Writing this article between assignments might just prove I’m unfit to write it, but I rise to the challenge to share the things I’ve learned about balancing your time, especially as a busy college student whose hours pass every time they blink. In high school, I dedicated myself to being on top of all my assignments, I was never tardy to any classes, and I was thirty minutes early to work every single shift. From the outside, it seems like I have it all together.
Then, college. Freshman year wasn’t too bad, but as I began to pick up more major-oriented classes my sophomore year (that require more of my time and dedication), all while balancing clubs, a job, a social life, a relationship, exercising, cooking, cleaning, and more, sometimes it all seems like it’s a frozen-over lake just about to crack. I skate the ice, dodging every crack I can, but even if I can dodge the cracks, it’s inevitable that sometimes I’m going to slip.
Nevertheless, I pick myself back up and get right back to it. Here are some things I’ve learned about making time for yourself as you navigate through the busiest time of your life.
Establish Your Priorities
This might be one of, if not the most important step to balancing your life. If you don’t have things you’re passionate about that will drive you further in completing all your tasks, it will turn out much harder than it needs to be. One of my top priorities is my classes themselves — I mean, that’s what I came to college for in the first place. Much like high school, I’m an overachiever who needs to turn everything in a week before the due date and be on top of everything I possibly can be.
However, overloading yourself with tasks and priorities to focus on leads to a reunion with a friend we all know much too well: burnout. You can certainly be on top of everything all the time without getting burnt out, but for everyone around you’s sake, take a break.
Hobbies
Which leads into my next point. Doing things you enjoy is essential to not going crazy during all the craziness. Even if it’s watching your favorite awful show to wind down — one of my favorites — everyone needs something they can do that they really enjoy. It’s also important to remind yourself, while doing things you love, that they need to be priorities as well, and it’s okay if you’re putting off an assignment for an hour longer so you can have a breather.
I loved reading in high school. I would read a book a week, but now that I have so many things to do, I’m still trying to find my way back to it. I’ve discovered a few more things, like photography (a.k.a., taking pictures on my phone and calling it photography) and weightlifting. Going to the gym after classes has been so beneficial for me — four hours of my time every week I sacrifice for the sake of knowing I’m contributing so much to my physical and mental health. Though it doesn’t specifically have to be going to the gym for you, dedicate time to things that will fulfill your mind and distract you, even if it’s just for small periods of time whenever you’re able to fit it in.
To-Do Lists
Finally, something that has helped me immensely has been writing down all my assignments and tasks for myself throughout the week in an app that I can use on both my phone and laptop. This goes hand-in-hand as well with Google Calendar, in which I’ve uploaded all my classes, club meetings, and work shifts, allowing me to see how my time is exactly laid out and where to go from there.
I’ve had a bunch of silly things on my to-do list. For example, I’ve written down that I need to take notes for an exam coming up because I’m going to forget otherwise. I also have a grocery list and a list of products I’m almost out of, because it’s a running theme with me that I forget half the things I need when I go to the store despite being out of them. Writing down your responsibilities like this can make a world of difference in making everything a bit less stressful and making your tasks seem less big. Sometimes, getting started can be the hardest thing in the world, but if you look at it from a different perspective and see that you’ve already gotten started by writing it down, you’re better suited to complete all your goals.
Organizing my time has been one of the hardest lessons I’ve learned in college thus far. I find myself envious of people who look like they have it all together, knowing I need to remind myself that no one really does, no matter what it looks like on the outside. I’ve had good moments and many bad moments, and while I still feel like I’m underwater sometimes, these tips have given me that little push I need to reach the surface.