How Much Work is Too Much Work?

With many of us students facing the reality that Financial Aid and grants are no longer as much help with paying for our college tuition, many turn to working to help cover the costs of earning a degree. In an article written by Laura W. Perna, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, "Today nearly one in ten, (roughly 8%) of full-time, traditional-age undergraduates is employed at least thirty-five hours a week." Although to most that doesn't seem like a significant amount, the fact of the matter is, those eight percent of college students are working about as many hours a week as their parents do, while still attending school full time.

As I mentioned previously, most college institutions suggest that if students want to work, they should work no more than 20 hours weekly. They also encourage students to work on campus versus off campus.

Having worked an average of 50 hours a week for most of this semester, I agree that there is definitely a limit to how much students should work while in school. From my experience, working too much affected my study habits as well as my health. For one thing, it made me much more irritable, and I had less patience after having to pull all nighters on Sundays week after week. I also was not able to have any free time, which made my weeks go by in a blur, with nothing but work, school, homework and classes. I was unable to do things that most college students partake in.

I also noticed that it was very hard for me to stay awake in a lot of my classes, and I depended on energy drinks and other sources of caffeine to stay awake, which can be very unhealthy. Studies have shown that now more than ever college students have become more dependent on energy drinks and coffee to stay awake and alert through their everyday life. Most of us consume more caffeine than we are actually aware of.

In the chart above, from the Brief Addiction Science Information Source, many students report consuming energy drinks for various reasons, some of which being not having enough sleep, and feeling the need for an energy boost.

It's common for us to feel stressed, or really tired, do you use energy drinks to compensate for a lack of sleep?

Missing the College Experience?

Many students consider working while in college as a way to be more productive with their free time. Working shifts, and earning money during their time off offers students a beneficial perk: MONEY. While many students choose to not work while in school, and tend to spend their off time leisurely during the week and weekend, some of us instead consider having a job as a good way to spend our time.

From experience, when I first considered getting a job, it seemed like a productive way to spend my free time because instead of just sleeping until noon, or spending an entire weekend in watching Netflix, I would be making money in my free time. Soon, it became evident that working was no longer something fun to do during my free time, and it became another obligation of its own. With nearly 80% of college students working while in school, it's hard to imagine that there's much time left at the end of a hectic week to spend on things that we would like to do, such as going out with friends, or sleeping in.

Now that I have pretty much no free time, I have changed my mind on my original thought process. Upon entering college last fall, I believed that free time just fostered bad decisions such as partying and staying out late. Now, as we are wrapping up the spring semester, I've learned that having free time, or as it's called in Careen Yarnel's article, "Teach Students Benefits of Positive Leisure Time Use," leisure time, can be very beneficial to developing ones self, especially during college. There are so many positive things that we can do when given the time to. Yarnel points out that spending time relaxing with family and friends can help students unwind from hectic school schedules.

Throughout this year, I've seen how many different things I would like to get involved in, but I simply lack the free time to do them. Along with the other college students who work full time, I understand that I've chosen to give up my free time in a chance to gain financial independence at a young age. If I did not work, or just did not work as much, I would have the opportunity to volunteer in things things that I am interested in, or read more. These are examples of the things that Yarnel labels as character building.

These activities can increase social activity and happiness overall. Allowing students to step away from the stress of school, and share laughs with friends and family.

What kinds of positive activities would you like to do, or do you already do with your free time?