How to balance work, school, and life?? I'm drowning.

[Sarah]

I need to vent and also maybe get advice because I'm really struggling right now.

My current schedule:

• Monday/Wednesday: Classes 9am-2pm, work 4pm-10pm
• Tuesday/Thursday: Classes 10am-3pm, study in between, work 5pm-10pm
• Friday: Classes 9am-12pm, then study
• Saturday/Sunday: Work 8am-4pm both days

I literally have zero days off. Zero.

This week I:

• Had two papers due (got them done but barely)
• Worked 28 hours
• Slept like 5 hours a night
• Ate mostly granola bars and coffee
• Didn't talk to friends (what friends?? I have no time for friends)
• Cried in my car once (twice? lost count)

The problem:

I need the money from work—can't quit. I need good grades for transfer—can't slack on school. But I'm so tired all the time that I'm doing both badly. My last paper got a C+ and I KNOW I could have done better if I had time.

Things I've tried:

• Making schedules (doesn't help when there's literally no free time)
• Meal prepping (who has time to meal prep??)
• Cutting out social media (ok this helped a little actually)
• Energy drinks (now I'm tired AND jittery)

What I haven't tried:

• Asking for help (who do I even ask??)
• Reducing hours at work (can't afford it)
• Dropping a class (would delay transfer)

For those who work and go to school:

How do you do it?? Like actually. Tell me your secrets. Do you just survive until graduation and then collapse?? Is that the plan??

I'm not gonna quit, I'm too stubborn. But I need to figure out how to make this sustainable for another year and a half.

Thanks for listening. This forum is the only place I feel like people get it.