How to manage EVERYTHING

[Snmichael]

So, I start nursing school next week. I was accepted into a hybrid program, which is what I've been searching for for a long time and I am estatic.

But the issue is that I have so much other stuff in my life and I literally can't cut any of it out. I know nursing school is a lot of work, as it should be. But literally nothing can go off my "plate" and my husband works about 84 hours each week so I'll have not a lot of help. I have 3 children and work full time. My worries are how do I keep up with like housework, children, and things like that. What are some of your best practices? How did you get through nursing school and keep up with your obligations?

[forevernursem]

What I find helpful is keeping a planner. On each day, write what homework you have to get done, due dates, and how long to study for. Also, add your work from your personal life, such as your kids events and all of this kind of stuff. Then after completing a task, cross is off and go on to the next thing you have to do that day. This helps keep everything organized, and keeps you on track so you won't forget to do anything.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

School is not going to take up the entirety of your free time. If it is, then going to college full time might not be the best choice at the time.

You just make it work, just like everything else in life. You found the time to make sure your kids are taken care of, and you'll do the same thing with studying for school. Handle everything one day at a time. Organize your studying and homework, and just balance it around everything else. Obviously, doing homework at 5pm might be pretty impossible. But around 8pm after your kids are winding down and getting ready for bed, that might be the best time to work on it for you. Prioritize, you don't have to do every single thing every day. You can probably put a few days between any major house cleaning. If your kids are old enough to help with it, you could always have them do some of the easier stuff for an allowance. Figure out what absolutely has to be done vs what's not going to hurt anyone if you skip it. Odds are, you don't have to vacuum every day, cleaning your kitchen can probably be doing dishes real quick and sweeping the floor and wiping the counters, 15 minutes at most, then use one free day a week to do a deep clean of the house.

Get that practice now, because no matter what you do in healthcare, you have to fit about 20 hours of work into a 12 hour shift.

[FutureNurseInfo]

All I can say is do not procrastinate! Do not leave everything until the last minute. Also, if you planned to study chapters 1-5 for 2 hours, but was done in 1.5 hours, you may want to spend the saved 30 minutes to read another chapter, or complete an assignment. Finally, studying for the exams start on your first day of classes. Review material daily so this way when times comes for the exams, you just brush up.

[llg, PhD, RN]

You need to prepare yourself for the reality that at some point, you will need to "let some stuff go." Right now, it all seems necessary to you, but it isn't. You'll have to make some sacrifices. You can't just add school to an already busy life without getting rid of a few things to make room for it.

Maybe the house won't be as clean. Maybe your kids will eat more fast food (or pre-made food). Maybe the laundry will pile up higher before it gets done. Maybe you won't be able to "be there" quite as much for your family. That's reality. You'll find yourself forced to cut some corners here and there. Everyone does. So prepare yourself emotionally for that and forgive yourself when it happens. You'll find that if your kids are healthy, they can be remarkably resilient as long as they feel safe and loved.