University life seems for many people like an easy task. Going to classes a couple of times during a week and having the rest of the time for yourself and constant parties. In reality, this is far from the truth for most students. During your time at university, there will be lots of things that require your full attention — lectures, studies, extracurricular activities, social life, and maybe even a part-time job.
While a student wears many different hats: partner, worker, classmate, and friend, it is necessary to find a healthy study-life balance between the various roles one plays. In case you are struggling with your workload and feeling overwhelmed, overworked, or overtired, here are a few tips for getting back a life balance in university while still combining successful study with other essential commitments.
Set Realistic Goals
Finding balance starts with setting realistic goals for yourself while leaving enough time for your life outside studying and other commitments. When you set clear goals, you know exactly what needs to be accomplished, and you are more likely to stay committed and get all things done.
Before you begin any task, you can set both a short-term and long-term to-do list for each day or the whole week. It is essential to establish a bit of stretch goals, but not too high that you can’t achieve them. You can also add extracurricular goals like joining a student organisation you are interested in or more personal goals like finding a new hobby or making a new friend.
Manage Your Time
Given the lengths to which your time is demanded in higher education, it can be harder than ever to separate student life from a personal one, particularly given all the social gatherings and social events right at your fingertips.
Time management is a key element of academic and professional success that will help you focus your attention and efforts on what is most important. Instead of passively drifting wherever the tide takes you during your university time, try to develop a system for taking control of your time and making active choices about how to spend it. To do that, you need to plan your schedule, set deadlines for projects, break large tasks into their smaller components, and most importantly, avoid perfectionism or procrastination. Remember that we all have 24 hours in which to get things done, but only you decide how you will spend them.
Look After Yourself
Making time for your friends, family members, study, and work is critical, but you should also make sure you still have the proper time to look after your health. A healthy lifestyle will help alleviate consequences from stressful and challenging parts of university life and prevent you from burning out as the semester progresses. Therefore, ensure you are getting enough hours of night’s sleep, maintaining a well-balanced diet, and exercising regularly throughout the week.
Since sustaining mental health is also crucial for your wellness, it might be a good idea to incorporate the intake of CBD products into your daily regimen. Cannabidiol (or CBD) is a natural and generally safe compound that is known to interact with the endocannabinoid system involved in vital body processes such as memory, sleep, mood, pain, inflammation, etc. CBD oil benefits can include anxiety and pain relief, better quality sleep, improved concentration, mood, and energy levels, among many other useful functions.
Try Studying With Friends
Studying with friends can help to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, a study group is a great method to swap ideas and resources, cover essential topics, and get help with especially hard subjects. On the other hand, this is way more fun than studying on your own all the time.
Consider getting together regularly with your friends, ideally in a room with good internet access, a steady supply of snacks, and a whiteboard that you can use for an interactive explanation. Decide in advance which lectures or topics require a better understanding and make sure everyone does some preparation. While studying, try to listen to and respect each other, fact-check any uncertainties, ask questions, break down crucial information for the rest of the group to be sure each person understands a specific topic.
