When you are earning a Masters degree while working, you will need to actively balance your career and school commitments. Once you have decided to pursue a degree, it is important to have a conversation with your boss. Schedule a time to address your questions or concerns. Tell your boss that you are pursuing a graduate degree in your field. Ask how this will affect your career path. You can ask specific questions. Try saying, "Will there be a raise once I have earned a Master's degree?" Ask for flexibility. If your night class starts at 6, you might find that you need to leave work a little early on those days. Tell your boss, "I need to leave early a few days a week. Please understand that the information I am learning will help make me a more effective team member here at Business Corp." Earning a Master's degree is hard work. School will take up a lot of your time and mental energy. However, it is important to remain committed to your career throughout the process. Recognize that you might need to make sacrifices. For example, weekends might not just be days off from work anymore. You might need them to work on your school projects. If you are having trouble finding balance, talk to your boss. Ask for suggestions on how you can remain an effective contributor while giving attention to your coursework. Use your vacation time wisely. While it might be tempting to use PTO to take off for a weekend vacation, it might be better to save those days to use during finals week. Apply what you are learning. You don't have to wait to have your degree to begin using your new skills. For example, if you learned about a new accounting system, ask your boss to let you demonstrate your new-found knowledge. Balancing school and work can be difficult. Finding time for your family and friends can seem even more impossible while you are earning a degree. Take some time to talk to your family about the situation. Explain your motivations. For example, you can say to your spouse, "I may have less time for fun right now. Please know that I am doing this to further my career so that I can better provide for us." Ask for support. You can say to your friends, "I really appreciate you sticking by me even though I'm so busy lately." Make time for the important things in life. You might have to stay up late or get up early to fit everything in, but do make time to attend your child's soccer game. Balancing school and work and family can take its toll. In order to handle the pressure, you need to stay physically healthy. Take steps to take care of your body. Eat a healthy diet. Your brain will perform more efficiently if you eat a balanced diet of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and leafy greens. Get moving. Physical activity can relieve stress and boost energy. Aim to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week. Grab a fellow classmate and quiz each other while you go for a hike. You might feel stressed while pursuing a Master's degree. That's normal. Remember to take some time out for self-care. This is especially important when you are juggling a hectic schedule. Take some time for yourself each day. Even if it is just 20 minutes to read a novel, you'll feel more relaxed. Try meditation. You can download apps that provide guided meditations, some of them as short as 1 minute. Try adding this to your daily routine to reduce stress. Stay positive. Remind yourself that this situation is temporary and there will be benefits for all of your hard work.

Summary: Talk to your boss. Continue to perform well at work. Communicate with your family. Life a healthy lifestyle. Relax.

Commercial quartz is non-porous, which means it won't absorb and lock in stains. However, it's still a good idea to address spills, crumbs and other messes before they have a chance to set up. This will save you the trouble of employing more intensive measures later on. The natural grain and color pattern of quartz may cause some messes to go unnoticed. With a modest amount of maintenance, you can keep your quartz countertops looking new for years.

Summary: Clean up spills as soon as they happen.

The expression of strong, negative feelings rarely helps a relationship. If you are often frustrated or angry at a particular person, a calm discussion is much more likely to be productive. Step away until you've calmed down. Start your discussion by talking about a single issue, such as a specific action or repeated behavior that frustrates you. Try to stay focused on this topic until you've seriously discussed it. Talking about possible underlying causes or related actions is allowed, but try to avoid turning the discussion into a list of things that irritate you. Try to agree with the person at the outset that you'll both stay focused on the issue at hand. Allow the other person an opportunity to speak uninterrupted and to be heard. Try to listen intently to the other person, and then decide how to respond rather than responding impulsively. If you find this difficult, try repeating the other person's words silently to yourself to keep yourself focused, and keep your face and body aligned toward the other person. For instance, if you're having a relationship fight, make it a point not to interrupt the person. Allow him or her to finish a point before responding and consider your response rather than going with your gut reaction. This will demonstrate that you understand what the other person said, give the other person a chance to consider what he or she said, and clear up some ambiguities in the discussion. This can be a very difficult step because actually listening to the other personinstead of thinking of your next thing to saycan be a tricky thing to do. For instance, if a friend says that you never make time for her, repeat it back and ask, "Do you really think that I never make time for you?" This can allow the friend to hear the complaint as you did. Have an honest discussion about how you feel, and what you want to change, and ask the other person for honest opinions as well. Refrain from making insults or hurtful comments. Use sentences that start with "I" to talk about how you feel, and avoid sentences with "you," which can often sound accusatory. Avoid passive-aggressive behavior, such as hiding your real emotions or insulting someone behind his or her back. Avoid sarcasm or insults during this discussion, even as a joke. These are words such as 'always', 'anyone', 'nobody' and 'never.' These words invite the person to become defensive by invalidating the your unworkable pronouncements, and causing both of you to fall short. For example, don't say, "You never take out the trash!" Instead try, "You take out the trash less often than we agreed." Try to reach a compromise that you are both satisfied with. Writing down a list of ideas together can sometimes help. You don't need to come up with a perfect answer on the first discussion, either. If necessary, make it clear that the solution you decide on is temporary, and set a time to discuss it in a couple weeks to see whether it is working. If you're frustrated that the friend hasn't repaid a debt, for instance, see if you can compromise with a payment plan rather than just simply being frustrated that you can't get all of the money back at once. Thank the other person when making an effort to change his or her behavior. Even small changessmaller than you would likemay lead to more change if you just encourage the person. Using the same example of frustration over a friend owing you money, tell the friend how much it means that he has agreed to a payment plan or even agreed to sit down and talk about it again when he might be able to enter a payment agreement. By validating the friend's effort, you're more likely to see future cooperation.
Summary: Do not talk while you're still angry. Bring up one issue at a time. Give the other person opportunities to respond. Mirror back what you heard, in your own words. Be honest but compassionate. Avoid using absolutes on other people. Brainstorm solutions with the other person. Show appreciation for effort.