It's all a struggle - Rant!

[I See Clover]

I'm in my second year of university doing a law degree and I feel like I am really struggling to make time for everything.

I live at home so commute to university (only 10 min drive). I have two part time jobs - first is a weekend job as a carer for the elderly. I basically go from door to door and I'm in and out all day. The hours are really rubbish (ie out from 7am-12pm then out for a lunch 12-1pm then out for teas 4-5.30pm then out again around 7.30-9.15pm) but I do enjoy the job.

I work as a precognition agent as my second job. I do a lot of traveling and the job basically involves taking statements from civilian witnesses, police officers, social workers, doctors/surgeons etc. I like this job too and it is extremely advantageous to my degree as, in law, it is very hard (if not impossible) to find paid part time work whilst sitting your degree. It isn't a very common job to come across either, well here in Scotland anyway.

I also have a horse on DIY livery which is about 10 mins from the yard. I go up twice a day and try to make as much time as possible to ride.

I don't have enough time to get through my uni work so it's got to the point where I have a big pile of stuff to do and no time whatsoever. I am not the brightest bulb in the pack, so I have to work twice as hard to get where everyone else is.

So really my problem is that I am struggling with all of this. I get up around half 6 everyday (inc weekends) and don’t get to bed til late so I am in no way lazy. The issue I have is that I can’t really quit either job. My carer job is a permanent part time contract and I am guaranteed at least 16 hours a week. But with my prec job, I work as an agent therefore I only get work as and when required and so the firm supplying me with cases cannot guarantee anything. The prec job is really important to me because it will make me stand out when it comes to obtaining a traineeship. And also I feel I need this job to take me up to the same level as everyone else. I need a guaranteed wage because I have my car and the horse to pay for.

My mum is also getting a youngster tomorrow who will also be kept as a DIY livery next to mine. My mum leaves for work before 6am, so I will have to look after him in the morning and help her out with looking after him which I really don't mind. But it takes up more time, of which I don’t have a lot of.

Everything has built up to the point that everything is just going over my head now and I don't know what I should be doing.

Sorry for the rant. This probably doesn’t make any sense, but I just had to vent.

 

[FanyDuChamp]

You certainly have a lot on! You have my admiration, I have no advice unfortunately except maybe could you go part livery? hope it all works out.
FDC

 

[Damnation]

I'm afraid that something is going to have to give!
You are trying to pack alot of stuff into one day, and you will just end up exhausted, and making yourself ill!
Either you have to choose between one job, or try and find someone to help with your horse on an evening in exchange for free rides?

 

[Miss L Toe]

I think you should keep the law related job and get a better carer job, I am sure you can find one with better hours, the horse, well I am not sure if you are going to cope unless you find a sharer, or loan it till you are finished and in a well paid job.

 

[ebonyallen]

Have you spoken to your mum about this? I really think that you need help as you can not continue to do it all, perhaps find someone that would be happy to help out , if you carry on like this you will make yourself ill and then you will be no use to your horse. Sit down with your mum and see what you might be able to sort out. I do hope that something can get sorted you take care. Chrissie x

 

[YasandCrystal]

Gosh you do have a lot on your plate. There must be a solution to all this. If you are helping out with your mum's youngster in the mornings could your mum not reciprocate by doing your horse say on weekend mornings or 2 or 3 evenings when you are not riding?

I think if you can get a plan together so you can really schedule your time you will succeed, but you need some help whether it be the commitment from your mum or as suggested part livery. Does the yard do extras like turn out? My daughter has just started her first job and bravely moved away with her pony at a yard a few miles from her flat. SHe has found that it makes sense to pay for her pony to be turned out in the mornings as my daughter then gains both time and the fuel cost saving offsets the turnout fee.

It is not forever afterall you need to reassure yourself with the fact that the light is at the end of the tunnel, when you finish your degree.
I bet you welcome your holidays!

