Question:

Dear Life and Style,

It’s no surprise that the beginnning of a new semester can be both challenging and overwhelming. However, I am finding this semester particularly difficult. I just can’t seem to find a balance between juggling school, work, family, friends, my significant other, and everything else in my life. There’s simply not enough hours in the day! What would you suggest that I do in order to help minimize my constant stress?

Thanks,
Disorganized Mess

Response:

Dear Disorganized,

Your concerns are perfectly relatable. Having to balance school, work, family, and friends, and to also find time for a social life can be difficult. It’s challanging to be able to find your groove and figure out your tedious daily routine.
My first helpful hint would be to plan out your day in advance. Get a planner and get organized. By knowing what your week has in store for you before hand and actually writing it down, your mind won’t be as stressed about rush week, your long list of chapters to read for classes, those two papers due next week, or spending time with your family and friends on the weekend.
On that note, knowing what your week has planned doesn’t just stop there. You should be proactive on your assignments and readings, so you aren’t up the night before frantically writing that 10-page term paper on the strategies of World War II or that lab write-up for chemistry.
This semester, a majority of the students at CSUN had to deal with the 17-unit cap on how many units they could take this fall, which gave some students multiple breaks throughout their day. Try using these breaks to learn some time management skills.
Turn off the distractions. No one can get much done when they are on Facebook, constantly receiving text messages, or have music and television blaring in the background. Turn it off and pay attention to the task at hand. When you focus, your study time becomes more beneficial, useful and more importantly, not wasted.
Do not go overboard. Do not become a hermit and have your life only consist of work, school and the other rigorous components that go on in life. Everyone can afford a break, so get some balance and do not forget to have fun.
It could be a party on the weekends, seeing a movie with your roommates or even something so simple as watching television for an hour to help you unwind. But the most important part is that you do unwind.
Studies are important, but so is having fun and gaining balance. College is all about learning and having fun. The only way to do all of this is to learn to find that balance. It’s like an art form that takes practice. Just like juggling, you have to get your timing right because you can easily become overwhelmed and drop the ball.