|
|
 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
   
Location: Montana | This mostly has to do with those going to college, but especially those who work, go to college, and manage to spend time/go to barrel races/rodeos with their horses, and spend time with family. How do you balance it all out? There are some things I'd like to do, such as pursue going to college, yet between working close to full time, then working with my horses, going to barrel races, and helping my parents around the house and other things they want me to do, I feel like I need an extra four hours in the day to pursue going to college, or give up on sleeping, LOL.
So, I'm just curious how you balance it all? I do have the option of completing 80% or better of a transfer associate degree from an accredited college online, which will help, but if I do it, I would like to try to carry full time courses so it won't take me 4 years to complete just an associate degree. Thanks...:-) |
|
| |
|
 Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | I did it! It was hard!!!! I worked a LOT of weekends. Sometimes I'd work before school, go to school, and then come back to work. I'm not really sure how I did it. It's all about time management. I didn't go out with friends much. Toward the end when nursing school got heavy I was only working 20-35 hours a week. I had to give up riding all 4 of mine during school and only rode the ones I was going to run. I was lucky if I got 2 rode a day. I did a lot of ponying too. I wasn't able to go to every barrel race I wanted to, but I was able to go enough that I got my fix. |
|
| |
|
Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Simple. I'm 21 and never had a boyfriend and I don't see my friends more than once a month at the most. I work full time, well, it's like 30 some hours a week so not as much as I was working. I will be starting school again in the fall. I get up at 6:30 and don't get to bed until midnight-1am.
Edited by cavyrunsbarrels 2015-05-17 2:31 PM
|
|
| |
|
Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
Location: Montana | brlracerchick - 2015-05-17 1:17 PM I did it! It was hard!!!! I worked a LOT of weekends. Sometimes I'd work before school, go to school, and then come back to work. I'm not really sure how I did it. It's all about time management. I didn't go out with friends much. Toward the end when nursing school got heavy I was only working 20-35 hours a week. I had to give up riding all 4 of mine during school and only rode the ones I was going to run. I was lucky if I got 2 rode a day. I did a lot of ponying too. I wasn't able to go to every barrel race I wanted to, but I was able to go enough that I got my fix. Thanks for the info! I don't go out with friends except at barrel races for the most part...I only have 2 to ride but it keeps me busy because one is my barrel horse and one is a 3 y/o. I don't barrel race a lot except in the summer, then I do it almost every week, weather allowing. My job is somewhat flexible, but is open from 10AM to 6PM, and if the work is there, you have to do it.
You're greatly inspiring!
Cavyrunsbarrels: I haven't had an actual boyfriend (more than 2 dates) in over a year! LOL. Most of my friends revolve around my church or my barrel racing, so don't hang out a lot either. Thanks for the "simple" response, LOL. :)
Edited by mtcanchazer 2015-05-17 2:30 PM
|
|
| |
|
Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | Thanks lol. It took me 5 years ish to get my degree (because I changed my mind halfway through one degree) so I got good at it. I actually got one of my mares seasoned and running while I was in school. I don't have an arena either or anywhere with lights. That would have made life much easier. I got married while in school too (which I don't really recommend because it was awful trying to plan while working and going to school). If you want it bad enough, you'll make it happen! |
|
| |
|
 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | I did it while I was in college. Went to school, worked 20-30 hours a week, kept 2-3 horses rode, had a boyfriend and while it was limited I still had a social life.
Like someone else said you just make it work. You make time for what is important to you. I watched maybe 1 hour of tv/movies a week the whole time I was in college. There just wasn't time for that. If you're the kind of person who enjoys a couple of hours of tv time a night then you're sacrificing something else for the time spent doing that.
Time management doesn't get any easier when you get out of school either. I now work a full time job, ride 3 horses every afternoon, have a husband who of course is a priority and needs time from me, have a household to take care of (bills, dinner, laundry, dishes, etc) and still keep in touch with a couple of close friends. My day is nonstop from 6AM to around 9/10PM. I don't even have kids!
But I wouldn't have it any other way. All of the things that consume my day are important to me. |
|
| |
|
Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
Location: Montana | brlracerchick - 2015-05-17 1:59 PM Thanks lol. It took me 5 years ish to get my degree (because I changed my mind halfway through one degree) so I got good at it. I actually got one of my mares seasoned and running while I was in school. I don't have an arena either or anywhere with lights. That would have made life much easier. I got married while in school too (which I don't really recommend because it was awful trying to plan while working and going to school). If you want it bad enough, you'll make it happen!
You sound like me! No arena and no lights (makes riding really hard in the winter, especially when it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon). You kept yourself REALLY busy with all that, congrats.
Bama: Don't watch TV much as it is...maybe an hour a night during the week at most, Saturday and Sunday are my TV watching evenings with probably 2 hours a night on those days. I'm always doing SOMETHING.
