How I'm Balancing College and Writing Projects

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Balancing college while you have other things going on in your life is often difficult. Job, family, having a social life, and more can interfere with each other throughout the day. However, they don’t have to if you’re scheduling your time wisely. Let’s look at how I balance my week.

Keep in mind that what I’m covering today may be subject to change, depending on how things unfold. My life is very chaotic, and what works this week might not work next month.

Still, these are the basic principles I try to keep in mind when creating balance in my life. It’s not always perfect, but I’ve been able to focus on the things I thoroughly enjoy most for the last six years.

Table of Contents

Balancing College with Blocks of Time

I am a non-trad undergrad student. That often means that I already have established elements of life that can interfere with college, such as kids, work, and household maintenance. I’m also a part-time student, so I can use less time in my week for my college studies.

In other words, if you’re a full-time student fresh out of high school, then you’ll assign greater chunks of time to college while also having fewer demands on your day.

Let’s look at how I balance my time to make sure my college work gets done while still managing most things in my life.

The 8-Hour “Workday”

First of all, I dedicate my time to work and writing as part of an 8-hour workday. As I am Gen X, I’m used to having an 8-hour work schedule every day, and it’s what I’ve grown accustomed to managing.

Sure, there was a time in my life when I would spend more than 100 hours per week managing my business while helping clients. But I also felt burnt out after four years of pushing that pace. Essentially, I promised myself I would never grind out 100 hours per week again.

Anyway, I set my day up for an 8-hour “shift” which includes blogging, writing books, school work, client work, and any other small task I need to complete on any given day.

There have been a few times when I would push beyond those eight hours to get something vastly important finished. But for the most part, I try to stick to a normal work routine.

Unfortunately, I don’t get paid overtime.

The idea is to view the things I want to do as part of my “career.” Virtually everything in my workday is fun, and I enjoy writing, whether it’s a blog post or a video script. So, this helps me not view it as a job per se, but more of a way to invest adequate time in myself and my projects.

This includes balancing college work to further my education, which is only going to make me that much better as a writer.

2-Hour Blocks for College Every Day

I have one class that is on campus and one that is purely online.

Monday through Friday, I schedule a 2-hour block of time specifically to work on college projects. I rarely need all of that time, but this way, I am guaranteed time to work on my education. This is also in addition to spending a couple of hours on campus on Tuesday and Thursday.

When I don’t need a 2-hour block of time for school work, I replace it with something like a blog post or a YouTube video. And so far, this arrangement has been working relatively well. I’m getting a lot of writing done while maintaining an “A” average.

But as I said, though, keep in mind that I am a part-time student. You might need more than two hours per day.

Why 2-Hour Blocks?

Most of the projects I work on take roughly two hours to complete. That includes the blog posts and YouTube videos. Of course, some take a bit longer than that, but on average, it takes roughly 120 minutes.

Plus, a 2-hour average is about what we had during normal work hours at a traditional job back in the day.

However, my ultradian rhythm usually runs around the 75 – 90-minute mark. So, I’ll take a short break before finishing the block of time. It works out well for me and has been a cornerstone of getting a lot of things done throughout the day.

Now, this isn’t to say that every project will require a 2-hour chunk of time. In fact, there are a lot of things I do that may only take up to 60 minutes. In that case, I try to schedule them back-to-back to make up a 2-hour block.

After almost thirteen weeks of balancing college, I’ve also found that a 2-hour time block has been influential in getting my school work completed while having time for everything else. I’m rarely stressed about getting school projects done, as they are completed early in the week.

Guaranteed Time Blocking

The point of blocking off specific projects is to guarantee that I will have time to do them. In the past, I constantly stressed about trying to write my books or trying to get a blog post published. I just seemed to have run out of time in the day.

Scheduling blocks specifically for writing my book or working on a YouTube video gives me adequate time throughout the week. Considering that I currently get paid from all of my projects, it’s time well spent, even if it’s just generating a dollar per day at the moment.

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Everyone starts at the bottom. And it’s usually the amount of effort creators put into those platforms that dictates success. Blocking off two hours guarantees I can put some of that effort into building something grand.

