When you are working on your education and broadening your horizon, you will find that it often takes up a lot of time. There is a lot of pressure and sometimes it can feel that your education and social life is out of balance. It can be even worse when you throw working a part-time job into the mix and soon you will feel stressed. Maintaining a balanced schedule isn’t easy and sometimes things have to be sacrificed, but it isn’t impossible.
You don’t want to feel like you’re missing out on events with friends, but at the same time, you want to earn money and ace your exams. There are ways to help manage your education and social life by following these simple tips. Of course, it fully depends on whether you are a part-time or full-time student, as one will have more time than the other due to the lessened workload.
Keep A Schedule
When you’re trying to manage multiple tasks, it can be difficult to keep track of everything. One way of making sure everything is completed on time to allow for some time to be sociable is to start keeping a calendar. Write down everything so you can schedule it in. This should include class assignments, seminars, trips to the gym, outings with friends and any days you are working if you have a job.
When you know what is happening in the upcoming week you won’t feel as stressed because you know everything has its place. Of course, the unexpected can happen, so always leave a little room to move things around if something comes up. It also allows you to see where you have time to relax and do some reading or perhaps binge watch that show you’ve been meaning to see.
Avoid Procrastinating
Everyone is guilty of procrastinating at times. Sometimes it’s easier to pretend the to-do list doesn’t exist, but all that gets you is a to-do list that is behind on schedule and it will cause you stress. Once the work piles up and you don’t have time for yourself, it can be hard to feel motivated again.
However, if you get all your school work done early and quickly in the day instead of putting it off, you will find that you have more time to relax and be sociable, rather than feeling anxious about the work piling up. If you are procrastinating because you struggle with concentrating on a task, try to break it down into smaller chunks, giving yourself a short break in-between work.
Take Time for Yourself
When people work constantly, whether it is a paper due for school or at the day job, they burn out. You can get so caught up that you forget to do the things that make you happy. There are even times when people have been so busy, they haven’t eaten and that only adds more stress to the body. No one can survive on just caffeine.
To avoid the burn out stage, schedule in a day where you do nothing related to school or work. Having this break will refresh you and clear your head so you can go back to the tasks at hand and work to your fullest.
Try Not to Multitask
Everybody is different. Some people enjoy multitasking on different projects, and other people feel completely overwhelmed by it. When you’re multitasking you usually end up using a lot more energy switching between different things and most of the time it ends up taking you longer to complete everything. Sitting down and working through one task before moving on to the other will help to get them out of the way and make you feel accomplished. It will always leave you more time to have a social life that leaves you feeling happy and fulfilled.
Mind Your Health
When you are trying to juggle different aspects of your life, you need to make sure that you are healthy enough to keep up with it all. Ensuring you are eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly will help to keep your energy levels up and have a clear mind to think. Another way to make sure you stay healthy is to get enough sleep because without it the brain cannot function to its fullest. If you are feeling sluggish and can’t stop yawning, you won’t power through tasks as quickly and you will feel as if school work is taking over your life. We want to help you avoid this.
While we can’t guarantee that the stress of trying to have a good work, school and social life balance will completely disappear, these tips will help. Remembering to take time for yourself is important and you should never feel bad about it.