So, October is here and I’m sure many of you are starting university or moving back to university. Maintaining work and life balance can be extremely difficult, especially if you are a student, juggling your studies, a part-time job, and all your different social commitments. It is easy to quickly feel overwhelmed. I, therefore, thought it would be useful to put together some tips on how to balance your work and private life.
Manage your time
It is super important to have a structure in your days; it helps you know what you need to achieve each day and prevents you from wasting time. I have included a few bullet points of ways you can manage your time.
• Plan your schedule
• Make a weekly to-do list
• Set goals and deadlines for projects (I personally like to keep a paper diary so I can visualise it, you can also use a phone calendar or Microsoft to-do)
• Assess the amount of time you waste (For example, if you notice your screen time is 4+ hours a day, try to reduce this and use this time to be more productive)
Avoid procrastinating
We’ve all been to the library and just sat there on our phone or chatting with our mates. And then left, feeling like we achieved something purely because we sat in the library on our phone rather than in our bed.
Keep your phone in your bag or use an App which stops you from constantly checking your phone. I personally like using the Forest app. You can then reward yourself by going on your phone. For example, for every hour you work you get five/ten minutes on your phone. You can decide on a balance that suits you. You will also find when you aren’t constantly checking your phone and seeing notifications pop up you will find you are in a better headspace for working and will be more productive with your time and work. You will then leave the library feeling relieved and like you deserve to chill out.
Prioritise your work
Remember why you went to university, and what the end goal is. With the newfound freedom of living without parental supervision, it is hard to find a balance between your academic and social life. However, you can balance the two of them if you have the self-discipline to get on with your work and miss the occasional night out if you have too much work.
You will quickly learn that University is vastly different from school in the sense that you have fewer contact hours. It is, therefore, very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that 5 hours of lectures means that you are then free for socialising the rest of the week. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
From my experience, when I started university, I would structure my weekdays like a proper job. I would work 9-5 on my university work and then have my evening to enjoy the things I like doing, whether this was the gym, playing hockey or enjoying a night out with my mates. I would then have my weekends free to work my part-time job, see family and travel to see my boyfriend. However, this might not be an option for everyone if you work during the week, you, therefore, need to work on a structure that is suitable for you.
Make time for yourself
Whether it’s just setting aside an hour or two for you to go to the gym/ a walk or arranging a night out/meal with your friends or family it is important for your well being to have time set aside to do the things that you enjoy and relax you.
Reward yourself for finishing important tasks by doing things you enjoy. Set goals for yourself, if you finish your readings for the week, you can then enjoy a night out with your friends on Friday, or if you finish your assignment you can then have a trip to visit your friends at a different uni. These are good goals to set as it will help to keep you motivated and focused.
Most importantly, university is going to be amazing. Make sure you make the most out of your lecturers, ask them questions if you are unsure and book appointments with your tutors to interrogate them with all the questions you have. At the end of the day, you’re the only person who will get your degree so make sure you get the most out of it. And of course, enjoy nights out, join societies and get to know your flatmates. You will have some of the most amazing years of your life at university so it’s important you establish a balance between all aspects of it.