Balancing the demands of a busy lifestyle while going back to school can be daunting. Finding the time to go back to school can feel impossible. This is especially true when you're juggling work, social commitments as well as family.

However, it can be done with some careful and strategic adjustments. Naturally, you want to make it as rewarding an experience as possible. Take a look at how you can make it fit into your hectic schedule.

Set Clear and Realistic Goals

The first step to successfully balancing school with a busy life is setting clear and realistic goals. No matter whether you're pursuing your degree full-time or part-time you must have your objectives in mind.

Ask yourself what you want to achieve from the experience. Consider how much time you can realistically dedicate to your schooling each week. You need to also define your success. What pass rate percentage would make you feel successful? All of these little things must be taken into consideration before you venture out and sign up for classes.

When you know what you want it is going to help to give you a clear sense of direction. This will keep you focused and motivated at all times. If you're balancing school and a full-time job it can't be real estate to expect the ace every exam or do every project to perfection. Instead what you should do is realistic goals that allow some room for flexibility as well as self-compassion. This way you will make it easier for you to continue without feeling discouraged.

Develop a Time Management System

If you're going to do time management correctly then you must learn how to manage it. This is going to be one of the keys to making sure that you can fit school and work into your life. When you don't have a structured schedule it's going to be easy for assignments, readings and deadlines to start piling up on you. This is going to need to stress and burn out in the long run.

Create a Weekly Schedule

You can use a digital calendar, planner or a task management app to help you make a schedule that you are comfortable with. When you start planning your week in advance and you know exactly what you're doing on which date and this can make it easy for you to just go ahead and do them.

Prioritize Tasks

Make sure you're identifying those tasks that have a high priority and those that are not. Make sure you are tackling the high priority assignments first so you don't feel overwhelmed. Tackling the most urgent and important tasks first will prevent last-minute cramming.

Time-Block

Time blocking is a critical component if you want to get things done when you're attending classes and also working. When you have your time blocked it will reduce distractions as much as possible.

Turn off your notifications if you have to in order to find a very quiet place to work. It will help you to get more accomplished. Allocate specific time blocks for studying, attending classes, and completing assignments. During these blocks, minimize distractions by turning off notifications or finding a quiet place to work.

Set Time Limits

Avoid spending too much time on one task or social media. You should always be giving yourself room to complete a study session properly. After that you can take a break. This will help you to stay fully focused and prevent burnout from happening.

Give yourself a set amount of time to complete a task. Once your mind knows that you only have a limited amount of time to do something it will naturally cooperate and you're going to find that you're getting more done.

Leverage Online and Flexible Learning

If your schedule is extremely tight, online education is definitely something that you should be considering. There are many universities and colleges who now offer online courses. These courses are extremely flexible and you can fit them into your schedule day or night. When you have this kind of flexibility you're going to be able to learn at your own pace.

If you prefer traditional styles of education and feel that this is the best way you learn, you can ask your university if they have weekend or Saturday classes. These sessions allow you to attend your class outside of your regular working hours. This will minimize the need for you to sacrifice your day job.

Break Down Large Projects and Assignments

If you have a large research paper or project, or even an examination to prepare for, one of the best things you can do to avoid overwhelm is to break it into small chunks.

When you break down a large task into smaller more manageable pieces you're going to feel less intimidated by it.

Set Micro-Goals

Instead of taking on your project as one big massive task. You're going to break it down into the smaller steps. This allows you to make steady progress and prevents you from procrastinating.

Daily Progress Is Key

You should get into making a small amount of progress everyday. It doesn't matter if it's a minute amount. If you can get in 20 to 30 minutes of focus work everyday then this will move you closer towards your goals.

When you make daily efforts it is going to add up over time. This is going to help you to stay on top of your deadlines.

Study During Lunch Breaks

Whenever you have lunch time, consider making it a working lunch by having your assignments open before you. This is especially good if it only involves something such as reading and analyzing. You can enjoy a hearty meal while learning something at the same time.

There's a lot that goes into successful study when you are working. It can all feel overwhelming at times but if you make an effort to organize yourself you will have a lot of success, you will then be glad for all the little sacrifices that you made.