This one is for the ladies in their late teens/early 20s right now: Are we holding up okay?
Without entirely dismissing the excitement and fun of this stage of my life, I would like to acknowledge the immense dread that is ever-present while entering adulthood.
I’ve recently stumbled upon a very expected yet very new responsibility to upkeep: work-life balance.
Entering adulthood means being solely responsible for our own productivity, and everybody measures productivity differently.
For me, being productive means being able to properly balance schoolwork, a job, healthy social time and exercise. Obviously, easier said than done.
It’s not very difficult to sit down and establish a schedule or routine. Planning out all the things you have to do is the easy part. Eventually, everything comes back to self-discipline.
Self-discipline comes easy to some, but I find myself struggling to be disciplined when it comes to keeping up with my new responsibilities. I realized it’s okay to acknowledge the difficulty of the situation and doing so actually helps me more.
If I know I’m struggling to get things done, I can figure out the obstacles I’m dealing with. Generally speaking, the more aware we are of ourselves the better we can help ourselves.
I began keeping a list of everything that throws me off track or makes it difficult for me to follow my scheduled responsibilities. Knowing the problem forces me to find a solution.
Establishing your short term and long term goals is also important. It’s absolutely necessary to constantly remind yourself what you are doing everything for. Knowing I’m working towards something helps me stay calmer amidst stressful days.
The most important part of this transitional period is being patient. I’m hoping to fully grasp the understanding that I’m allowed to struggle and feel overwhelmed, because it’s entirely normal. Adopting new routines and expectations is never going to be easy, but it should always feel worth it.
Learning work-life balance should be a goal for everyone in this stage of life. We as young adults should prioritize the healthiest form of productivity and establish positive routines for ourselves. I believe this comes with learning to maintain balance.
How have you been managing your work-life balance? Let us know @HerCampusSJSU !