Key tips to maintain a balanced lifestyle!
High school taught me a lot about time management and prioritizing. I often get asked how I juggle my academics and extracurriculars and frankly, I never think of myself as doing anything extraordinary. However, this led me to reflect on my time in high school and I’ve come up with a list of some of the key things I learned and tips I have that helped me maintain a balanced lifestyle!
1. Write things down
I can’t stress the importance of a planner enough. Having a visual outline of my weekly and monthly schedules allowed me to maximize my time and efforts to as many endeavours as possible. If I didn’t write things down in my planner, I would not remember what I have going on.
2. Prioritize
Sort your responsibilities based on the highest priority. What are the things you need to get done first? Which deadlines are coming up first? One of my favourite quotes when it comes to planning ahead and prioritizing is: “a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” Do yourself and others a favour and plan ahead to be organized!
3. Don’t overpack your schedule
Don’t commit to too many things to the point where you can’t fully invest yourself in each activity. Pick and choose which things you genuinely like doing and focus on those instead of trying to do everything. It’s much better to do less and do it well than do a lot but do it all poorly.
4. Have a balance between academics and hobbies
Spend enough time on your academics to do well but don’t overdo it by sacrificing your physical and mental health. Make sure you’re incorporating things you enjoy doing whether that’s art, volunteering or playing sports. For me, I really enjoy playing sports and staying athletic,
so I try to make time to do something active every day. Team sports are a perfect way to be social and meet with your friends while doing something active.
5. Have self-discipline
Know when to have fun and be social with your friends but also know when you just need to sit down and get some work done. Again, balance is essential.
6. Set goals
Plan your days in accordance to the goals you set for yourself. Outline what you will do to achieve your objectives and stay committed for the final result. This definitely isn’t an exhaustive list nor is it the ultimate guide for being able to manage your time well. Time management is something I am still working on and will continue to work on for the rest of my life. I am always learning more and adjusting my routine accordingly. Time management looks different for everyone, but I hope you can take something away from these tips of mine and apply it to your life in a way that works best for you!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasleen Bahia will be entering her first year at Western University this fall in the Management and Organizational studies program. She enjoys playing sports, volunteering, and reading in her free time.