How To Find Balance: Work, Life, and School
hey everyone! Alexi here and its time for the next part of my 4k Masterpost Celebration series, ayeeeee. Okay, I decided to write a masterpost on finding balance, as its always difficult when you have so many responsibilities! My life consists of: working 2 jobs, being an officer in a club, being a McNair scholar, having a social life, spend time with my family, and most importantly, taking care of myself. And ever since I was little, I’ve always had a lot on my plate (due to lots of things) so finding balance has been a constant game for me, so here are some tips.
1. Use a planner/calendar/bullet journal/etc to keep track of everything.
Its really easy to get overwhelmed when there’s a ton going on and one way I ease my anxiety is by using my bullet journal! I write down due dates, my work schedule, club events, anything that will take a sufficient amount of time. Now bullet journalling isn’t for everyone, so you could use a planner since it doesn’t require much set up. OR you could use the calendar app on any of your devices to set reminders for deadlines, due dates, events. If you don’t know what works for you, it’ll take trial and error and that’s okay!
It takes time to get organized for the first time, to start a bullet journal for the first time, but its worth it in the long run. I usually set aside 90 minutes to update my bullet journal for the week to come, as well as put doctor’s appointments, meetings and such into my calendar on my phone.
Don’t forget to start small! Trying to have an over-the-top spread in your bullet journal will be overwhelming, so just start by writing simple to-do lists. Getting upset with yourself over not using your planner fully will only make you NOT want to use it anymore. Be patient with yourself.
Remember that none of these things have to be extravagant! A bullet journal is allowed to be simple and easy to manage, it shouldn’t feel like a dreaded task. If its not fun OR helpful, it might be time to switch to something else! Planners from Walmart or Dollar Tree work just as well as a Passion Planner. We’re all ballin’ on a budget around here.
2. Always schedule in time for yourself and time for physical activity.
No matter what I have going on, I always set aside the last hour(s) of my day to do things I enjoy: go to the gym, read, write, draw in my journal, scroll through tumblr, listen to music, ANYTHING I WANT. Sometimes, we get so caught up in doing what we think we should be doing and trying to fight the fear of missing out (FOMO) that we forget about ourselves! So try to set aside at least 30 minutes to an hour a day of just you time.
Physical activity is key to a healthy and happy life; it releases endorphins and dopamine, it helps with sleep, and you’ll have more energy! Now, I like to lift weights (the good ole athlete in me) and run, but thats honestly not for everyone (i hated it when i first started seriously training for sports). Find something you like to do, whether its go to the gym and use weight machines or free weights, go for walks, ride bike, swim. There are so many ways to be physically active that are actually fun.
Need a place to start looking for fun workouts? Use Pinterest! A lot of my workout inspo comes from there. Don’t have a gym? That’s perfectly fine! You can find plenty of rigorous bodyweight workouts that only require you. There are also some fitgrams on Insta that can provide inspiration that I absolutely adore like:
mikzazon (who also has a company called healthundefined)
kaisafit
Having their energy on your feed will inspire you to workout as well as give you workout ideas. Its never fun doing the same ole workouts all the time.
Remember to be patient with yourself. Start small and slowly progress. Don’t count calories or macros, don’t track your steps. Just move. Enjoy the feeling and the moment.
Check out my self-care tag.
3. After steps 1 and 2, identify where the rest of your free time is and use it to your advantage to socialize, hang with family, and relax.
Once you identify your priorities (school work, work, then personal time), schedule in all the fun things like hanging with your friends, going to the movies, spending time with family, literally anything you want. It could even be more personal time; its whatever you want it to be.
Try not to cancel plans with friends/family/etc because you will regret not going AND that’s the perfect time to unwind; everyone has to have time to unwind. You may not feel like going, but once you are in the moment with people you love and doing fun things, you won’t even remember why you were apprehensive to go.
I know this isn’t very studyblr-esque but its definitely something I hope is helpful to everyone AND is a reminder that balance is needed for mind, body, and spirit to be successful in all aspects of life. Again I hope this was helpful to you guys :)
