Because working a full-time job isn't quite challenging enough for some... In a new weekly feature, recent Her.ie recruit Mary is sharing her journey through the very grown-up world of juggling a career with further education. Looking back over her first semester and forward to a thesis, Mary is learning some lessons along the way about time management, the trials of being a born crammer, the importance of sharing the stressful moments... and the reason why "mature student" is probably an oxymoron. ___________________________________ All hail the fine art of juggling It’s been a busy couple of weeks to say the least, to the point where I feel like I should have signed up to the circus long ago as their queen of juggling. From working full-time, college from 6pm to 10pm two nights a week, assignments due plus a pretty hectic social life thanks to hens and birthdays, I’ve barely had the time to sleep never mind anything else. Then, when I do get to bed at a reasonable hour, my mind is just whirring with endless lists of things I need to do, should have done, or forgot to do. Some days, I feel like the proverbial hamster running endlessly on a wheel that’s going nowhere. But as I’ve quickly learned since heading back to college a lifetime less than six months ago, it’s all about prioritising. The trick I’ve learned comes from the basis that I am, and always will be, a self-proclaimed ‘crammer’. I’m not going to change and there’s no point in trying, so it’s all about finding the loopholes. I literally take each week as it comes. There’s people on my course who have essays that aren’t due for another five weeks already started, and even some have them finished. Which is all fine of course, and fantastic for them, but there’s no point listening to that and stressing yourself out. That’s my mantra and I’m sticking to it. Instead, I look at work each week; what have I got coming up, what days am I going to be a bit under pressure and make a list of urgent things that need to be done. From there, I fit college around that: what essays are coming up, what projects need to be looked at, what group things need to get done. If there is a week – like next week for example – whereby I have nothing due in college, I throw myself into work and try to get ahead of myself. There’s no point even bothering saying to myself that I could use the ‘free’ week to get ahead of myself in college, as I just won’t do it and as you all know, I’m too much of a fan of quadruple Friends on Comedy Central for it to ever come true. After that comes my social life; if all the other stuff gets done, then… No, hang on, that doesn’t even sound genuine to my ears! Who am I kidding?