BALANCING A BUSINESS IN COLLEGE
Introduction
Building a business is not easy. The process becomes more difficult when you throw in the schedule of being a full-time college student.
Growing a business in addition to balancing your classes, having a part-time campus job, hanging out with friends, and staying healthy is not easy.
Here are some ways that I manage my time to ensure that I’m putting forth my best effort in every aspect of my life.
Life Audit
Before you even start managing your time and trying to figure out when to do certain tasks, you need to first create a life of all the things that you’re doing. You need to know what’s on your plate first before you start to organize it.
For me, this includes attending classes, working my part-time job, exercising, studying, participating in my extracurricular activities, creating YouTube videos, coding my app for Stylistic, and writing blog posts. This is just a rough estimate of the things I need to do in order to succeed in both college and my business, but having this list creates a clearer picture on how I want to manage my time.
Now, I can move on to analyzing the situation and creating a rhythm that works sustainably with my college schedule.
Creating a Sustainable Work-Load
When you’re a student in college, your classes take number one priority. Everything else should be secondary. That is why it’s important to analyze your work-load and create a rhythm that is sustainable throughout the school semester.
For example, over the summer, I wrote one blog post every Tuesday. This meant that I spent a good amount of time EVERY WEEK drafting my blog post. After careful analysis, I realized that this will not be sustainable throughout the school semester. I realistically do not have enough time to dedicate to this task every week, which is why I decided to cut back.
Now, my goal is to post a new blog article every month. This allows me greater flexibility while still growing my brand and sharing personal stories and tips with you all.
Finding places like this where you can cut back a little will save you a huge amount of sanity throughout the semester, which is crucial to succeeding in both your business and in your classes. However, this does not mean that you must cut back on everything. I am still going to post a YouTube video every Friday and I am still going to code my app throughout the semester. But, I will also continuously analyze my time and cut back or add things as necessary.
Growing your business in college is a fluid dynamic. It will never be a constant schedule, so it is crucial to keep analyzing your work-load in order to create a plan that is sustainable.
Build Your Schedule
Once you’ve done your life audit and have found ways to cut back on certain things in order to keep your progress sustainable, it is now time to add it all to your calendar by using the time blocking technique. Check out this YouTube video where I take you through my detailed time blocking process to give attention to my business while also succeeding in my classes: https://youtu.be/k_17lWRobwc?si=xaWoYrPHK6uL_M_p
Reiterate and Replan
As the semester goes on, your schedule is bound to change rapidly. Some weeks may be heavy with exams, and you may not have time to work on your business at all. Other weeks you may ONLY be working on your business because of all the free time you have.
The important thing to remember is to allow yourself to constantly reiterate and replan your schedule. Every week and every day is different, so you shouldn’t beat yourself up for not having things go as originally planned. Life happens, and that’s okay.
Just like any good business, the key to growth is reiteration and innovation, which applies to your time management as well.
Conclusion
Balancing a business with a full-time college schedule is not easy, but it is possible with careful planning and flexibility.
By conducting a life audit, creating a sustainable workload, and building a well-structured schedule, you can effectively manage your time and ensure that you’re giving your best effort in all areas of your life.
Remember, the key is to continuously reassess and adjust your plan as needed. College life is dynamic, so you need to embrace the fluidity, stay adaptable, and keep pushing forward. With the right mindset and strategy, you can be a successful entrepreneur while also being an academic weapon. You got this.
Building a business is not easy. The process becomes more difficult when you throw in the schedule of being a full-time college student. Growing a business in addition to balancing your classes, having a part-time campus job, hanging out with friends, and staying healthy is not easy. Here are some ways that I manage my time to ensure that I’m putting forth my best effort in every aspect of my life.