Ya'll are inspirations! |
|
| |
|
Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | BamaCanChaser - 2015-05-17 3:01 PM I did it while I was in college. Went to school, worked 20-30 hours a week, kept 2-3 horses rode, had a boyfriend and while it was limited I still had a social life. Like someone else said you just make it work. You make time for what is important to you. I watched maybe 1 hour of tv/movies a week the whole time I was in college. There just wasn't time for that. If you're the kind of person who enjoys a couple of hours of tv time a night then you're sacrificing something else for the time spent doing that. Time management doesn't get any easier when you get out of school either. I now work a full time job, ride 3 horses every afternoon, have a husband who of course is a priority and needs time from me, have a household to take care of (bills, dinner, laundry, dishes, etc) and still keep in touch with a couple of close friends. My day is nonstop from 6AM to around 9/10PM. I don't even have kids! But I wouldn't have it any other way. All of the things that consume my day are important to me.
DVR became my best friend! I would tape all my shows and watch them while I was doing homework (not really watch, but listen). I'm graduated now and I feel like I'm still so busy! I only work 3 days a week (nights, which sucks sometimes) but I feel like I'm getting less done now than when I was in school. Hopefully now that it's finally sunny again I can get my groove back. We're looking at a house tonight, so now I'll have a lot more to add to my plate to hopefully take away from my sedentary time on the computer. I'll admit, I've been really lazy lately.
I had friends in nursing school that had kids on top of working and school. To me, that would be way harder than trying to juggle the horses. |
|
| |
|
 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I managed. Here's how:
School from 7-2 (give or take). Even if you have some breaks in between, STAY AT SCHOOL and do homework and studying. (Biggest piece of advice I can offer is to start early in the morning, and stay there until your last class).
Practice/exercise horse from 2-4.
Then change and work 5-10/11.
I kept my horse at my parents so I saw them then. I usually rodeo'd with my parents as well ( we were all entered) so that was family time. Mom was always helpful and would cool out my horse if roping practice went a little late and I had to scramble to get to work. I worked at my fast food job for 3 ish years by the time I was in college so at that point I could pick my own schedule and have weekends off if I needed them. |
|
| |
|
Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
Location: Montana | Thanks for letting me know how you do it. Inspirations to get me motivated to say the least. :) |
|
| |
|
What Name?
Posts: 1994
| I am currently working once full time job, mon-Fri 8-5 and a part time Tues/weds/fri 6-1 job. I'll probably be at Nissan soon, which will be 7pm-8am fri-sun, to replace my mon-Fri job. In which case I'll be starting classes in August,7-2pm mon-Thur. I spend all my free hours right now working on the fence until daylight is done. Go ride for an hour after dark at the indoor, then come home do a 45 min workout 4 days a week. Shower then bed lol. My bestie and I make time for one another. This weekend both my parents and get parents plus ourselves and her bf are going to the renaissance festival. We do something big once a month ( six flags, trail riding, water park) and something low key once a month. (lunch, movie, just a girls night on the couch together) and she loves an hour away. Sundays are my day for God and family. I spend any free time with them on this day.
?:) good luck, it's not easy but it's rewarding |
|
| |
|
 Roan On The Range
Posts: 7889
Location: Stephenville, TX | I did it too and just found a way to make it work. I went to school full time, worked a full time day job, ran my business, rode one horse and had a boyfriend. Most of my classes were on-campus (online classes weren't as readily available then as they are now). My schedule varied depending on the semester and my day jobs were fairly flexible and open 7 days a week. I took summers off from school so I could get more hours at work and help with harvest on my parents' farm. It took me 4 years to get my associates degree and not a day went by that I wasn't either in school, at work, or both. But I got it DONE!! 
|
|
| |
|
 I Love the Oldies
Posts: 3767
Location: Central Washington | I am not sure how I did it, but I worked full-time (40 hrs/week), went to school full-time (12-15 credits) and had 3 kids. My hubby of course was huge help, and I took what classes I could online. I only had enough time to ride 1 horse though. |
|
| |
|
 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| I did it. I worked full-time m-f 8-4:30 and then went to night class full-time from 6-10 3 days a week. I usually did some homeowork between work and class. I was able to ride 2 nights in the week and then weekends. I usually snuck out one or two nights after class also just to brush and visit. I then spend the other 2 hours on those weeknights of riding doing household chores or homework or a combo of both. I saw my friends on weekends when time permitted. I never was a tv watcher, if I did anything, i would watched a friends re-run right before bed.
You get a system down and you learn how to overlap things that work. Now that I have graduated and have less going on, I find myself cleaning aimlessly because I no longer know how to sit and relax. I finished a 2 year and a 4 year in 5 years doing this.
|
|
| |
Balancing all you do, work, horses, school, etc.?