Dear Devil’s Advocate,

I am a full-time college student with a part-time job and an internship I go to twice a week. After I manage to finish all the work I have to do, I barely have time for any sort of social life. I feel like I don’t have time for anything anymore! Please help

—Out of Time

Dear Out of Time,

Welcome to the real world. (Incidentally, don’t you hate when people say that. It’s so patronizing.) Well anyway, I assure you that you are not the only person who feels this way.

As we get older, it becomes more and more clear that 24 hours in a day just aren’t enough. However, stressing about all the work you have to do is the one thing that will not make it better.

Try to plan your time out every week, allotting a certain amount to each activity you have. Of course, this is much easier said than done, but it might help a bit. Eventually, you will find that you have an easier time naturally adapting to your schedule.

At some point, everybody feels that there isn’t enough time to accomplish everything they need to get done. That statement excludes me of course, seeing as I have nothing better to do than sit around and answer your question.

Dear Devil’s Advocate,

I just started a new part-time job and there happens to be a lot of people my own age who work there as well. I’ve been talking a lot with one guy and I think I’m starting to like him. I really want to go out with him but I always hear such bad things about getting involved with a co-worker. What do you think?

—Wondering worker

Dear Wondering,

It is very easy to get involved with someone at work. It is an already established common ground; you see this other person frequently and the two of you have a lot of time to get to know each other. From the information I have compiled over the years, the workplace romance has about a 50/50 shot of working out.

On the positive side, my good friend met her current boyfriend at their place of work. He’s a great guy and they have a wonderful relationship. However, there is the other end of the spectrum to consider, where people are not quite skipping through fields of daisies.

These relationships can go sour very quickly and when they do, it is not as simple to deal with as when you break up with someone under ordinary circumstances. You are forced to deal with seeing this person every time you work. If you split amicably, this could work out fine. In reality, though, how many truly amicable splits occur in the dating world? One? Two, tops? You also may have to deal with the inevitable workplace gossip that will occur when everyone gets wind of what has gone down. And trust me, this will happen.

In the end, it is simply a judgment call. If you think this is a good guy and a worthwhile risk, go for it. However, if this is just an opportunity to hook-up with a good-looking boy, think it over. Isn’t work awful enough without having to deal with the bottomless pit of regret and despair that goes along with a miserably failed relationship? (Of course, I have no personal experience in this matter at all… not at all.)