As students, we should all be focused on one thing: course work. However, this is easier said than done.  

Most students also need to manage a job, maintain relationships and take care of our health, both physical and mental. 

Students can’t do their best work when they’re stressed or feel like they haven’t had any time to unwind. Lack of personal care leads us to failure. 

Sometimes, even when you have taken most the weekend for yourself, you might still wind up working like crazy to meet deadlines for Monday morning, and with the mentality that you’ve taken no time for yourself at all.  

This is because even when we are socializing with friends or family, watching TV or any other number of other enjoyable activities, our workload is still in our minds. We might spend most of the time thinking “I really need to start that essay” or something along those lines. 

If we’re feeling guilty the entire time we aren’t doing assignments, then we aren’t really enjoying the freedom that time off should entail. We aren’t enjoying the rewarding feeling of making academic accomplishments.  

In my experience, the best way to create a lifestyle that balances school and life is to focus on them one at time. If it feels nearly impossible to put your upcoming assignment out of your mind, maybe it’s time to sit down and get it done. Once it’s out of the way, then you have a chance to make time for yourself.  

We do our best work when we have had some time to unwind, and we have the most fun when we aren’t obsessing over the next project. It can be difficult to balance the two, but try to set times out during your day where you will do one thing, and other times of day where you will do the other.  

If your goal is clear, and you have some sense of how your day will play out, it will be a lot easier to enjoy your free time, or be productive in your work. This is a big task, but consider implementing this in your schedule and see if it makes a difference.