To Keep Up With
 

Do my sentences below convey the meaning of:

“To keep up with” (to not fall behind);
“To keep up with” (to be as good as someone else/to be able to do the same things as someone else)?

If the verb constructions I chose are not correct, what other verb constructions should I have used? Seguir el ritmo/paso de? Seguirle el ritmo/paso a? Mantenerse a la altura con? Mantenerse al nivel de?

These are my attempts:

To Keep Up With (To Not Fall Behind)
I often miss my Spanish class and that makes it hard to keep up with my studies.
A menudo falto a mi clase de español y eso hace que sea difícil mantenerme el ritmo con mis estudios.

We have to keep up with the orders; we cannot afford to get behind.
Tenemos que seguir el ritmo con los pedidos; no podemos darnos el lujo de quedarnos atrás.

I’m hoping to be able to keep up with my chores today.
Tengo esperanzas de poder seguir el ritmo de mis quehaceres hoy.

To Keep Up With (To Be As Good As Someone Else/To Be Able To Do The Same Things As Someone Else)
Don't even think about keeping up with your colleagues if you're not going to deliver the reports on time.
Ni se te ocurra mantenerte a la par con tus colegas si no vas a entregar los informes a tiempo.

Why do you try to keep up with Gloria? She comes from a wealthy family and has plenty of disposible income.
¿Porque intentas mantenerte a la par con Gloria? Viene de una familia adinerada y tiene un montón de ingresos disponibles.

I appreciate any and all input you can give me.

I would use no quedar atrás.

There's probably a positive way of saying it to.

I don't know. There's no equivalent nor the situations are described in such ways when you think in Spanish.

Hay que mantener el ritmo. No nos podemos dar el lujo de retrasarnos con los pedidos.

A menudo falto a mis clases y eso me hace después difícil seguirles el ritmo.

Hoy tengo un sinfín de cosas, una detrás de la otra, pero espero atenderlas todas sin caer en retrasos.

¿Por qué quieres hacerle la competencia a Gloria? Ella proviene de una familia adinerada y puede gastar mucho más que tú.

No creas que te vas a mantener al mismo nivel que tus colegas si sigues sin entregar los informes a su debido tiempo.

Thanks for your input, poli and aleCcowaN.

Just to be sure I understand, are both of you suggesting that the verbs I chose:

1. Are wrong and do not convey what I was trying to say at all?

2. Or do not fit the situation in these particular sentences, but could be used in other situations?

3. Or you are suggesting alternative verbs and constructions so the sentences sound more natural?

I’m getting the feeling that “to keep up with” is one of those English verbs that I call a “wild card verb” in that it is one construction that is used to convey multiple but similar meanings in English, but requires different verbs for different situations in Spanish.

I'm not getting a feeling for what Spanish verb fits best in which situation.

1) The text in red makes no sense. You probably intended to say "mantener el ritmo de mis estudios". "To keep up with" is making you insert a con to replace that "with", which is not the way Spanish works.

But even with that replacement the phrase sounds like a bad translation from English to Spanish (but it sounds Spanish).

2) The same problem with that "con", as the phrase means "los pedidos" being something like "las maracas" so you can keep the rythm. "Darse el lujo" means "afford" when you're talking of sumptuous expenditures, not obligations, unless you're being sarcastic what doesn't seem the case there.

Again, even corrected, it sounds unnatural, and "seguir el ritmo" definitively doesn't convey the notion of "to keep up with" here.

3) Again, "seguir el ritmo" is wrong. You're using terms we use is different circumstances: "marcar el ritmo" and "seguir el ritmo" in a working context means what Charles Chaplin's character couldn't do in Modern Times.

4) The entire phrase in red is un-Spanish if it's complemented by what follows in black, as the phrase means a suggestion for the person to voluntarily abandon such goal, and not criticism because that person is having wrong expectations, as the original text suggests.

5) Again "mantenerse a la par" is not used in this context. You may use it in races, regarding outputs and some other things, but not these particular situations. "Ingresos disponibles" is the literal translation of "disposable incomes", which doesn't exists in Spanish but as an economic concept alien to this level of language.

As a final comment, I don't use "to keep up with" because, with my current level of English, it doesn't have "a handle" from which I can grab it and use it. And that is because Spanish doesn't have anything similar to convey that notion.

If you take a look to all the examples you have gotten, you'll see there're variations and nuances because there's no unifying concept-phrase in Spanish that could have being worn out and become commonplace.

Thank you, aleCcowaN. With the suggestions in your first reply along with the detailed explanations in your second reply, I'm beginning to understand this a little better.

Thank you for taking the time to write all those details.