Here at Geneseo, it’s really easy to feel like you aren’t doing enough! You’re in four classes, go to three clubs, serve on one executive board, and have an internship, but why aren’t you doing any volunteer work? That girl in your class still has time to volunteer and she’s in six classes and has a job! Your roommate has two internships! Your friend from Beekeeping Club is in five club and is on three executive boards! Your suitemate got a 4.0 last semester while doing more activities than you! Why aren’t you in more clubs? Why are you only in four classes? Why are you getting a B? Why aren’t you good enough?
This mindset is so dangerous! However, it’s the experience that most Geneseo students have. You aren’t alone in wondering why it feels like you can never do enough. The person you’re thinking of who seems to do everything might be failing a class. They might be not getting enough sleep. They may even feel like they aren’t doing enough!
How can you get rid of this feeling? It’s isn’t easy, it may take some time, but it’s worth it. You have to decide to take care of yourself first. Say no to joining Psychology Club because you need the time to do homework. Say no to your professor who wants to do a directed study with you because you need to make sure that you have time to sleep. Say no to things that are going to impede your ability to take care of yourself.
Schedule times for doing work and times for relaxing. You know yourself, so you should be able to decide on how long it will take you to do your work. Once you have these times scheduled, stick to that schedule! This system will only work if you let it.
Next, give yourself a weekday bedtime. I’m serious, a bedtime. You won’t be functioning at 100% if you are not getting enough sleep. Side note to this, drinking lots of water helps with your energy too. You may get burned out and feel like crap because you aren’t getting enough sleep. When your body feels bad, it’s easy for your mind to start feeling bad too. If you get more rest, you might be able to realize that you are doing enough, and you are more than good enough!
Once you decide to say no to some things, schedule a time for yourself to relax, find time to get things done, and start sleeping better, you can start saying yes to some things! It’s okay to be really busy if that’s what you like. It’s not okay to be so busy that other parts of your life are suffering. For example, it took me a few weeks to understand my schedule, how much work I get in each class, and how much time my clubs take up—but now that I have that down, I’ve added a weekly yoga class and a volunteer opportunity to my schedule. Now my schedule is full, but not so full that I am not able to sleep or get my work done. I am happily busy, but still able to take care of myself. That’s the goal here! There will always be people who somehow do more than you do, but you just need to remind yourself that you are doing more than enough and still thriving. That’s what’s important!
Follow Her Campus @ Geneseo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.