Take an hour a day to read some news, the articles are typically short enough that it's more "relaxation" than "work", and after a while you're caught up enough on the context to understand the significance of stories and to put on your critical thinking cap and notice agendas once in a while.
Read _good_ newspapers, critically. Seek out good writing of views you disagree with.
When you start asking questions the articles don't answer, shift time and attention into books in the core subject. Even the best journalism doesn't go anything like deep enough. Your understanding should reach a point where an hour a day in newspapers is like taking a long walk to train for a marathon.
19 credits and 20 hours of work a week does not really allow an hour a day of "relaxation" time. Unless 19 credits is a bit lighter than what I am familiar with.