 

[Fellewell]

Just a thought but could you ask the care agency for some sleep-ins? The rate may be slightly better and you'll be in one place so you may have a chance to catch up on some coursework.

 

[Dancing Queen]

You are very busy!

if your mom is getting a youngster then she can help out - take it in turns to do mornings etc.

In your position with so much going on you need to set yourself time in which you do uni work; work 9-4 at uni every day (if poss) or set aside 9-4 on a sunday in which you get all the work done. As for riding you perhaps need to set aside that time (i.e saturday morning 7 -8) and STICK to it as best as your carer job will allow you.

you need to strike that healthy work/life balance otherwise you will end up being ill xx

 

[claireandnadia]

Cor and I thought I was a busy bunny.
If you want to keep both jobs then I'd looke for a sharer for your horse.

 

[LifeofRiley]

Hi, I sympathise and know how you feel with so much on your plate... but I thought I would offer a different viewpoint and hopefully some advise!
I work in the HR department of a law firm and have responsibility for graduate recruitment also. You mention that you haven't the time to do your Uni work and have to work twice as hard to get to where everyone else is. I'm not sure what the minimum academic criteria is in your area, but in London (and most regional firms I have worked at) the minimum we will take is a 2:1 and ABB at A level. So my advise would be to fundamentally ensure you obtain these grades, otherwise you will find it even more difficult to get a training contract. Assuming you get these grades, you will need something (or many things!) that make you stand out from the crowd. This year I had circa 350 applications for one training contract so you definately need to have that little bit of star quality in a successfull application! The jobs you are doing now would definately enhance your application in my view - your legal experience is great, but your other work will show you are a well rounded person and you can draw upon the experiences you have encountered here and apply them to the legal world in your applications.
I know it's tough, but competition for training contracts is even tougher so if you can, I would try to keep both jobs, and perhaps try and find some help with the horses. All the best and good luck!

 

[LaurenBay]

Firstly I would look into getting a sharer. The days that your sharer is up is when you can focus on your uni work. Coudl you and your mum come to a comprimise? You do the mornings and your mum does the evenings? that way you will only be going up once a day and saving petrol to.

 

[Annagain]

I too would look for a sharer, but in the meantime, sit down, work out a timetable, and stick to it.
Some other suggestions:
If you're doing the mornings for your mum, surely she can do some evenings for you?
Can you keep your horse out as much as possible to save some work?
Could riding take a back seat for a while? As long there's not physical reason for him needing to be in work, I doubt he'll care if he has a couple of months off!
Can you share the workload with other owners at your yard? Take it turns to turn out / bring in or poo pick?
Other things you can do to save time is to get a few haynets and fill them all at the weekend (or a quiet day) so you can just grab one in the morning and make up all your feeds in one go. If you have enough buckets that's great but if not put them in plastic bags and just empty it out when you need it.

With winter coming - don't worry about changing rugs, they're fine stabled in their turnouts as long as you check they're not rubbing and buy a snuggy hood - saves me hours of grooming and keeps them warmer.

 

[I See Clover]

Thanks for all your replies and sorry for taking so long to get back to you all.

Unfortunately I can’t go part livery as our yard only offers DIY. I have been looking around for other part time carer jobs to replace the current one, but not having much luck. I found a good one today so going to get an application sent to them on Monday.

I have had a sit down and spoke to my mum about it all. She looks after my horse at the weekends since I do such dodgey shifts and if I have everything done in the morning, she will happily bring Amber in at night for me so that I can study.

I have tried to cut my hours down on both jobs, but without much success. I also find it very difficult to schedule my time, especially during the week, because my precognition job is unpredictable. I have to arrange appointments to see non civilian witnesses, so spend half the week traveling because they can only see me at odd times.

As a result, I have quit my precognition job during term time. However, I said that I would be more than willing to work during Christmas and summer holidays. I wish I could have kept this job over the carer job, but I couldn’t risk the uncertain income.

