College. What your parents think you do: drink, sleep until 5 p.m., party, eat pizza, skip class and don’t learn. What you think you do: drink, sleep until 5 p.m., party, eat pizza, occasionally skip class and pull all-nighters in the library.
What you should do: balance. This may seem like a hard task for college students, but there are ways to balance both your academic life and social life so that you can score high in both areas.
Let’s not forget, after all, you are here to learn. If you are passionate and engaged in your classes, time will fly by and the more you will learn. The time you spend fully attentive in class means less time you will need to study when tests pop up. Although studying will always be necessary, the more engaged you are during the class, the easier your studying will be. Instead of re-teaching yourself material that you missed, you can review and remind yourself of things you already know.
In between classes, when you have hours to waste, it is easy to head back to your dorm or apartment and surf the web until your next class or take a nap. Instead, try heading to the library and get ahead on your work so that you can enjoy a night out or go to sleep early.
Another extremely useful tool is the “Self Control” application. It can be used it on computers to block certain website for an allotted period of time. When using you computer for academic work, you can block social media and other distracting websites so that you can focus on work. It is pretty incredible to see how much time is actually wasted by clicking through Facebook. Avoiding social media while doing homework can cut your time in half!
Another component of balancing your academic and social life is creating a schedule. If you make responsible choices each day it will become a habit. Slowly but surely, these habits can become a schedule and you can keep it up throughout your academic career.
Chelsea Donenfeld, a junior management major, is currently enrolled in a Sport Management Fellowship at the university. Not only is she enrolled in 16 credits; this fellowship program is an additional three-hour commitment once each week. Although she receives no credit for this, she believes it will be conducive to her future career.
“It’s definitely a lot to take on, and the fact that I don’t receive credit is frustrating, but I think it’s worth it,” Donenfeld said, “It has actually taught me to balance my academic work and social life because I know what needs to get done and when.”
By remaining passionate and engaged, students can make simple choices to balance their academic and social life. College should be the best four years of your life, but also a productive four years… make it count!