Teams meetings & technical drawings: Balancing working and studying

You might wonder how I ended up here – it's been one heck of a ride. After completing my A-levels in 2018 and getting myself into a top university to study Maths I realised I had made the error so many young students make which is choosing a degree in a subject I loved at school without really thinking what this new establishment’s approach would be.

A lot happened in the years between leaving uni and landing here with EBC. But what really changed things was a heart-to-heart with my grandma, who was battling terminal cancer. She asked why I never pursued a creative career since that was the life I grew up in and adored. I gave her the usual excuses. She looked me dead in the eye and said I "shouldn’t be making excuses for the choices I’m making when those choices will only result in later life regret’. And that’s how the journey started.

Having studied remotely, prior to covid for my accountancy qualifications, I can safely say choosing a course that has other people doing it alongside you makes the world of difference. Since the pandemic, I think there have been so many realisations in the education world that the traditional methods & structures might not be the best. Technology really has aided the delivery of material and communication both between tutors and students and among fellow classmates, making it possible for someone, like me, based in Dorset to attend a university over 100 miles away and still feel connected to my course mates, tutors, and the degree I am studying.

I’m aware that not everyone has the luxury to work part-time or within such a supportive company, but I was surprised at how many of my course mates have full-time positions and a family to look after. Of course, there are times in which it gets tough, especially around deadlines but thankfully we all have each other to lean on and share our frustrations with! When I began writing this blog I asked them, ‘How do you all balance life?’ and the common threads between all of us were self-discipline, time blocking, and being conscious of our own wellbeing.

I admit my initial few months were tough, almost like trying to get two magnets of the same pole to somehow stay in line, one constantly pushing the other out of the way. And that’s when I started implementing time blocking. By definition time blocking is:

 ‘a productivity technique where you divide your day into specific blocks of time, assigning each block to focus on a particular task or activity.’

The way I interpret it is that it’s a form of gentle discipline. Each night I write out a list of intentions for the following day and then once I’ve gotten a good night's sleep, I sit down with my breakfast and begin to ‘block my day’. I make sure the first things I plan are things for myself, so this might include going to the gym, seeing a friend, or going for a walk somewhere new with my dog. Then come appointments and meetings and lastly, anything else left on my intentions list for the previous night. This way I know each zone of my life is covered daily and I have actively prioritised what’s important to me which in turn means I’m starting the day less overwhelmed.