The most significant challenge I have faced was finding a balance between my work and studies. Not managing to combine them properly, I experienced significant difficulties in my academic performance. At the same time, I realized that any work provides a valuable experience, useful in any activity domain. I have developed soft skills and have become more sociable, learned to be flexible, act according to the situation, manage, and quickly make decisions. Even though many universities are trying to create the necessary environment for team building and are forced to comply with deadlines, at work, there is a completely different level of responsibility: there is practically no margin for error.
However, I understood that it is crucial to balance these two types of professional activity since my academic performance was unsatisfactory. Often, a combination of the two causes a decline in the effectiveness and quality of their execution. It is challenging to combine work and study without harming your academic performance; in any case, the lack of time for education will negatively affect and lead to a decrease in academic performance and, ultimately, to being expelled. My grades in the first year of community college were not ideal. This realization prompted me to take more active steps towards self-organization and finding effective ways of work-study combination.
Thus, I decided that it is necessary to increase the effectiveness of time management and self-discipline. I controlled my study and work time, gave up all the entertainment, and dedicated myself to studying. Simultaneously, I was learning how to prioritize tasks and assignments so that I accomplish them in an organized and timely manner. Although these steps resulted in a lack of spare time for myself, they also helped me to focus on what was important for me as a student. The most significant result was that my GPA improved a lot in the following year, and I have developed a much better understanding of the course material. The latter was the most valuable academic achievement of mine since it is my real knowledge, not the grades, which reflect my success in the process of studying.