As a college student, we often are so focused on money, family, or the social aspect of college that when it comes to class it’s stressful. We spend all our time outside of class either doing homework or enjoying ourselves, but if we spend too much time on ourselves and not our classes, then we start to over stress and panic. There’s never a solution to our problems, yet we must figure it out at some point. Sound accurate? Finding that balance between work and pleasure is difficult and takes time, but not impossible. Personally, it took a year for me to find this balance and I’m still struggling with it. If we don’t take the time for ourselves to relax and de-stress, then things can become worse, making it not worth the time to be learning. Over working ourselves and not being able to read how we are mentally can cause issues. Let’s figure out some ways to manage.
For many, our class schedules impact our daily schedules. This means that our lunch, work outs, and study sessions all revolve around when our classes are. This can make or break the semester for some. Whether your classes are in the morning, afternoon, or night, figuring out how to include time to study or do homework while also relaxing is needed to keep sanity but also good head space for the day to learn and progress. Scheduling can be one of the best things one can do for themselves, making it easier for someone to do things ahead of time to help benefit themselves in the future. Not only this but knowing how long homework will take can help when you do it or split it up, then making time for a Netflix show in between. Figuring out what is best for you mentally takes a while, but will help you have a successful semester.
Along with scheduling, finding the time to stay fit will help with a healthy mindset. Working out produces endorphins, which are hormones that make you feel amazing. Doing this to start or end the day sets one up for success and helps them stay healthy. Personally, waking up early and getting to work rather than night has shown significant improvement on my mental and physical health. Setting my day up with a workout makes me more motivated to do more throughout the day. Along with working out, eating healthy is another great aspect ot feeling great, because only having coffee will eventually make you feel gross by the end of the day. Starting your day right with good breakfast will help you not only last longer without snacking but will make your stomach feel a lot better too. If you feel good, you work better, and I swear by it.
Not only should we figure out time to feel good, but for many of us we need money to be able to do these things. Figuring out a part time job whether that’s on or off campus really takes a lot of weight off your shoulders. College is expensive, and life isn’t getting any cheaper. Having a part time job to be able to hang out with friends or just pay for groceries isn’t the worst thing in the world, plus it’s not a huge commitment with the right place. For many, finding when works the best for them with spare time is when they tend to work. Working good hours is essential for working in college and staying mentally healthy. Try to stay away from more than 10-20 hours per week depending on the number of credits you’re taking. Going any more, I would say give yourself time to recovery and destress before working on homework. Work is a big commitment and is hard on someone to do depending on what it is, but definitely beneficial for college students.
Finally, don’t push yourself too hard. Our focus in life is finding happiness while staying healthy. Don’t stress if you get a bad grade or maybe can’t make it to class on time because none of that is more important than how you are feeling at that moment. If you’re going through something, sick, or just need a break from school, your wellbeing should be the most important factor to your life. Not school or money. While we’re in college working hard to have an amazing future, we still must consider why we’re here and what we need to achieve this. Happiness isn’t hard to achieve, it’s just all about maintaining it and figuring out how to keep it. You can always retake things and email professors about attendance. Life is hard and everyone should understand that. You’re doing amazing and you’ve got this. xoxo, Hunter