In this new fall season of school starting, going back to work and balancing a personal life can be tough. When everything starts to become chaotic it’s helpful to have resources. This can range from due dates for an essay or project to an overload of tasks at work and events happening on or off your college campus. It is crucial to be able to balance these as much as you can, while also taking care of yourself and trying not to get too overwhelmed. Here’s 5 tips on how to do this:
1. SELF CARE
Self-care is crucial for taking time for yourself and being able to decompress from the chaos that life has to offer. According to the World Health Organization, self-care is, “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.” What Is Self-Care, and Why Is It So Important for Your Health? (everydayhealth.com) Self-care can range from taking a walk and listening to a podcast or music, watching your favorite TV show, having a sweet treat, or going shopping somewhere like Target or TJ Maxx. This is important because it helps to ease your mind and make you feel more productive for what is to come. Self-care can also just be hanging out with your best girlfriends and laughing over coffee. Whatever self-care looks like to you, it can be fulfilling and helpful for balancing school, work, and life.
2. make a schedule
Scheduling can be a great way to improve your organizational skills and be able to format your days for the future. A great way to do this is to get a whiteboard calendar so you can update it each month with new events and due dates. This will help you stay on task with what you need to get done and create a fun way of thinking. You can color code your classes and events and to distinguish between different events and stay on time with your schoolwork and personal life. This also helps your brain remember your most important tasks to get done.
3. take notes & set reminders
Taking notes and setting reminders is crucial in balancing school and work priorities. This can help you write down the important things so you can remember what assignments you need to get done. According to Psychology Today, a recent side-by-side comparison of analog paper notebooks vs. mobile digital devices used FMRI neuroimaging to identify specific brain activity activation differences among memory retrieval. 4 Reasons Writing Things Down on Paper Still Reigns Supreme | Psychology Today The results show using notebooks can help you retain better information than using a digital device. Writing things down, even if it’s using a sticky note, can make you more motivated to do the task. Using the reminder app on your phone can also help you remember crucial tasks to get done.
4. take small breaks
It is very important to take small breaks when in between doing a homework assignment or working. It can be easy to get burned out if we allow ourselves to do too much at once. It can be as little as 15-30 minutes a day to just rest and reset. Some ideas are to put your phone or laptop down and read a book or rest your eyes. These can be a great benefit in helping you decompress and breathe in time to start your next obstacle of the day.
5. make time for family & friends
This last tip is probably the most important one because it helps us realize that, through all the crazy, a good support system is needed. It is always good for us to be surrounded by people who bring us joy and help us grow. It may be your immediate family, such as your parents and siblings. Making time to see them and spend time together can help your mind reset and focus on what matters. If you have pets, this can be a great option too, because our furry friends can bring us just as much joy, if not more. Making plans and creating memories with your friends is also so needed, especially in the chaotic rat race of this world.
In conclusion, the 5 tips of how to balance work, school, and personal life can be very useful to you, allowing you to have fun, work hard, and live life to the fullest. This fall season can be tough getting back into the groove after summer vacation, and it’s good to have positive feedback to help. I hope that through self care, scheduling, taking notes, taking breaks, and making time for loved ones, this can help you balance work, school, and life to the best of your ability.