As we all know, finding the perfect balance between work, school, personal life and self-care is nearly impossible. There is no way that your “perfect” balance would be equal to anyone else’s. Someone will always say that you have more time or that you should prioritize this over that. Well, this is something that you’ll learn as you get older and add more things into your day-to-day life but here’s the best secret I can give you: do what makes you genuinely happy and works with your own schedule.
For me as someone who has a lot going on, on a day-to-day basis. Whether that is working an opening shift then straight to class then straight into homework then club meetings. Or going straight from class to work to doing homework. I am still trying to figure out what balance really works for me but one thing that I have started doing that has really helped me, is no matter what I am doing or where I am once the clock hits either 7:30 pm or 8 pm I stop doing school work (unless of course, it’s a pressing matter). By having that set stop time I am allowing myself to cool down and rest for the rest of the night.
Now when I mean rest I don’t mean literally getting into bed and not doing anything. I mean taking time out of my day to do what I really want to do. For me personally, that could be seeing my boyfriend, going to the gym, watching an episode or two of a TV show, taking a self-care night. Anything that I can think of that could relieve my stress and end my day on a happy note.
Like many college students, you probably get overwhelmed with everything that is going on in your world and lose sight of doing things for yourself. My biggest recommendation that I can give you before you get too stuck in a hard pattern is to take a moment and think of three things that make you genuinely happy. Then take those three things and find a way to prioritize one in your day!