The hardest part is deciding which things to keep and what can be set aside indefinitely. It’s a hard decision to make, especially if you are the kind of person who wants to “do it all.”

Viewing the Schedule in Terms of Weeks

I view my productivity in terms of weeks. Yes, I set some daily goals and try to accomplish them. But I also know that my day is hectic from one moment to the next. So, I view my schedule throughout the entire seven-day period. My weekly goals hold more weight for me.

This helps me avoid being overly stressed if I didn’t get to something today. I can simply move it to another day of the week when I might have more time to address the task.

I focus on maintaining a certain number of hours “working” throughout the week. That means any project I want to do can be done at any time other than the day it’s scheduled.

That’s usually when I start moving things to a Saturday or crunching a few hours on Sunday.

Needless to say, I am far less stressed when something interferes with my day. I know that I can simply move it to a later point and still get everything done I wish to complete.

Establishing Priorities and Boundaries

Having priorities and boundaries before setting up a schedule is important. You don’t want to bleed time on things that aren’t as crucial, and everyone around you needs to know when you’re working.

It’s not always the most fun, but it needs to happen if you want fewer distractions.

You also need to consider yourself as a priority. Working on the things that will improve your life overall is never a waste of time. You might feel a bit selfish at first, but improving your station in life only works to help those you love.

It’s kind of like the saying, “Pouring from an empty cup.” If your proverbial cup is empty, how can you help others? Becoming the best version of yourself gives you the necessary tools and abilities to help those you love. So, never assume you’re being selfish by wanting time to finish certain projects.

What is Most Important to You?

First, let’s analyze the most important tasks for you. Everyone will have a unique outlook because of what they value most. This might take a bit of time as you carefully weigh your options.

Don’t just jump into creating a schedule for balancing college and everything else you want to do. Take a few moments to really analyze the most important elements of your week.

For example, my priorities consist of:

Client work – as they are the ones who are paying my mortgage at the moment.
Publishing more books – because I have a ton of stories to tell and want to build on my personal library.
College work – so I can graduate with a BA and move on to the master’s program.
YouTube videos – because YouTube usually generates more income than the blog.
Creating blog posts – I love to write, and I make a few extra bucks each month helping others.

When I set up the 2-hour blocks of time, I go by the above list of priorities for what gets done first. That way, if something interferes with my day, which it usually does, at least the most important tasks are completed.

In those instances, I try to schedule what I missed on a Saturday, when I have a bit of free time to play catch-up on my writing projects. Keep in mind that I love writing, so it’s a great way to spend an otherwise lazy Saturday.

Currently, I’m trying to get the side projects to make enough money where I can retire from freelancing. Unfortunately, I don’t get as much time working on them as I would like because my life is so chaotic.

Making it Your “Job”

There are some experts who say you should never view your passions as jobs. In some cases, it’s easy to feel burnt out, and you could begin dreading what you love. But when your “job” is something you love, you’ll never work another day of your life.

So, in a way, a lot of those experts often contradict themselves.

In my case, the prospect of looking at my projects as a “job” is more of maintaining a professional mindset. This means sticking to the schedule, reducing the time I waste on things like scrolling through Threads, and taking myself seriously as a creator, writer, and college student.

Essentially, my job is doing the very thing I love. I just don’t get paid a lot to do it. But the mortgage is paid, and I have a 100% payment record on the credit cards, so I’m not completely destitute.

Anyway, viewing what I do as my job helps get me in the mindset for being more professional all around. It motivates me to take myself seriously while helping me move toward a better future.

Part of the job mindset is starting at 8:00 am and wrapping things up by 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday. By maintaining that focus, I can get a lot done in terms of building my brand, improving my writing skills, and furthering my education.

Being Flexible with Your Week

Another important aspect of maintaining a strong schedule for balancing college work and home life is being flexible throughout the week. When working from home, it’s rarely going to go according to plan. You’ll need to make adjustments to address important life situations.

For me, this means moving projects to Saturday or perhaps working a bit later throughout the week on certain days.

For instance, let’s say that I have a therapy appointment that is going to take up an hour on Friday. I can either work an hour later on that day or shift something around earlier so that the appointment isn’t really interfering with my week.

