I’m sure that we would all love to have straight-A grades, tons of extracurriculars, a bustling social life, and perfect mental health. However, balancing studying and life can be very difficult. Here’s a few tips to maintaining better study-life balance!
- Why having a good balance is important
- Manage your time better
- Use high-yield study methods
- Reframe your mindset
- Learn to say no
- Set aside time for self-care
Why having a good balance is important
It is very, very important to have a good balance between your studies and your social life. On one hand, if you focus all your time and energy on studying, you’ll soon burn yourself out and ruin your mental health. On the other hand, if you focus too much on socialising, you might get lower grades. It’s important that you find a balance that works for you.
Manage your time better
By planning out your day, you’ll make sure that you’re not wasting time on useless activities, and you’ll have more time to devote to your studying or social life. I like to use Google Calendar to plan out my day and Notion for my to-do list. Keeping track of your tasks is also very important to make sure that you don’t forget to do any assignments or homework.
Use high-yield study methods
No-one wants to study 10 hours a day, and you can’t have a healthy school-life balance while studying so much. In order to cut down on the time you spend studying but still get super high grades, you need to use high-yield study methods like active recall and spaced repetition. You’ll be able to study faster and more effectively, leaving you more time for fun activities.
Reframe your mindset
This one is for all the fellow perfectionists out there – it’s okay to not be 100% perfect all the time. Know your limitations; know when it’s time to stop studying and allow yourself some time to relax. Everyone wants high grades, but they aren’t worth sacrificing your mental health over.
Learn to say no
If you say ‘yes’ to every request someone might have, then you’ll burnout very quickly. You need to learn to say no to people. Like I said before – know your limitations. If you say yes to everyone that asks for help with their maths homework, you soon won’t have any time for yourself and your studies. Don’t worry about being polite: prioritise yourself.
Set aside time for self-care
This is one of the most important things you can do! Self-care is essential for having good mental health. In your calendar, try setting aside time to do your favourite self-care activity. This is non-negotiable! Don’t skip this time just because you think you need to study instead – your mental health is more important.
