Over the summer, students looking to make extra money for the school year were consumed with lifeguarding, working in clothing stores, working at camps, and more. Over the summer, students have much more free time, so having a job is not as difficult as during the year. Managing your time is extremely important during the school year especially if you want to keep your job all year long.

For students looking to continue their summer job over the school year it is imperative to manage your time efficiently. Students have different ways of doing that as there is no one right answer. Working only a few days a week is a smart way to make sure students are not putting too much on their plate. They can find the days that work best for them and plan ahead. If Sunday is a laid back day for students, they should communicate with their boss about scheduling. This will prevent students from getting scheduled on days that don’t work for them or will cause them too much stress.

Another way for students to keep their summer jobs is to look ahead a couple weeks or a month out and plan out days that will work for students. This will allow students to know well in advance when they have to work. They can then move around things on their schedule to accommodate their job and won’t have to stress last minute about it. Senior Brooke Simon said, “I like working during the school year, but it can be a challenge. I just make sure to plan ahead and try to find out as much in advance when I’m working.”

Creating a calendar or reminders list to keep track of your schedule is another way to keep track of your work hours. It’s very easy to forget a day of work especially if you were given the schedule weeks in advance. By creating a calendar, reminders list or another organizational tool, it will ensure that students have another way of remembering their shifts. Junior Skylar Rothman said, “Working during the year can be difficult, but if you make sure to always know your hours and shifts ahead of time it makes it a lot easier.”

Physically writng out the time students can and cannot work can help students avoid errors.

Utilizing a family member or friend to make sure you are keeping up with all of your activities while you are working is another way to help. Not only is remembering shifts important, but making sure students aren’t falling behind is another part of successfully keeping your job during the year. If students are having a hard time keeping track of schoolwork, their work and extracurriculars then assistance from a friend or family member will help them stay on top of things. Senior Parmida Khajohee said, “My mom helps me stay on top of everything so I can continue working without having to be so stressed out.”