Overscheduled & Overworked: Balancing Your Life in College
March 18, 2010 | Anissa
Overscheduled Students
College is a balancing act of school, friends, extracurriculars, sports, and family. Needless to say, it can be a little overwhelming. During my freshman year, I found myself stressed out on most days, and I saw my grades take a toll. How can you stay involved in all of your on campus activities, have a social life, and still have time to study? Here are some tips on how to make sure that you can get it all done, and still keep your sanity.
Do you feel like you don’t have time to be reading this? Do your friends have to schedule time to hang out with you? When you finish your shift at work, are you counting the minutes until practice begins? If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions, you are overscheduled. There is nothing wrong with being involved while in college; in fact it’s looked at as a good thing. I know that I am guilty of over scheduling myself; classes, work, PRSSA meetings, Fashion Show Rehearsal, tutoring… the list goes on and on. So how do you make it all work?
The truth of the matter is, making it work has to be personal. Being overscheduled is a choice that college students make; it’s not something that is forced onto them. My schedule is packed because I want it that way and because I enjoy being active in my campus community. The key is to be aware of your own personal limits, and understanding what you can handle and what your cant.
If just looking at your schedule stresses you out, there are some things you can do to manage your time. Prioritize your schedule. Look at all your activities and rank them in order of importance. Know what things have to get done today, and what things can wait. Once things have been prioritized, you might be able to cut out one of the less important activities. Ask for help. One of the big problems that college students have is there mentality of wanting to do it all. Unfortunately, you cant. Talk to your peers and coaches about your workload, and ask for help when you can get it. Look into talking to your counselor as well. At most universities, students are assigned an advisor to help them throughout their academic career. Don’t be afraid to make an appointment with your advisor to talk about any concerns you have about your schedule.
Check out Harvard Magazine’s article entitled “Nonstop” to read about more students just like you that are overscheduled. While the article focuses on specifically Harvard College students, the implications span to any college student, nationwide. As author Craig Lambert says “today’s superhero undergraduates do 3,000 things at 150 percent.” Just make sure that you can handle all 3,000 things.
