College life is hectic. With organizations to tend to, a hefty pile of assignments fired at us, a social life to maintain and our body’s dire need for sleep, the independent life of a college student can be draining. But, if I can do it, so can you. I’m balancing three organizations, six classes, a pretty solid self-care routine and at least seven hours of sleep. Here’s how I do it.
Academics and Organizations
For starters, five of my six classes are online. Personally, this works for me for two reasons: transportation and planning ahead. Transportation has always been an issue for me even though I live on campus. No matter how much I rushed, I still managed to be running short on time. Eliminating this aspect of stress entirely has let me relax more, knowing I won’t be late like always.
Planning ahead plays a huge part in my life. Since middle school, I’ve grown a habit of using a planner. Knowing that I have all of my responsibilities written down stamped out the element of surprise of, ‘oh my gosh, I have an assignment due today that I didn’t know about.’ Visually understanding how my schedule will look, whether that be for my organizations or my assignments, allows me to mentally distribute what work I will get done on what day. I always have my assignments planned for dates that are days or even a week before the actual deadline. It not only helps me take care of my work in a timely manner, but also allows me to divert my attention to other urgent and important issues if it comes up abruptly.
Self-care
One of those important issues that sometimes prevent me from getting work done is myself. I am human, and some days I will lack the motivation to cross out what I was supposed to complete the day of. Because I had already accounted for these types of ‘emergencies’ when planning my schedule, academics don’t bite me back, nor does my guilt for being unproductive. In fact, I tell myself that having lazy days is a form of productivity because I am resting to get back on track – a necessary aspect in life.
On these lazy days, something I like doing is cleaning my room. It’s a form of therapy for me. Of the many things I like doing, reorganizing all of my belongings, washing my water bottle and humidifier, doing laundry and sanitizing surfaces are a few of them. Of course, my Bose speaker and Spotify playlist work hard during this time.
Some other forms of self-care that I always make time for are really the little things. My one in-person class is by the UT Tower, which is near the turtle pond. I usually stop by the dining hall to eat, grab a banana or some vegetables, then head over to the pond to feed them (I’ve done this so many times that now, they recognize my face and swim over whenever I get there). I also carry around some unsalted nuts to give to the squirrels and raccoons. A kindle accompanies me everywhere I go in case I want to stop working on my assignments and read for a little (a good way to stay off social media but still rest my mind).
Social Life
Personally, I like my alone time. So, sometimes, the fear that I’m gradually losing friends creeps up on me (since I’m not reaching out to them to do activities together). I’ve come to learn that study dates are the best. So is eating together. Even if you don’t think you have time for a social life, knocking out the necessary things in your life such as eating, studying or working out with a buddy can still count as being socially active.
Sleep
I’m a night owl, but it works out because all of my classes are all scheduled pretty late; the earliest class I have is at 11, but it’s online. Giving myself that flexibility to sleep in by tampering with my course schedule has been one of the best decisions I made. I feel much more refreshed, energized and motivated to start my day with enough sleep and no pressure to get somewhere at some horrendously early time. Obviously, this is not an easily available option for many people. I was lucky enough to find classes that are not scheduled for 8 a.m. on a Monday.
Also, something that was life-changing for my sleep was a heating mat. Investing in a heating mat for your mattress is amazing if you like staying warm when you sleep. I know that, for some people, waking up after hours of being cozy and warm under the covers can be difficult, but for me, I am woken with less anxiety towards the day I’m starting.