As you move towards a degree you might feel pulled in many directions – by your friends, school, work, family, and your community.
Despite the importance of all these relationships and commitments, you also need to squeeze some time for yourself – exercise, eating well, relaxation, socializing, and leisure!
If you have a good balance of daily activities, you are more likely to feel good about your life. If you feel good, you should be able to succeed in what you put your mind to….
So, how do you achieve this “balance”?
First, you need to figure out how you are spending your time.
What roles do you have (who/what demands your time)? How do you spend your time?
If you don’t know the answer to these questions, you probably want to take a week or two to write down what you are doing.
MindTools has a great activity log template that you can use to track what you are doing. After tracking your time, you want to reflect on what you are doing – what do you want to do more of? less of? what things can you let go of? what things should you devote more time?
Another way to determine where you need some help is to look at how satisfied you are with different areas of your life.
You can do this in one of two ways: the ‘pie of life’ activity or a wellness wheel.
Pie of life: Draw a circle (your pie) on a sheet of paper. Make 7 or 8 slices on your pie. On each slice of the pie write something that is important to you (friends, school, work, family, exercise, etc). When you are done, rate how satisfied you are with each “slice of pie” from 0-10. Make an “X” on each slice of pie (0 is near the center of the pie, 10 should be near the edges). Once you are done, connect the dots. Observe the pieces of pie that are less full. Why is this? What can you do to make these pieces of pie more full?
Wellness wheel: Draw a circle (your wellness wheel). Make 7 different spokes on the wheel. Label each spoke an area of wellness: spiritual, emotional, financial, intellectual, environmental, physical, social. Rate how you feel about each area of wellness from 0-10 and label the wellness wheel. Observe your wellness wheel. What areas of wellness need work? What areas are working well? How can you achieve better balance and wellness in your life?
Things that get in the way of balance:
Those things that are making your life less balanced but they are things that you cannot say “no” to. It may be a time to reflect upon how you are framing the situation. For example, instead of thinking a family gathering is a waste of time (negative framing), consider it a time to connect with family or learn something new about family (positive framing).
You can also learn new coping skills to manage these negative feelings. Coping skills can help you feel better when you are in a situation that is not ideal. Here is a great handout on strategies to improve your coping skills.
Feeling anxious about not being able to “do it all”. If you feel unsure of how to achieve this balance or you find yourself feeling anxious about “doing it all” – remember that there are people out there who can help. And it is important to ask for help when you are overwhelmed (and it is better if you ask for help before you are overwhelmed, if possible). You should reach out to your campus counseling center, wellness center, or primary care center for help.