As a student, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and for work to pile up quickly. Many students also have part-time jobs, volunteer commitments, and many other things that they would rather do than do schoolwork. That being said, school is for the betterment of you, the student, so it must be your highest priority. My goal here is to lessen your stress and improve your university experience by giving you five keys to think about next time you feel like there is not enough time in the day to do everything. So without further ado, let’s jump into key number one.
What’s Important?
Have you ever felt like you have a million things on the go and it feels like you are getting crushed by the weight of everything on your shoulders? I understand that feeling all too well and I’m going to help you get through it. The first thing I want you to do is to put all the thing you have to do on a list, write it down if you have to, or keep it in your head, whatever works for you. After you have made your list, write down when they need to be completed, for example, my philosophy homework is due at five o’clock tonight but my english isn’t due for another three days. This will help you come up with a timeline of when things need to be completed and set priority to tasks that need to be completed before others. Once you know what needs to be tackled first you then need to worry about key number two.
Only 24 Hours
With so much on your plate, it is important to remember that there are only twenty four hours in a day. With the recommended amount of sleep being eight hours, that leaves sixteen hours you are awake and functioning. So with sixteen hours of your day, I would dedicate a certain amount of time to school, I’m sure you’ve heard your parents say school comes first and it’s true. I would dedicate roughly six hours a day to school, which includes going to lectures and participating in classes. For example, if you have two classes that are each an hour and a half then that gives you three hours after or before to work on homework, projects, or study for upcoming tests. Managing your time is crucial if you want to have a healthy university experience, which brings me to key three.
Be Strict
Within day to day life there are so many different stimuli that can distract us from the task at hand. Whether it be your friends asking if you are busy or wanting to know what is going to happen to your favourite character after episode ended on a cliffhanger, there is a lot that can distract you from getting your work done. Being strict with your schedule is the next step in being successful in university. Just like a gym bro sticks with his diet and now has a great body, you need to be strict with your time so that you will have a mind sharper than… I don’t know something really sharp. If you are consistent and disciplined with your time then you will come to find that you are more productive and that there is more time to do the things you like. Like my mother always said “work before play” (Aidan’s mom) and she was right. Get the things you need to get done first and enjoy the rest of the day after.
Return and Polish
Okay so you try what I told you to do and it worked for a day or a week or if I’m lucky maybe it would work for a month. But what works for me might not work for you, that is why it’s important to take these keys and run with them. When you come to a hiccup in any of the keys on this list, it is important to return to the beginning and start with the first key all over again. When you do this, you will be refining your abilities your way. Maybe six hours a day is not enough, that’s okay, make it more and stay strict with your new agenda. Every time you start over it will become more and more fit to your needs and schedule. Polishing out your calendar time and time again is a constant thing, always looking for what needs to move or seeing what has to get cut is important, it can be stressful at times and feel like a lot of work, but in the long run, it is well worth it.
Your Body
Lastly, and arguably the most important, is to keep yourself healthy. After a long study session, you might feel like you are not ready for the test or your project isn’t good enough. That’s when you need to go for a walk, exercise increases blood flow to the brain and is a great technique to stay sharp and keep your brain healthy. That amount of times I have been pulled away from studying because I was hungry is too many to admit which is my next point, eat well and eat a lot. With proper exercise and proper food in your belly, there is no excuse for you to not be an academic weapon here on campus.
If you still can’t get a hold of university work-life balance that’s okay. It is something every student faces and eventually overcomes, at the end of the day its not that deep.
Written by Future Student Ambassador, Aidan Braeker (2024).
