Life can get very hectic at times, even more so as a student with several commitments. It can be difficult to balance attending lectures at university and submitting assignments before their dreaded deadlines, along with work shifts whether that’s in retail or hospitality. And of course those much-needed activities to keep you in tip-top shape to be able to perform in the first place, like going to the gym! You can easily become drained by jam-packing your days with a robotic flurry of activity, and as a consequence, quality will suffer and become compromised – your academic progress, your finances and your all-important mental and physical wellness will assuredly be thrown off-kilter. In this article I’ll go through 4 Keys to Managing Student Life, the Gym and a Job!
1. Prioritize
I always find it helpful to write down a list of needs and wants. For instance if you have a lecture at 11am, this is something that you need to attend, and you have a piece of text that must be read in preparation for a seminar, this is something that you need to do.
If you have to work at the local pub at 5pm this is also something you need to do. Once you have weighed up what is most important, you can squeeze in the more versatile things, for instance doing a 30-minute leg and back workout at the gym, (or a bodyweight workout at home etc) but always ensure you get the most important tasks completed first.
2. Wake up early
Set an alarm, wake up on time and wake up early. 7am is a good time to rise, the sun is well and truly up by now but it isn’t blinding. The sooner you start your day the more hours you’ll have in the day to do all the things you need to do.
As students, when you don’t wake up in time, you rush and that’s how you can easily get stressed, or have a mishap, but if you wake up early enough, you can squeeze in things that you may usually skip (like a healthy breakfast) which will give you energy for the rest of the day.
Going to the gym in the morning (or making sure you do some type of solid workout at home, 30-45 minutes of cardio for example) is also a good way to get your blood pumping, body-heat balanced, head cleared and energy flowing – ready for the busy day ahead. If you consistently keep to a regular wake up time, eventually your body will be subconsciously programmed to wake up at that time – like clockwork!
3. Plan your time
Calendars and time-planners go hand in hand with prioritizing. Once you have your list of things you need to do, you need to write it down on a calendar or in a planner. Pin your calendar to your university board if you have one, or stick it on the wall, make sure it’s somewhere you clearly see it, and if you’re using a planner, keep it in your university bag (or have it in the notes section of your smartphone) and carry it everywhere you go.
Calendars and planners are great for organizing your life, no more forgetting dates and times for when things need to be done and you can also quickly identify loopholes to see when you are free to do other things.
4. Make time for yourself
When everything else is out of the way, don’t forget to take some time to do things that you like to do, whether that’s cooking, meditating, listening to music or reading a good book. Always make time for you!
