Katy at UBC

My second year at UBC!

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Balancing School and Personal Life: University Edition!

January 11th, 2012 by Katy

Like many University students, I always feel like I’m short on time. For me, there are never enough hours in a day to accomplish what I want to do. When I first started University, I felt like it wasn’t difficult to manage my time because I wasn’t involved in much outside of school. This left me with plenty of time to complete my labs, do the readings, and finish my essays without too much stress.

However, as time has progressed I’ve added more and more extracurricular activities to my roster. To list a few things I’m currently involved with:

  • The Photography Club at UBC (Blog post coming soon)
  • UBC Blog Squad – This doesn’t take me much time, but I’m always thinking of my next post.
  • Sales Associate
  • Reading Buddies: An after school program that helps Elementary school students catch up on their reading skills.
  • Museum of Anthropology: Volunteer
I feel like there should be more on that list, but I can’t remember at the moment. Anyway, with all these things going on it becomes more difficult to separate time for school as well as these engagements. It’s also important to save time to have for friends, which is difficult for me. Sometimes I worry that my friends will forget what I look like!
For some general time management tips, I’ve found that the following things help me do things efficiently and also reduce my stress levels.
  • Make physical to-do lists. Crossing things off the list is a visual representation of how much you’ve accomplished, and it’s really satisfying seeing how much you’ve gotten done. It’s also a good way of remembering everything you need to do.
  • Do the easy jobs first. I find that it makes you more optimistic about tasks if you can get a bunch of things crossed off quickly.
  • Take breaks. If I don’t take breaks I’ll get frustrated and end up being less productive than if I’d stepped away for a couple minutes.
  • If all else fails, use the Self-Control App. This lets you block certain websites for a determined amount of time. I found that it really helped me during exam time.
I now can’t remember the exact reason for posting this, except to say that I understand how important it is to be a well rounded individual. People are always stressing the importance of a balanced lifestyle, but in the attempt to achieve this I often have to remind myself that it’s important to save time for myself. (Note my other post about TV shows I follow – it’s a way for me to relax while I make myself lunch or dinner.) Find a way to de-stress, whether it’s yoga, running or something else. Don’t be like me – make sure to take the time to connect with your friends once in a while!
What do you do to relax?
Katy
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