10 Ways To Reduce Stress At A Part-Time Job

By Timothy Hayes on October 2, 2015

Nobody ever really told you how stressful college was going to be, but here you are chest deep in midterms, wading through stacks of books, crying over papers at midnight, all the while balancing work life and everything else you’re “supposed to do in college.”

Whether or not you’re working now, you will most likely work part-time sometime in college. That might be with the campus. That could be with a private entity. Whatever the employment, it will add a huge amount of stress to an already swamped schedule that you just can’t handle.

Here are some ideas to keep the stress down during your part-time job.

1. Make a schedule.

If you’re going to be doing 500 things this coming week, you might as well do them in order. Many professors will tell you that the most important skill you learn in school isn’t going to be rhetoric, mathematics, chemistry, or any of those academic things. It’s going to be time management.

Learning to manage your time and get things in order will help you stay on top of ever-increasing workloads. If the thought of having so many things to do induces panic, use the schedule you make as a means to reducing the problems you’ll have. Get a few little things done to give your brain a boost.

This can mean setting up a mental or physical checklist of things to do before you close a restaurant or it could mean figuring out when you have a break so that you can work on that Mandarin homework you’ve been meaning to do.

2. Leave your problems at the door.

A great man once told me, “Treat your problems like your shoes; take them off at the door and pick them up on your way out.” Those words have stuck with me through thick and thin.

If you’ve got something bothering you, once you get to work, it doesn’t matter. For as long as you are on the clock, that world doesn’t exist. When you’re at work, you’ve already got enough to think about, so don’t worry about the paper you haven’t written or the drama you’re having with your friends. For you now, you are working.

3. Get off your phone.

This is usually a given, but seriously, get off your phone. This is going to cause problems with managers, open you up to a world of problems through text and social media, and is going to decrease your productivity. Get off your phone.

4. Stop working so much.

(image via Copy Editor)

You are a student first. Your job may be paying bills, but if you’re running your academic career into the ground, then what’s the point? Working more than 30 hours a week is going to run you straight into the ground. I’ve done it. It’s terrible. Don’t do that to yourself.

5) Respect your manager.

Whatever you might believe, your manager got the position because someone above them deemed them capable of the job. One of the biggest problems I’ve seen in a workplace is when people don’t respect their superiors. Whatever that person’s flaws, they are a superior. They have been given authority over you.

If they’re being an idiot, you can go over their head, but just because you don’t like someone doesn’t mean you should back talk, complain about them behind their back, or try and screw them over. Let that person know your gripe. Maybe you can work it out.

6) Respect your subordinates.

Respect is a mutualistic relationship, not a one-way street. If you’ve been treating your subordinates like crap, that is what they will give you. They are probably students too who might never have had a job before then. Don’t push down on them because you had a bad day. Instead focus on helping them and uplifting your team. Paying it forward will help you feel better.

7) Get some sleep.

If you’re closing every night for five nights a week and going to school, you’re going to need sleep. That seems silly, but it’s so easy to go home after closing, get distracted by cat videos and then look at the clock at 2 a.m. Your body’s going to give out on you.

(image courtesy of https://upload.wikimedia.org)

8) Get something to eat.

You’ve got a good chance of working in a restaurant during college. You’re surrounded by food. Order or make some of it. Your body needs fuel. You might be busy but that means you’re going to burn even more calories. You need to remember to eat and eat well if you can. Even a bit here and there will help.

9) Get some time off.

Working all the time and then coming home to homework and sleep is not fun. Your stress levels will sky rocket if you do this. Make sure you’re taking time to go out with friends or just chill out at home. Don’t just make life school, work, sleep, repeat.

10) Quit your job.

If you’re not happy with your job and it’s tearing you down, get another one. Bad workplace environments that bully you or make your life too difficult aren’t worth your time. You need to apply to a new job and quit the one you have, but not before you have another one.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format