Establishing work-life balance can be complicated enough, but when you’re a studying parent, juggling it all can feel even more out of reach. We take a look at the concept of balance and help you to understand why work/study/family/life flexibility might be a better fit and help you to take control of the juggling act! If you’re new to the role of studying parent and are still trying to find your study/family groove, these tips might help both you and your family adjust to a new routine. To discuss how you can take advantage of the flexibility and support available to you at USQ, get in touch with your Student Relationship Officer.

1. How to achieve
work/study/family
/life flexibility

2. There’s no shortage of opinions or articles to
choose from when it comes to the discussion
of work-life balance. In fact, there are over
95 million results available on Google.
But when you try to find advice or tips to help
with the juggling act of work, life, university
study and being a parent or carer, the
conversation tends to come to a grinding halt.

3. As a studying parent, you’ve got a lot of things to juggle and there’s
always more responsibilities being added. You’re constantly being
thrown curve balls that need to be caught and it feels like for every
one you catch there’s another one hitting the floor.
You’re craving a solution to make the juggling act more manageable.
The answer must be this elusive
work-life balance. Right?

4. Not necessarily.
With so many formulas and strategies available, and balance still
remaining so hard to achieve, is it possible that there might be a
better approach?
Instead of balance, could work/study/family/life flexibility be a more
effective and, ultimately, more achievable, goal?

5. The idea of achieving balance is that the juggling act becomes
controlled. All aspects of your life and your many commitments are in
perfect alignment. Everyone’s needs and wants are met and nobody
misses out.
But in reality, we all know life doesn’t quite work that way. Kids get
sick, work commitments change and your study workload fluctuates.
The concept of balance doesn’t leave much room for curveballs …

6. The concept of flexibility, on the other hand,
helps you to reign in the juggling act by helping
you to prioritise what’s important, let go of
what’s not and decide which balls you can put
down or pass on to someone else. Flexibility lets
you catch the curveballs without all the others
hitting the floor.

7. So, how can you embrace flexibility?

8. The first step is to take a long, hard look at
exactly what it is you’re currently juggling.
What are the emotions, time commitments and social networks that
make up the balls you’re constantly trying to keep in the air?
Using the following three categories as a guide,
write down or think about your own juggling list.

9. Emotional needs and wants
You’re most likely juggling the stresses and
pressures of study and work with the emotional
ups and downs of raising a family. At times, you
may feel determined and proud of all you’re
working toward in your studies. Then, there might
be days when you feel immense pressure and guilt
for the time and energy study takes away from
other aspects of your life, such as your family.
Putting your own feelings aside, as a parent you’re
also trying to manage the emotions of your family
and loved ones, and provide them with the support
they need.

10. Time
There just aren’t enough hours in the day! It’s a
constant juggle to split your time between work
hours, study and the daily routine chaos of family life.
Kids need to get from A to B, meals need to be
made, clothes need to be washed and somewhere
in there you’re also trying to carve out time to
pursue your goals and maintain relationships. Not to
mention exercise, quality sleep or leisure activities!
Jot down everything (no task is too small!) that takes
up time during your day.

11. Social networks
As a busy mum, dad or carer, there are many
relationships in your life that you want to keep
healthy. Friends, family, colleagues and
acquaintances all make demands on your time,
and while you try to say yes to as much as
possible, it often feels like there’s someone
missing out or being left disappointed. Your
social networks are important to you, but
they’re hard to keep up with!
How many social commitments and
relationships are you juggling? Write
them down!

12. Now that you can see exactly what you’re
currently juggling (or trying to), the next
step in achieving some flexibility is to
prioritise what is most important.

13. When it comes to gaining perspective on the juggling
act, few have put it better than Bryan Dyson, former
President and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises.
‘Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You
name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of
these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop
it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit
– are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed,
marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You
must understand that and strive for balance in your life.’

14. Choose your glass
While we’ve already discussed the downfalls of balance,
and whether or not you agree with Dyson’s sentiment,
the overall analogy can be useful in helping you to
decide what on your list is most important.
What matters to you the most? Which ball do you
definitely not want to drop?
For many people, family is their non-negotiable and will
always be their top priority. For others who have spent
decades passionately pursuing their careers, work is a
glass ball they would find difficult to have to put down.
The most important thing to remember is that there is
no right or wrong answer to this question. What is glass
to you might be rubber to someone else. Your priorities
are entirely your own.

15. Lighten the load
Next, look at what you can let go of. (And what
parent is not familiar with the iconic phrase, ‘let it
go’?) What are the tasks, emotions or relationships
that are no longer necessary to be juggling?
For example, you might have negative relationships
in your life or commitments at work that you know
are absorbing more time and energy than they’re
worth. Given everything else you’re juggling, what
can you let go of?

16. Put down or pass on
This is where you start making way for
the curveballs.
From what’s left on your list, have a think about
what things only you can do, and what items you
might be able to pass on to someone else or
put down for a little while during busy times or
when unplanned events occur.
For example, nobody else can write your
assignment for you, but maybe you could pass
on the responsibility of cooking meals to your
teenage child for one or two nights a week to
help lighten the load?

17. By identifying your glass ball, letting go of what’s not as important
and looking for opportunities to share your load when needed, you’re
creating a flexible and resilient plan that you can adjust to suit life’s
changing circumstances.
Rather than aiming to achieve balance, the concept of work/study/
family/life flexibility allows you to pick up and put down the balls as
you choose and prepares you to deal with curveballs as they appear.
No matter what life throws at you, you know what your top priority
is and can let other commitments and responsibilities move flexibly
around it.

18. Flexibility is the key to juggling work, study,
family and life, and at USQ, we can offer you the
flexibility to help you succeed in your studies while
managing your other priorities and commitments.

19. CRICOS: QLD00244B NSW02225M TEQSA: PRV12081 2017.04.01 (14) Graphics © Shutterstock
social.usq.edu.au
If your circumstances have changed and you need to
reduce your study load (even temporarily) or require
extra support in your studies, we’re here to help
you. Your Student Relationship Officer can put you
in touch with the relevant support services available
at USQ and can chat to you about your options. To
embrace the flexibility available within your studies,
contact your Student Relationship Officer.