Reflection
Three years ago, I wrote my very first article for Her Campus: “The Dangers of Doing It All.”
At the time, I was a freshman in my second semester of college. Coming from a high school where I balanced varsity tennis, honors classes, community service, and one-too-many extracurricular activities with ease, “doing it all” was the only way I knew how.
When I got to college, I realized that the high standards I’d always held myself to would be amplified by the contagious burnout culture on campus.
It only took a few sleepless nights to recognize that this romanticized stress–to–sucess pipeline that surrounded me was toxic. I’m grateful that Her Campus gave me an early outlet to speak out about the under-slept, over-caffinated culture that described life on campus as well as challenge some of my own pre-wired perfectionist pathways in the process.
In my original article, I urged readers to practice self-awareness, challenge conventional standards of success, and create their own anti-perfectionist plan. My advice was straightforward: Want to protect your mental and physical well-being? Do less.
Now, as I write this article, I realize that I still juggle leadership roles, volunteer commitments, and extracurricular activities alongside a rigorous course load.
So, safe to say, the irony is not lost on me.
Realization
That said, I don’t believe that positive self-care mandates stopping meaningful commitments.
Maybe the real goal was never to stop “doing it all,” but rather learning how to “do it right.”
While I used to view balance as a restriction on how much I’m doing, I now view it as a more intentional awareness of the motivations behind my commitments.
My senior-year advice is considerably more concise than the three-step plan I proposed previously: ask yourself why you’re involved in the things you do.
Are these obligations genuinely meaningful to you? Do they align with your interests, values, or goals? Are they self-serving or do they serve others? Are you doing them because you feel like you “should” or because you genuinely love what you’re doing?
I’ve found that asking myself these questions helps distinguish the things I care about from the commitments I’ve made mindlessly or for the wrong reasons.
Resolution
Having a packed schedule isn’t inherently good or bad. What matters is whether the commitments we’re making warrant the time and energy they require.
I’m certainly not claiming to have perfected the art of equilibrium. I’ll still have the occasional late night and am chronically guilty of doing more than I plan. However, in the process, I’ve learned that busyness is not inherently synonymous with burnout. And, after much trial and error, I’ve seen that the commitments I enjoy most are often the ones that challenge me intellectually and allow me to give something meaningful back, whether that be to Bucknell, Her Campus, or other communities I belong to.
Will my advice change your senior year, magically erase graduation requirements, or cut down your to-do list? Probably not.
But, if this article encourages you to think even a little bit more critically about whether the way you’re spending your time aligns with your values, I’ll consider my job here done.
At twenty-two, I am not naive to the risks of “doing it all”, but now view the solution as prioritization rather than restraint.
So, wherever you are in your college journey, I encourage you to do it well, and do it right.