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You are here: Student Success Skills » Ensuring You Receive The Grade You Want » Making School a Job

Student Success Skills

Making School a Job

by jennifer
July 13, 2012

It’s surprising that students who are outstanding employees can be terrible students. The same person who always reports for work on time just can’t seem to get up in time to go to class. What is even stranger about this is that a student will work hard at a job that pays minimum wage and then will toss away something that costs them $25/hour at a minimum.

If the above situation describes you, try making school a job. What you’re doing is taking something that you are good at doing and translating it to something that you don’t have the discipline to do well. Here’s how you can make school a job.

  1. Start each day at 8 AM. That doesn’t mean wake up at 8 AM. It means be working at 8 AM. If you don’t have a class, go to a place where you can study. You will find that the time you study early in the morning is your most productive time. That’s just how our brains work.
  2. During breaks between classes, do your homework, prepare for exams, read or study with friends. The important thing is that you don’t return to your living space during the day.
  3. After your class is over, stay on campus until 5 PM. Again do the work you need to do. If you have finished all of your work, use this time to do extra work, prepare in advance for tests, or even tutor your friends. The end of the day activities can be the difference of at least a letter grade.

Now that you know what to do, how do you force yourself to do it. Start by making a two-week commitment. In this span of time, you’ll be able to prove to yourself how effective this strategy is. Once the two weeks are done, treat the continuation of your discipline as an alcoholic would treat a drink of alcohol or a diabetic would treat a dessert. You don’t want to ever relapse into your former bad habits. Often one day away from your routine can lead to false rationalization and, before you know it, you are back into your destructive habits of the past..

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Testimonials

  • I have learned what a schedule should be and what to do when balancing work and school.  This semester I set up my schedule to be as productive as possible.  However, productive does not necessarily mean busier.  Last semester my schedule ran for about 13 hours a day most days.  I shot myself in the foot, and most often I felt too drained after work and school to get homework or studying done.  Now I undertand what I should expect of myself and how to create an effective schedule.  On top of that, there will be a balance between work and school the rest of my college career.  I have learned that the best way to handle homework and assignments is to get them done between classes or during spare time at work.  This prevents me from having to deal with the lack of motivation or energy when I get home and avoid the numerous distractions that are much more appealing after the day..

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