam due so I'm going to need a little extra help. That may just mean leaving you alone so you can study or doing a few extra chores. Or it may just mean hey, when I go crazy on you, I don't really mean it. My FI gets told this a lot. And he knows any remarks will end up with him getting yelled at and most possibily slapped. This way he at least knows its coming.
• Sometimes chores just don't get done. That is ok. Anyone working full time and going to school full time gets a free pass on a clean house. I hate clutter and a dirty house. Unforuntely, if its between sleep and the dishes getting cleaned right now, I'll be preparing my brain for the next day. After each semester it takes me about three days get the place back to how I like it. If anyone has a problem with it they can clean it themselves (as I have had to tell Mister from time to time).

I feel like at this point if I say anything else you will just stop reading. These are the important things. I wish you the best of luck and I'll see you at the psych ward when you're done!

• Ok, I swear this is the last one. Regularly remind yourself how long you've got to go. I can't even tell you how many times I've told myself "Just one more year. You've gotten this far, keep doing what you're doing and you'll get there." A professor told my class this the other day. I've been worrying about being able to graduate. She said, "Keeping doing exactly the same and you will make it." Its true. If you've been passing classes, that's all you have to do. Keep passing classes. In the end, you'll have that degree in hand.

@Caizn:  Agree with all this!

I'm working full time+traveling and taking 12.5 credits in grad school this semester (not quite full time, but almost). The only thing I would add is to consciously look forward to your breaks and plan something special during them. Like a date with your husband, or a few hours where you do nothing but relax.