Truthfully, the corporate world is fast-paced. One day you will find yourself signing a new project; other times, you will be swamped with operational work. Similarly, employees have to deal with clients, meet deadlines, and stay on top of all the tasks. 

Did you ever get time to think about personal development and growth in this hustling routine? You might be working hard at your workplace, but it is crucial to think about your career growth. That means you have to look for specializations or a master’s program. Besides contributing to your growth, it will open doors to lucrative job opportunities. Now, the question is how to manage work with academics? 

Believe it or not, many people have attended school while working full-time and balancing a social life. It is all about maintaining discipline and sticking to a routine. You must trust yourself, get your employer on board, and remain committed. Instead of wasting time scrolling through social media feeds, stay productive and read your course material.   

If you need more ideas, keep reading. Here we have listed seven tips on boosting academic performance with a full-time job.

• Trust Your Abilities 

Often, people believe they’re not good at multitasking; hence, they prefer doing one thing at a time. We forget that the world is our oyster and all we have to do is trust our abilities. You have to believe that you can balance work and education together. Whether you opt for a general MBA program or a diploma, you can achieve it all. 

Trust your decision instead of filling yourself with doubts and regrets. Once you believe in your abilities, create a plan and commit to it. If you work five days every week, then study on the weekends. Similarly, opt for online classes rather than commuting to the campus. It will save you fatigue, time, and effort. Thus, you can use that energy to improve your grades and study well. 

• Get Support from your Employer 

Is your manager empathic? It is always best to get your employer on board when pursuing studies with a full-time job. You have to keep up with their academic policies and talk to your employer to ensure they can be flexible. The best way to convince your manager is by telling them how your education and knowledge will enhance your productivity and efficiency in the current role. After all, only a supportive employer will be willing to give you preparatory leaves and flexible working hours. 

You can begin by discussing the work schedule. If you have a high workload, try requesting changes so you can fit your academics on certain days. Likewise, see if your employer will let you work from home. Despite all these requests and work routine changes, make sure your work projects don’t get impacted. 

• Manage Workload Smartly

Although you have the best intentions to study, you might run into urgent tasks and short deadlines. In such situations, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Maybe, you can request your professor or tutor to give you extra time. It would help you catch up, especially if you missed any classes. Similarly, turn to your colleagues for work-related help. If your co-workers are free, request them to help you out. Most people are supportive and willing to help in such circumstances. However, you can also talk to your employer if the workload is unmanageable. 

• Create a Designated Study Space 

One way to remain productive throughout life is to create a study corner in your home. It should be a place designated for studying that will foster optimum learning. You must keep this space clean, organized, and well-decorated. Perhaps, you can use warm colors and a comfortable seating arrangement. Likewise, hang a bulletin board above the desk, highlighting deadlines, inspiring pictures, and motivational quotes. Having a mindful environment will encourage you to study and achieve your goals. 

• Take Advantage of Your Commute 

Unless you work from home, you have to spend a few hours commuting to work. Your commute time is ideal for getting some studying done. If you learned a new topic in class yesterday, you could revise it on your way. It will freshen up your concepts, helping you remember the subject matter. Besides this, you can also put study material on flashcards and review them from time to time. 

Likewise, you can download the audio version of your textbook if you drive yourself to work. It is far more productive than jamming to music while you drive. You can also watch YouTube videos on your phone while traveling in the subway. All in all, don’t waste your commute. Mostly, this time goes to waste with music and conversations, but you can always utilize it productively. 

• Improve Your Reading Speed

Sometimes, you will find yourself loaded with hundreds of pages to read each week. Reading could be the greatest challenge when trying to improve academic performance with a full-time job. After all, it is time-consuming. The only way out is for you to improve your reading speed. Most people read slowly; hence, they have room to improve and speed up. Let us explain how. 

Instead of reading in a straight line, try reading in a sequence of saccadic movements. Each saccade ends with a fixation, giving you the full context. Similarly, you must eliminate regression and back-skipping as it consumes 30% of the reading time. As you adopt these reading habits, your reading speed will improve. Thus, you can get done with more course material in less time. 

• Utilize Weekends

Undeniably, weekends are to relax, recline, and party with friends. But is it impossible to take out a few hours for education? Maybe, not. If you have your evenings and lunches planned already, wake up a bit early in the morning. You can catch up on reading or complete your pending assignments. You can also take a few hours from your busy Sunday for the same purpose. It might seem like you are hard on yourself, but a few years of hard work will reap fruitful rewards for the years to come. Hence, don’t hesitate to study during weekends and make the most of it. 

Final Thoughts

Maintaining a full-time job while earning a degree might seem challenging to many people. Even though it is not easy to accomplish, it is necessary for people who want to move up the career ladder. Therefore, invest in your development no matter how draining your job gets. As a working student, you must maintain self-discipline and utilize your time smartly. It will help you thrive in academics while ensuring the ideal work-life balance. 

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