Balancing School, Work and Family

It can be very difficult to get everything I want done with the limited time I have do it. I procrastinate, and tend to be disorganized but I try to write information down or make lists to help me remember. My week usually consists of school, family, and work. My day begins with waking up between 4:00 and 5:30 am, getting myself and my daughter ready for the day. As we wake up, we choose our clothes and get dressed. We enjoy the early morning by putting on music and dancing around, and then we eat breakfast. After 6:30 am rolls around, we head upstairs to Mamaw’s apartment. We sit and talk with Mamaw for fifteen minutes, and I leave for work at 6:45 am. The drive to work takes about 20 minutes, and I arrive around 7:20 am. As I arrive at work, I begin by clocking in at 7:30 am. I sort emails into inboxes, and then review the items I choose for myself, this can be inquiries from employees or a tasks asked of other departments. Following emails, I review lines on financial statements to determine how and what can be paid. This job can be daunting at times, as it takes time to research each line to ensure the correct action is taken. At times co-workers have questions, and I provide an answer to their inquiries. Then on to importing payments; this task I make payments for medical records which are requested. I ensure that payment information is accurate, and provide updates to the EMR department about what has been paid, or if a line has been rejected. This usually is what my day consists of until I arrive home about 4:30 pm. As soon as I get home, my husband has dinner prepared. We gather around the table, and take our portions to eat and discuss what our day was all about. This can consist of an hour of time, as we are enjoying our time together especially when our schedules are within different time frames. Then, as soon as dinner is over, I take my daughter downstairs to finish up her school work online, and I follow through with my online homework. I don’t always study every day but I do try to do at least an hour or two every other day. Since starting school online, it hasn’t been easy to do each task like I want to, and at times I wonder why I put myself through all this.

Wondering about how to accomplish all my responsibilities with home, school and work, I have decided to buy a planner, set aside more time for studying, and create space free of distraction to help me balance my responsibilities. First, I need to buy myself a planner and write down the days that assignments are due, and also create times of when reading assignments should be completed by. Second, I need create time for more studying by sitting down at the computer every day, at least for an hour, to help succeed more in classes. I can put my daughter down to sleep the same time every day at 7:00 pm so that I have time to myself. This will also help with a distraction free space, as she adds her attention while I do my work which can be difficult at times for concentrating. In adding a distraction free space, I can clean my desk area of unneeded waste, and keep it neat. Each night from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm I will turn my phone off and avoid any emails or message from social media. My clean and distraction-free area will help be mindful of my time and what I can do to accomplish my work as I become a Paralegal. I won’t feel so stressed in trying to get school work done and I can still spend time with my family amongst the crazy schedules we have. I know I can do this, and with help from everyone, it will happen. 

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