Life (A Balancing Act)

Life is a balancing act for everyone, but I think college students have it the toughest. Between family, school, internships, jobs, clubs, health, and friends, a college student’s time is in high demand. Attempting to manage all these things while still having a social life is a true art deserving of reward.

Making time for every single one is important so that you stay sane. Being all work and no play can easily drive you crazy and you will have a sense of being unfulfilled. No matter how much success you have at school or at work or at an internship, if you are not spending any time with family or enjoying the company of friends from time to time you will feel like something is missing. If you spend too much time out with friends, you will most likely see your GPA suffer and your performance at work decline. Finding a healthy balance is imperative to your success.

One way you can start to figure out how much time to attribute to what is by implementing a ranking system. Place your life aspects in order of what is most important to you right now; number one being the thing you want to focus on the most, and the last being not the least important but the one that will get attended after all other tasks have been taken care of. This will also give purpose to all you are doing and help you see why you do what you do (for example putting more time into school to achieve a 4.0 GPA).

If you are anything like me, school and work are top priorities on my list. As a college student, you have to put school first and do everything in your power to make adequate time to complete assignments and study for exams. With so many different activities to tend to, I personally know how difficult it can be to make good time for school, but it is without question the most important thing you must do. School is what is going to help you launch your career so whatever job or internship you may have must come second to school, no matter if it is in your career field of interest. That does not mean that you should not tend to your job or internship though. You must treat every employment opportunity very seriously so that you learn as much as possible and you leave employers with the best impressions of you so that you have good business references.

Besides all of the activities that work your brain, it is imperative that you make time for physical activity throughout your week even if you only proactively do it 2 to 3 times a week. Studies show that people who exercise frequently are more alert and have more energy than those who do not. Whether you are playing football with your friends, shooting some hoops on the court, actually going to a gym, or doing Sean T.’s Insanity at home, just make sure you are active. It will not only help your health but you will emotionally feel better about yourself knowing you are keeping your body in check.

Make sure that you include some down time into your schedule as well. A time you can use to just relax, read a few pages of a good book, lounge around on the couch and watch some television, or do something that you really enjoy doing. It is important to schedule time for yourself so that your mind and body have time to recharge for the more demanding tasks in your life.

I hope this helps you think about how to balance your seemingly hectic life and that you are able to become more organized and thus be able to get the most out of your life 🙂