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Recent Student newsHow to Master the Study, Work & Family Balancing Act17 Feb 2009In our fast-paced and highly stressful times, attaining a healthy lifestyle balance is imperative to our sanity and ultimately also to our livelihood. Working and raising a family is hard enough, but when you add studying to that equation stress levels can shoot through the roof. Zivana Jenkinson, GM of Marketing at Eduloan, South Africa's dedicated educational financial services provider, is professionally involved with students trying to attain this balancing act, and she is also a single mom and part-time student, having already attained her Honours in Marketing whilst worked in industries ranging from recruitment, publishing, supply-chain and IT consulting before she joined Eduloan. Zivana has this pertinent advice to offer working students with families: Planning: draw up a monthly schedule and paste it up somewhere visible to all. First mark off the ‘non-negotiable' days, such as work, classes and exams; then mark off assignment and study days in-between these times, and rather over than undermark study time so that if something unexpected arises you can use some of this time. Then jot down family and social commitments and leisure time and once you've filled in all your slots, mark off each of your other family member's commitments, using different colour markers or highlighters for each one. This will give you an aerial view of how all commitments may clash down the line and give you time to rearrange things if you have to. When you get assignments, do them as soon as you can - the burden of procrastination usually far outweighs that of the job at hand! Family Involvement: ensure that your family sticks to the schedule and also send a copy to extended family, friends and work colleagues, which will ease the strain of having to juggle social engagements at the last minute. Agree on the use of a ‘Do Not Disturb' sign within the family, with these golden times being interruptible only for real emergencies. Arrange for grandparents and friends to share some childcare duties and for your older children to share household chores such as cooking, cleaning and watching the younger children - this can also be penciled into the family schedule. Cooking in bulk and freezing portions for during the week is also a good idea. If your current studies involve something your whole family can share in - let's say you are taking an art history course - then kill two birds with one stone and get the whole family off to the art gallery for a fun and informative outing. Health: some people pay attention to every minute detail except their health, which defeats the object at the end of the day - if you ignore the warning signs and fall over of exhaustion, you won't be going to work or completing your studies. The basics apply: ensure you and your family have fresh water, eat a simple and easy-to-prepare diet full of fresh fruit and veg and a good protein/carb balance. Snack on nuts or dried-fruit instead of energy and brainpower-depleting sugary treats and ensure the whole family takes a general vitamin supplement, as well as any others required. For example, increase your intake of the B group of vitamins to give you clarity and stamina, and the Omega fatty oils 3, 6 and 9 for maximum brain power. If you are generally a highly stressed person, consider a calming supplement like St John's Wort. Ensure you and your family are getting enough exercise - sports, gym, swimming - or better yet, schedule a ‘non-negotiable' family walk first thing in the morning and get some bonding done too! Play: all work and no play ensures a miserable family every day! Always remember to put the various aspects of your life into perspective. A good way to do this is to ask yourself: if I stood at the pearly gates today, would I bemoan the fact that I didn't work more overtime, or study for longer; or would I regret giving my usual "I'm too busy!" reply to my kids tenth request for a picnic at the park? If you make it a golden rule to adhere strictly to your schedule, then you can let go of any guilt that may assail you when the prospects of free time and fun crop up. So go on hikes, picnics, movies, camping trips and braais with friends and family; and don't forget some valuable ‘alone' time - read a book, go for an aromatherapy massage or take a yoga class. And at least once a week, do something crazy and spontaneous with your family - at the end of the day it will be the memory of you and your children running barefoot in the rain, having mud-fights and dancing like chickens that will have made that certificate you hold so proudly in your hands really worthwhile!
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