Balancing fun and responsibilities

[MetalSkulkBane]

Question to everyone here on studies or already with full time  jobs.

As I grow older and my studies become harder, my family seems to more and more insist on one thing: that drop all 'distractions' and focus on what's really important. It feels to me like it's missing a point.

I'm not an idiot, I know I'll never be as free as I was when I was younger. In return I have income and wisdom, it's fair trade (one that I'm forced to take, but that's life). But the way I understand my life, my goal is too keep as much control over my life as possible. I dont' want to study Programming, go back home to study some more  and since I have sometime left, I should take extra  course, that will help me get better job.

Some suggested me 'do what you love', but we can't all be Tamxman or Ian Flynn. I'm not even Native English Speaker or live in America, so my 'dream jobs' aren't something of a real goals, just side hobbies that with incredible amount of luck may/may-not one day make a writer, but probably not for Sonic. And hobbies like that take time, which brings me back to my original point.

Do you have any advice for how to balance my life? Should I drop smaller stuff (like this forum)? Or maybe abandon everything completely untill I finish studies? (I'm kinda worried that actual work will give me even less 'me' time)

I already failed a year once (barely, but still), so I know I must do some changes.

[DarkChaosGaming]

First off, you can't "drop everything" and work/study 24/7, that's for sure not going to work at all. Some people can do that, but if you were one of the few who can, you wouldn't be posting that message. The problem with that is that you'll burn out very quickly, and that's really hard to come back from, and you will likely never gain the passion or interest in doing whatever it is you were doing. 

You have to set realistic goals for yourself, and formulate a plan to achieve them. If your goals require 24/7 dedication, along with a lot of things to go your way and good luck, then these are probably not realistic goals. Your goals should require hard work but at the same time, they should be satisfying, and lead to a future that you want and will be proud of. You don't want to end up with a menial job where you do nothing all day and look back feeling very unsatisfied and regret not putting in the efforts to do better.

 

However, everyone is different. Only you know what will make you happy, and only you know your limits. Some people can focus 100% of their attention on one task and be fine with that, others (like myself) cannot, and need other things in their life in order to break things up. Doing this just requires the proper planning and scheduling, as I mentioned above, set your goals, and find out what you need to do to achieve them, and plan accordingly. You also have to do what will make you happy, not what will make someone else happy. As long as you can make ends meet and are happy with your life and happy with what you have accomplished, does anything else really matter?

 

Hope that helps.

[TailsTellsTales]

There is no need to rush as you are still quite young. So take it easy and try not to overload yourself. Be thankful you are not living on your own since doing work, school, and paying bills is extremely hard especially when that job pays very little. I think your family just wants you to know how important it is you complete your studies. They want you to do good. It does not mean they not want you to have fun. Good luck.

[Eurisko]

Do what you Love and pursue it to the ends of the earth. Yes its always good to a back up plan and something to fall back on but don't stop trying to get what you truly want, because that time will go and you'll wonder what the hell happened. 

Trust me , I know.