Are you overwhelmed right now? If you are, you shouldn’t be. Just kidding. Life is incredibly overwhelming and when you’re ambitious AF it can be even more overwhelming. When you’re really overwhelmed you have a few options: buy a bunch of puppies and kittens and cuddle with them until your life sorts itself out, quit everything, develop superpowers or figure out a way to balance your life.
I chose option one but unfortunately the last option is the only viable one for now. While I do have the occasional “How can I possibly do all of these things!???!!” mini meltdown, my life is gradually becoming balanced and these tips on balancing your life will hopefully help you as much as they’ve helped me.
1. Get a big ass calendar.
Like, hang it in your room. Make sure the spaces are big enough for you to fit all of your obligations, commitments, meetings and deadlines. If you can’t find something that’s big enough and affordable, DIY it! My mom DIY’d a huge calendar for me using a dry erase board and electrical tape.
Having everything laid out in front of you is very helpful for planning the future and budgeting your time. I also like having a “weekly view” with assignments that I keep on a smaller piece of paper under my calendar.
2. Set reminders for everything.
Like, even things you assume you probably don’t need reminders for. Set reminders for meetings and deadlines and even the little things like remembering to bring a book to class or vacuum your room. Seriously, setting reminders for due dates and even little things in my life I need to do saves my life.
3. You don’t have to say “no” but you can postpone.
Obviously saying no isn’t always the easiest thing, especially when you really want to do something. If it’s something you don’t actually want to do that you also don’t think will actually benefit you, say no. If it’s something you want to do, try to postpone it to when you’re less busy. “But Paige, I’m literally never less busy.” If you’re mentally thinking that, double check your calendar and see what you can re-arrange or do in advance. You can make time for things you want to do but you need to get things done in advance so you can do so.
4. Use free time wisely.
Instead of watching an extra episode of Grey’s Anatomy you could finish your Chem paper and thus have tomorrow night free. Obviously all of your free time shouldn’t be devoted to doing work but sometimes making a tiny sacrifice can benefit you more down the road. Even if you want to use your free time to watch some TV, you can at least multi-task by doing a TV Workout.
5. Use those small chunks of time.
Those 15 minutes between classes or lulls at work are precious. The time you spend drinking your morning coffee counts, too. Use this time to complete some tasks like organizing your planner, creating a to do list, starting your homework or even just tidying up your room. “But I only have 5 minutes!” is no longer an excuse. In five minutes you can accomplish much more than you think.
6. Don’t plan out every minute of your day.
You obviously need to have some structure if you plan on balancing your life, but planning out everything might just make you more stressed and put a dent on your social life. Planning things out is great, but give yourself some breathing room and room for procrastination sometimes.
7. Use meals to socialize.
If you’re really busy you might not always have time to plan huge get-togethers and hang outs, but you have to eat, right? You can kill two birds with one stone by having lunch or dinner with friends. You’ll get to be social and eat food. Win-win.
8. Learn when to quit.
Lucky for you I have an article called 12 Signs You Should Quit. Not everything is worth sticking to and there’s no shame in that. Sometimes balancing your life means cutting something out. This also goes hand in hand with saying “NO!” I am not one of those people who typically agrees to things just because I feel bad or am afraid of saying no and you shouldn’t be either. If you don’t have time for something and it’s not something you actually need or want to do, just say no.
9. Figure out what matters most to you.
Prioritize these things whether it be your education, your blog, your internship or even your family. Rank your priorities and adjust your schedule accordingly. If there’s something that’s not too important to you, it might be time to cut back to make time for the more important things.
10. Clean your room.
This seems kind of unrelated, but it makes a huge difference. When you’re really overwhelmed, busy and trying to balance your life a messy room will just make everything worse. If you don’t exactly have time to clean your room, do it while you’re on the phone or watching a video for class.
{ Related: Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Your Dorm Room }
11. Take a second to breathe.
Do something that calms you down whether it be yoga, watching your favorite show or listening to music. For me, calling my boyfriend always makes me feel calm when I feel overwhelmed and stressed. Figure out what helps you destress and take a second to do that when things get a little crazy.
Shawn Mendes’ song “A Little Too Much” is the PERFECT life is overwhelming but you got this song.
12. Get things done in advance.
This isn’t always possible, but getting work done now will allow you to be less stressed later. If you know what your homework for next week is and know that next week you’re going to be busy at work, get your homework done early. When there’s a lull in my schedule I try to do homework for the next week or blog posts so I won’t have to worry about them when everything picks up again.
13. Wake up early.
If you’re not a morning person this can be hard but I promise your productivity will sky rocket and you’ll be able to fit so much more into my day. I’ve been waking up before 10:30 every day (which doesn’t seem early to most but still) and I find myself accomplishing so much before it’s even noon.
What are some tips you use for balancing your life?
