It is 11 p.m., you’ve just finished making food for your family, and now, after all that hard work, you get to write an essay on a book you were assigned in class. You also get to finish your math homework. Right, you even get to that project that is due in a few hours. Suddenly, you realize you’ve created a backlog of a multitude of assignments you have to work on in such little time.

Many students find themselves in situations like these. Oftentimes, outside work and responsibilities put stress on their ability to keep up with academic responsibilities, but research suggests there’s more sustainable ways to deal with it. 

The main problem is that the work we get at college is commonly accompanied by a myriad of responsibilities. Many students describe feeling pressured to function at their best regardless of any outside responsibilities. 

The problem can be made even worse when nobody seems to know the solution. Responses can range anywhere from, “It’s not your fault,” to “Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” Left unchecked, this pressure can often lead to burnout, something many students describe as a reason they step back from their studies.

Situations like these are not uncommon among working students. One such person is Jessica Silver-Sharp, a part time student that juggles college work, editing for the American Federation of Teachers’ newsletter, and working as a librarian for Skyline College and Cañada College. 

When asked about her responsibilities Silver-Sharp said, “I work about twenty hours a week. So far I’ve been able to juggle it (college and work) but I know my classes will get harder.” Her usual routine in a week is mostly her trying to balance her job and school work.

“A quarter of my schedule I’m working online, a third is commuting from Redwood City to Skyline or San Jose, another third is spent helping students at the library, leaving the rest for doing my homework…,” Silver-Sharp said.

Other times, the pressure comes from being a parent and having to work and study on top of that.

“Normally my day looks like this; at 7 a.m. I wake up and make breakfast for my children, then I drop them off at 8 a.m., only then do I have time for my breakfast and after I go to college or work. At 2 p.m. I have to pick up my children, take them to eat and do extracurricular activities. Only until 8pm do I have time to do my work or relax with my husband,” said Victoria T., a parent-student who balances work with school.

To most students with a job, this is a challenge many working students recognize. Long hours working, commuting, or helping with responsibilities leaving little room for personal work.

Research suggests that sustainable routines often start with consistent daily habits. A study by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology — Ziqiong Zhang, Le Wang, and Yongcuomu Qu — found that greater dining regularity is associated with better academic outcomes. While this study doesn’t touch on specific diets, it highlights how consistent routines may support focus and energy levels.

In environments that tend to be competitive, like college and four-year universities, students may feel pressure to maintain a high performance in every aspect of their life. This may be especially stressful to those who have to juggle a deadline and working hours, however, a sustainable routine may require asking oneself what “perfect” or “good enough” might be when tackling multiple responsibilities at once. Students may benefit from taking a step back and taking a closer look at what “perfection” might mean for them.

“That’s a hard question, because I’m always on edge, but my way to avoid burnout has been sleep,” Jessica said. “I try to avoid using my phone thirty minutes before bed and drink water.” 

Another theme connected to sustainable routine is prioritization. When deadlines pile up, students may often try to put the same level of energy on every piece of work they take on, but it may not be the healthiest approach. Sustainable routines often include identifying which commitment requires their full attention and which can be approached more flexibly. Being aware of this may help in reducing any potential self inflicted stress.

College work comes with obstacles that might lead some to exert themselves more than they might need to, but these approaches point toward finding a balance rather than perfection. Sustainability will look different to every student, and as they approach things (like work, family, and academics) it may be helpful to see routines as a way to see what can be realistically kept and less as a strict tool to follow perfectly.