Thanks for the good advice everyone

 

[jendie]

You say you aren't the brightest bulb in the box but I think you are doing amazingly well, juggling two jobs, a horse and a degree course shows you have an incredible amount of determination and organisation. So first of all don't put yourself down. Once you have your degree your applications for training posts are going to stand out from the crowd!!

But remember the degree is supposed to be FULL TIME, that means that all of your working hours should be taken up with lectures and private study. It is no wonder that you are falling a bit behind. I honestly think you should put your degree first for a while. Maybe you should look for a sharer with the horse? Or even put it on loan. It sounds as though you're working towards making the jobs more manageable. Good luck with finding a care job with more sociable hours.

Remember the third year of a degree is the toughest, so aim to get things on a more even keel by then. If you are struggling with deadlines have a chat with your tutors and explain the situation to them. They are very likely to be sympathetic, particularly if you approach them before missing the deadlines. They have probably been in similar situations themselves and will do everything they can to help.

Hang on in there, it will be worth it in the end!

 

[Marchtime]

From someone who has made it through a law degree it sounds like you've made the right decision quitting one of the jobs. However much you try there are only so many hours in the day and you had an awful lot to fit in.
Agree with LifeofRiley that at this point you need to concentrate on getting a good degree as if you're grade isn't up to scratch, unfortunately all the work experience won't help. Good luck, it sounds like you are very focused and hard working so I'm sure it will pay off

 

[DougalJ]

I'm afraid that something is going to have to give!
You are trying to pack alot of stuff into one day, and you will just end up exhausted, and making yourself ill!
Either you have to choose between one job, or try and find someone to help with your horse on an evening in exchange for free rides?

Absolutely right here - it's too much and something has to give otherwise you will make yourself ill. Definitely get some help with your horse as that is the easier option - shame you cant get help with the Uni work too!

 

[I See Clover]

You say you aren't the brightest bulb in the box but I think you are doing amazingly well, juggling two jobs, a horse and a degree course shows you have an incredible amount of determination and organisation. So first of all don't put yourself down. Once you have your degree your applications for training posts are going to stand out from the crowd!!

But remember the degree is supposed to be FULL TIME, that means that all of your working hours should be taken up with lectures and private study. It is no wonder that you are falling a bit behind. I honestly think you should put your degree first for a while. Maybe you should look for a sharer with the horse? Or even put it on loan. It sounds as though you're working towards making the jobs more manageable. Good luck with finding a care job with more sociable hours.

Remember the third year of a degree is the toughest, so aim to get things on a more even keel by then. If you are struggling with deadlines have a chat with your tutors and explain the situation to them. They are very likely to be sympathetic, particularly if you approach them before missing the deadlines. They have probably been in similar situations themselves and will do everything they can to help.

Hang on in there, it will be worth it in the end!

Thank you.

My mum helps out with my horse a lot, so she is kind of like my sharer. She usually hacks out at the weekend so I don't need to ride then and she is more than happy bringing her in for me during the week if I have her stable done in the morning. Riding is taking a back seat at the moment, I'm only really riding 2 days a week or so. I wouldn't want to stop that because it allows me to get away from everything and relax for a while.

I hadn't even thought about 3rd year, so thanks for that.

 

[I See Clover]

From someone who has made it through a law degree it sounds like you've made the right decision quitting one of the jobs. However much you try there are only so many hours in the day and you had an awful lot to fit in.
Agree with LifeofRiley that at this point you need to concentrate on getting a good degree as if you're grade isn't up to scratch, unfortunately all the work experience won't help. Good luck, it sounds like you are very focused and hard working so I'm sure it will pay off

Yeah, I think I was being a little too optimistic in thinking I could fit everything in. I completely agree with what you are saying. And thanks!

 

[I See Clover]

Absolutely right here - it's too much and something has to give otherwise you will make yourself ill. Definitely get some help with your horse as that is the easier option - shame you cant get help with the Uni work too!

Haha I know, that would make things much easier!