Balancing Act: How to Juggle Work, Family, and Medical Assistant Training

When you are ready to make the transition from a job where you feel stuck to a new career in the growing healthcare field, you will have a period of time when balancing life’s responsibilities becomes harder yet very important to do well. During this time of transition, you may need to juggle the education for your new career, your responsibilities at your current job, and the needs of your family, and this can be overwhelming. During this season, staying organized and focused can help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

Set Realistic Goals and Prioritize What’s Most Important

One of the most important things to remember about balancing work and family life while going back to school is that you can’t create more hours in your day. If you attempt to do everything without a plan, you will not only be likely to fail, but even success can leave you feeling burned out. If you want to be successful at juggling work, family, and your new medical assistant training, you need to start by getting organized. Begin by setting goals for the day, the week, and the month. Once you have your goals set, make a list of all the tasks that will go into meeting those goals. Once you have your list of smaller tasks, begin to prioritize the tasks so you can meet your goals and not allow anything to slip through the cracks. 

Remember that your medical assistant training is a finite amount of time, so certain things that had previously been a higher priority may need to move down the list for the time you are in school. Make sure that you remind yourself of why you are doing this when things get overwhelming.

Get Organized and Simplify What You Can

When you are trying to balance school, work, and family, you will likely not have as much room for anything else. Look at where you can simplify and organize everything you need to fit into your life. Rather than trying to get a homemade dinner on the table every night, look into meal prepping on the weekends so that in the evening, all you need to do is heat and eat, and even pre pack lunches and set out outfits for the week for your family and yourself to make mornings easier.

Instead of feeling obligated to participate in every volunteer activity at your children’s school, take a break from the “extras” for a while. If you are feeling cluttered or disorganized, you will likely struggle to do what needs to be done, so before you begin, make an effort to streamline everything you can. Keep all your school materials together so that you are never searching for what you need, and encourage the rest of your family to do the same. One of the benefits of writing down a list – either on paper or digitally – is that it takes the responsibility and worry for remembering what you need to do out of your head, which can help you focus on what you are doing in the moment, not what you need to be doing later.

Your Calendar is Your Friend

Part of staying organized is staying on top of your schedule. Rather than just making a list and doing your best to cram everything into the day, start scheduling everything that you need to do. Schedule study time, commuting time, family time, cleaning time, and whatever else you need to fit into your day. A firm schedule can help you manage your time within each block and eliminate some of the chaos of the day. Within the time that you’ve allotted for cleaning or studying, you can prioritize your list and focus only on those tasks. 

Find Support Where You Can

While you are juggling school, work, and family, you need support. Many educational organizations offer support that can help you connect at school, providing tutoring, study materials, and guidance through the program. Outside of your medical assistant training, now is the time to rely on family and friends to help wherever they can. Don’t feel bad about asking for help. Family and friends can help get your kids to their childcare, school, or extracurricular activities, and may even be able to provide babysitting so you can focus on your schoolwork. If your children are able, look to them for help in keeping the house running smoothly. Take time periodically to evaluate your current plan. If something isn’t working, there is no shame in adjusting.

Make Sure You Take Care of Yourself

While it may seem that self-care is the last priority on your list, that doesn’t mean that you should abandon it. Even when – and especially when – you are busy, you need to make sure that you are focusing on taking care of yourself. Eating well, getting enough sleep, and focusing on moving your body when you can will help you manage your stress and avoid burnout. 

Periods of transition are always stressful, but when you focus on your ultimate goal, you can get through your medical assistant training program successfully and will be ready to embrace everything your new career will bring. When you begin your job as a medical assistant, you will need to know how to balance your workday, multitask, organize your tasks, and prioritize your duties. When you’ve put the effort into juggling your life, you will have all the necessary tools to be a successful medical assistant, too. To learn more about our comprehensive, accredited medical assistant training program, contact Athena Career Academy today.