5 Easy Ways to Balance School and Life in College
It’s that time of year again: We’re approaching that point in the semester when everything gets crazy! Let’s say you have 3 presentations this week, daily assignments to finish, a massive test, family and friend things, work, and trying to keep a social life. If you are there already, let’s go ahead and make up a secret handshake. *Flip, flop, thumb war, fist bump*
We all know that life can get crazy. When things get overwhelming, it gets hard to balance our school schedules with our “real life” schedules. So, how do you keep track of school and maintain a balanced life? I have come up with 5 quick and easy ways to keep you balanced when you are boggled!
1. Get Organized
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When your life is organized, it’s so much easier to figure out what needs to get done and do it, without extra distractions.
First things first: Invest in a planner! It gets difficult for me to remember when all of my assignments are due, so having a planner where I can put all of those things is so much easier than trying to remember dates.
If you are ready for an advanced course in organization, color code things! Use different highlighters for different classes or color-coordinate your folders/pens/notebooks. Once you get the hang of blue-is-for-biology and red-is-for-math thing, it is so much easier to keep track of it all.
2. Exercise
I cannot stress this point enough! Exercise is a great way to relieve stress, but it also keeps you feeling energetic… and organized. When you take time out of your day to exercise, you give yourself your own time to reflect and organize your thoughts.
I can always tell when I have not made time to exercise for a while. I get really cranky and I feel completely out of whack. Sometimes I really don’t think I have enough time to exercise, but if I would just cut out a re-run of Law & Order: SVU, I would get my assignments done earlier and have the time.
3. Sleep
We know that late-night cram sessions and midnight runs to Taco Bell are just a part of the college experience, but sleeping is too important to neglect. Lack of sleep can weaken your immune system and impair your ability to perform in your classes.
Getting enough sleep is the easiest way to keep your mind and immune system strong and avoid the infirmary. We need between 6 and 8 hours of sleep every night. Most days 8 hours is almost impossible, but if you want to function well at school and work, you need to have a good night’s sleep! Bottom line… get as much sleep as you can and make it a priority!
4. Make a List
There are so many reasons to use a list system for everything – we’re talking to-do lists, grocery lists, assignment lists, etc. When you make a list, you can limit yourself to just doing the things on your list first before you move on to something else. This helps keep you focused when life gets a little insane!
Making a to-do list can help you stay organized and prioritize your life. So make a list of things you have to accomplish for the day and cross them off as you go. There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you cross off a major “to-do” from your list!
5. Just Say No
Make Nancy Reagan proud and learn to say no! Newsflash: You can’t do absolutely everything at once! No one can.
The key to a successful college experience? Prioritizing. You have a test tomorrow, so is it really smart to spend your night mattress surfing down the stairs? Even though that is fun, it is not the best way to spend your time. Organize your time so that you can accomplish what you need to do and have fun!
Thoughts?
How do you keep your life balanced? What do you do to keep yourself sane when things get crazy? How do you get yourself back in track when you get overwhelmed? Let us know in the comments!
Posted on on September 18, 2011 / Filed Under: College Life / Tags: College Life, healthy, lifestyle, Organization, Stress
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NJ
Great, what about balancing your love life and college life?
Jen
I’ve been color coding my classes since high school! it’s a great tip and makes keeping up with things for that class SO much easier! and having a planner is a must! I love ones that have a monthly calendar and then are broken down by week. great for keeping up with class, social life, clubs…EVERYTHING!
Alice
Wow, thank you! Like you could read my mind!
Student’s life can be tough sometimes..especially keeping the balance between social- and school life!
Lisa Schools
College can be a real struggle and the advice here especially about organisation and exercise I found really useful. Rather than spending all your time studying and partying it is crucial to keep in mind you still need to look after yourself in order to do everything else. Really informative post and it reassured me that this year I can de-stress and learn to keep myself happy in order to achieve better grades.
Alex
I found that a planner is the best thing I could’ve bought for college. I never used one in high school, but now I can’t imagine not having one. Great tips!
Sarah - Southeastern Louisiana University
@NJ: Honey, when I find out, I’ll let you know! haha!
NJ
@Sarah… ;p
Kelly
A few years ago, one CollegeFashion post recommended a free-downloadable program for Mac (and iPhone/iPad!) called EverNote…LIFE-CHANGING. I organize every fiber of my existence with this program. I have a different “notebook” for every semester and different “tag” for every class – all my “notes” are automatically organized by date. My to-do lists go in one notebook and my classes I need to take for my majors/minors/concentrations go in another. It’s GREAT. Highly recommend.