HOW TO MAINTAIN A WORK-LIFE BALANCE AS A STUDENT 🎓🧘🏻 | 7 tips

Hey friends, it's Lisa. Welcome or welcome back to my channel. So in today's video, I want to address a question I get a lot, and that is how do you maintain such a good work-life balance? So I would say I have a lot on my plate. I am a full-time student working a part-time job, soon to be two. I go to rowing practice three times a week, and I'm also a content creator. And while my work-life balance definitely isn't always perfect, I would say I mostly manage really well. So in today's video, I want to give you some tips on how you can improve your work-life balance. Let's start with something that has been said probably a million times before, but it's still so important. If you are working from home or studying from home, separate your work and relax zones. That is because your brain connects activities you're doing with the physical environment you're in. So if you usually work from your bed or your couch, it will be harder to relax there after your work time is over because your brain has associated this place with work and all the emotions that might come with it. Planning ahead is another thing that has helped me tremendously ever since high school. I immediately add any new appointments that come up to my phone calendar, and I use different colors for different categories. For example, university-related, work, friends and family, et cetera. My calendars sync across all my devices, so my appointments are always available to me. So when a friend asks me to hang out on Tuesday night, I will immediately know that I have an assignment due on Wednesday morning, and I know that I won't be able to finish it before Tuesday night, so I will just ask them to meet up on Wednesday instead. Something that I've learned over the years is to make clever choices. For example, working part-time is a must for most of us, students to afford our studies, but instead of finding a job in retail, for example, look for a job on campus that pays the same. Why? Because A, it saves you a lot of time that you would spend commuting between your home, campus and your workplace, because your workplace and your study place are literally the same. And second, it will teach you skills that you can use in your future job. Now, that is not to say that a job in retail doesn't teach you valuable skills. I don't mean to say that. I just wanna show you that you can kill two birds with one stone if you work on campus, but that is just one example of making clever choices. Another good idea in connection with any part-time job is to look for something with flexible work hours so you can adapt them to your other commitments. Next up would be to develop healthy habits and make them non-negotiables. Habits take about 21 days to build, and after that, they will have become an effortless part of your daily routine. For me, the most important ones are getting about nine hours of sleep every night, that is just what my body needs, as well as getting active for 30 minutes every day. This doesn't always mean a hard workout. Sometimes I will just stretch or go for a walk, and on some days, I really don't feel it and allow myself a cheat day, and that is okay too. Speaking of, it is really important to know yourself and your capabilities and be honest with yourself. How much more can you take on without having to sacrifice other things or not be able to fully commit to the things you're already doing? So when a friend asks you to found an org with them and you love the idea and you really don't wanna hurt them, but you have too much on your plate already, step up for yourself and politely decline. So learning to say no is something I have learned the hard way, but trust me, it's one of the most crucial skills you will ever learn and need in your life. What goes hand in hand with that is prioritizing your commitments and activities. There will be phases when some of them have to pause for a while when things get tough. For example, when going out is a big part of your life and you just need that to be happy, but you are currently in final season and your grades matter a lot, you will probably not go out as much during that time or not go out at all, and then once your finals are over, you can enjoy it again. That said, this hierarchy can and should change depending on your life situation. For example, during the semester, my highest priority after my health is school. Then of course work because I have a responsibility here and rowing because I just need it to clear my head and then social events. However, during semester break, school and grades will move down in the hierarchy, whereas exercising, meeting friends, just enjoying life will definitely move up. Also, if you've made it through a phase where you had to pause some of your happy activities, for example, due to final season, make sure you allow yourself more of that after that phase is over to regain your balance. Finally, I have mentioned this a couple of times now, but your highest priority should always be your mental and physical health because you and only you are responsible for holding a balance between your health and happiness and your responsibility towards other persons and things. Simone Biles has shown us that not even an Olympic medal is worth risking her physical and mental health, and in my opinion, it should be the same with everything else. I hope these insights provide some inspiration for you if you have realized that you're out of balance, you're working too much and neglecting your physical and mental health. If so, definitely leave a thumbs up and a comment, and if you're new to my channel, consider subscribing for more study tips and college life videos every Saturday. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in my next video.