As a full-time student with a job, you may feel like life can quickly become overwhelming. And when fall comes and the school year starts to get more serious, the mood shifts, and life can feel harder to manage. If you struggle to balance school, work, and your social life in the fall, these tips will help you thrive, especially if you feel stuck right now.
1. Don’t slack on your assignments.
Take time between classes, during your work breaks, or your “off days” to work on your assignments. You can even try to get to class 15 to 20 minutes early and carve out time to work on your homework and study your notes then. Although this may seem minimal, dedicating a few minutes each day to getting to class early and working on assignments can help in the long run, especially on days when you don’t otherwise have 20 minutes to do homework. You can also study or brainstorm how you’ll approach assignments while you eat meals. The sooner you finish your work, the better you’ll feel.
2. Find what centers you.
Being in college can feel monotonous and stressful, so it’s important to find activities that keep you feeling calm. If you work in college, thinking about the aspects of your job that you enjoy, like interacting with and helping others, can help you feel like the fall days pass more quickly. Going to work or enjoying time with your friends at school clubs can provide a refreshing change after a full day of classes when you feel like all you’ve done is listen to your professors talk. Finding activities you enjoy outside of school can also help you build a social life and give you something to look forward to outside of school and work. And when you feel like school, work, parties, and extracurriculars are crowding your schedule, make some time to listen to music, watch your favorite shows, journal, or engage in activities that relax you.
3. Spend time with your loved ones.
Fall marks the beginning of the holiday season, which often means spending more time with your family and friends. Learning to organize your schedule will help you find time to fit quality time with the people you love into your life. When school feels overwhelming, you may forget that you have a life outside of it, but catching up with your favorite people is an important way to connect with others and break up the stress of your schoolwork.
Try to finish all of your schoolwork by the end of each week so that you have time to plan who you’d like to see and what you’d like to do with them. You may not be able to go out every week or see each of your friends as often as you’d like, but that’s completely OK. Just try to devote some of your free time to seeing your friends and family so that you don’t close yourself off when you’re in the thick of the fall semester.
Keeping around people who understand how your days look is important. Talk to your coworkers if you feel like you’re having a rough week and need to take a break. Communicate with your professors if you tried to meet an assignment deadline but couldn’t keep up. To avoid feeling like you’re drowning in stress, don’t wait until the last minute to speak up for yourself. Make the most of your free time and let others know what you need, and you’ll feel much calmer in college this fall.
Featured imaga via Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash
This article gives really helpful advice! Planning time wisely and doing a little work each day truly helps. And playing relaxing video games is also a great way to reduce stress and recharge your mind.