What was the most difficult challenge, and how did I solve it?…
For me, the biggest mountain has been juggling a brand-new career while also going back to school. I’m talking fresh-desk, first-day kind of new. It felt like I was learning webpack in the morning, only to whip open my textbooks at night and learn about the network layer, or parse some less-than-thrilling reading assignment for a class I swore I’d enjoy. And let me tell you, that is enough to make your brain want to nap… forever.
So, how did I pull it off?
- Time-Blocking & Prioritization – After a few near-burnout moments, I started literally blocking out my schedule: 7-9 a.m. for career tasks, 9-5 p.m. for the day job, 6-9 p.m. for homework. Trust me, it sounds ridiculous, but it helped me focus on one thing at a time. No more flipping between work Teams messages and a half-written essay.
- Setting Boundaries – In the early days, I said “yes” to everything. But I learned (the hard way) that “yes” can quickly become your worst enemy. Once I started being realistic about my limits—like telling my boss I couldn’t hop on that optional 8 p.m. team meeting because I had a final to study for—life got a lot more manageable.
- Micro-Learning – If you think about it, we’re always learning in small bursts. When I had 30 minutes between tasks, I’d watch a quick webpack tutorial or skim an article on a new JavaScript feature. These bite-sized sessions add up big time. And if I was too burnt out for a deep read, I’d just highlight an online doc or watch a short video so I could revisit it later with more brainpower.
- Community Support – Leaning on classmates and coworkers, Just having someone to bounce a quick question off of—like how to configure a certain webpack loader—can save hours of frustration.
It’s definitely not easy balancing new-career brain swirl with the academic side of life. But if you’re reading this, trust me when I say: You can do it. Start small, keep going, and remember that every day is another step toward that sweet spot where you’re no longer the newbie juggling all the things, but the seasoned pro who wonders why you ever worried in the first place.
And hey, if you need a break, do what I do—take a breath, sip some coffee, remind yourself that “learning” is literally a lifetime event… so there’s really no rush to get it all at once.
