Being a uni student can often come with many struggles, from meal prep to summative deadlines, so it’s hard to get your act together at times, as a young adult living solo. Maintaining a ‘balanced lifestyle’ involves managing your health and paying equal attention to both social and academic life, as well as personal interests. This is certainly attainable at uni and the key to a successful university lifestyle, as long as your prioritise the correct things…
To start off, food is fuel, and no method of cooking will ever be as effective and cost-saving as meal prep. Begin the week with a food list on your note’s app, of ingredients required for meals for each day of the week. Planning meals may feel like a waste of time, however, knowing what your next meal is gets you organised and saves you from buying random ingredients that don’t make sense together. Meal prep involves making big meal batches that serve as leftovers, so future you will be grateful for home-cooked meals simply waiting in the fridge to be warmed up and enjoyed. This also allows you to have more time dedicated to other aspects of your life, such as getting through your assignments or meeting up for a drink with friends.
Balancing academia with hobbies and interests is inevitably a challenge for students, especially during exam season. However, getting involved in societies, going on nights out, and making friends are, of course, as important as university work. Living a ‘balanced lifestyle’ means indulging in activities regularly that are outside of your academic life, without forgetting to stay up to date with reading, labs, essays, assignments – the whole lot. The best way to manage the best of both worlds is to get into the habit of planning out your week. Start the week aware of your workload and organise social events around it. Decide what days to have library trips or stay-at-home study sessions – however you prefer working – as well as pub outings and club nights, by ensuring you pay equal attention to both; business and pleasure will never have to mix.
There is no reason not to spend time doing the things you love, and the benefit of balancing your workload and social life means you can plan time to do other things. If you have spare time to fill, getting a part-time job can also be a great experience to earn some extra cash and have something else going on in your life.
It is essential to find ways of studying that are effective to you. If you know working at home will only lead to distraction, get yourself to a library, uni study area, or café. There’s no point procrastinating at your desk when deadlines are building up or a night out is on the calendar for tonight. Getting work done and out of the way means guilt-free nights out and less risk of falling behind.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to organisation and time management. Probably not the best idea to go on a big night out with a 9am lecture the next morning and risk snoozing the alarm only to fall back to sleep! Rather, saving the big nights out for late next day starts or days off might be the call. If the inevitable does happen however, recordings of lectures can easily be accessed, although relying on watching recordings is a deadly habit to fall into. Giving yourself the time to effectively study will mean you have time to pursue other interests, catch up with friends and so forth – the world is your oyster.
Prioritising your mental health is also an essential element to living a healthy lifestyle. Ensuring time for frequent exercise whether that be a daily walk, sport society classes, or joining a gym are all great ways to get you into the right head space. Naturally, difficult days will occur and methods of self-care, such as lighting a scented candle, doing a face mask or journaling can and will make you feel better.
Overall, while working towards your degree is the most important aspect of university, social life, hobbies and health are equally as important. Practicing ways of managing time evenly across these aspects will lead to you achieving a ‘balanced lifestyle’ and feeling content with uni life in the long run.