Usually, I’ll just move things to Saturday or possibly Sunday. But I’ve been trying to take Sundays off completely lately.

My point is that you can’t be rigid in your daily schedules. Things are going to crop up that take time away from other projects. It does no good to stress about those issues, and it’s better to simply move things around as they happen.

As long as you’re trying your best to maintain the list of priorities throughout the week, that’s all that really matters in the end. Life happens, and you don’t want to alienate loved ones because you can’t get a blog post published this week.

Creating a Schedule and Sticking to It

Schedules mean nothing if you can’t stick to them. Everything might look good in your project management app, but it takes effort to make them happen.

And if you’re balancing college, work, and home life, sticking to the plan as much as possible will help you succeed. Yet, don’t isolate yourself to the point of alienating your friends and family. Success means little if you have no one left to help celebrate your wins.

Avoiding Self-Distractions

When I talk about avoiding self-distractions, I’m focusing more on the things we do to ourselves to burn time. Doomscrolling on Facebook, spending too much time on Threads, or getting sucked into random rabbit holes on YouTube are not going to help you accomplish your goals.

Another time suck is that of convincing yourself you should be doing this or that instead of maintaining your schedule. Some people will pile on the housework in order not to write, which I always thought was weird. I would much rather write than anything.

Distractions aren’t just outside influences that take away your time. We often distract ourselves, and it’s usually worse for those who don’t believe they are good enough. Yes, impostor syndrome can act as a critical distraction.

My point here is that a lot of us will purposely interrupt our schedules for minor reasons.

It’s not easy to overcome a lot of personal barriers we place on ourselves. But every hurdle we clear is often worth the time, as it moves us toward the very thing we seek.

It’ll take practice, but I assure you, being able to overcome your own distractions will boost confidence and pride.

Addressing Scheduling Conflicts without Stress

As I pointed out earlier, you will have scheduling conflicts when balancing college, especially if you work from home. The trick is to understand which is more important and what can be moved to a later date.

The hard part, however, comes from not stressing about having to readjust the week. This is especially true if you’re moving projects around to help a loved one. They may internalize your stress and may become less likely to approach you for anything later on.

Remember, that’s the entire purpose of prioritizing your day from earlier. The most important things get addressed first, with the least important being the one that gets moved more often. The end of the priority list should have the least stress involved.

This is one of the reasons why I view my schedule in terms of weeks. A single day can get blown all to hell with random chaos. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t move something around during the rest of the week. It reduces a lot of stress as I’m not overly concerned with a single day.

Convincing Yourself You’re Worth the Time

As I mentioned a moment ago, you are worth investing time. Whether it’s balancing your college work with a job or self-publishing your novel, you are absolutely worth the investment. And that’s something a lot of people struggle to grasp.

Every moment you spend improving yourself is always worthwhile.

I mention this because I see a lot of people fail in their goals because they don’t think they are worth the time. They get too hung up on the impressions of others that they don’t work toward their dreams and aspirations.

When I began my writing career in 2012, I was told by a few people in my family that it wasn’t really a worthwhile job. Some scoffed while others simply rolled their eyes. It wasn’t until I quit my job in 2013 to become a full-time writer that those naysayers quit.

I was making more money than what the school district could pay.

If I had listened to all of those people, some being close relatives, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And that’s my point. Letting others influence your decisions in such a way could result in losing out on some of the best opportunities of your life.

Schedule those blocks of time according to your dreams and aspirations. Just make sure you’re also keeping one foot firmly planted on the ground. After all, you still have bills to pay.

Time Management is Key to Balancing College

I used to try to make things up as I go. Unfortunately, I have too much going on nowadays for that to be a viable process. Creating a solid schedule of the things that are important to me guarantees that I get quality time with those projects throughout the day.

There are plenty of project management apps out there you can use for free to help while balancing your college and other writing projects. The best management app is the one that works for you.

Regardless of the app you use, portioning out your day according to your real-life priorities can greatly impact your success.

Before diving in, sit down and make a list of the things that are important to you throughout the day. You might have to sacrifice a few extras, but it’s worth getting time to put towards improving your life and being less stressed throughout the week.