Recently, my schedule has been all over the place. But it certainly doesn’t compare to how I feel throughout the college semester. Like during the Spring of this year, I was both working and attending school at 19 credits. Some days this was okay. On other days, I was feeling quite drained and lousy.
Halfway through, around the time of midterms, I started a few new methods that seemed to help tremendously. Some worked for me – more than others, but they all seemed to have their benefits.
Schedule out your day: Every day before I go to bed, I make a plan for tomorrow. It’s a list, a short one with a time frame. And although I like to go with the flow of things, sometimes the planner is needed. Especially, during the semester – when I am both working and going to school. (There isn’t anything like showing up to school – with your Biology homework on a Math day. Ugh)
Disconnect: Unplugging can be a challenge, especially if your job/schooling requires the access to the internet. (Let’s face it, most things do). But if you’re like me, Instagram and Facebook can be a HUGE distraction. So in order to get things done, I turn everything off. This allows me to focus on the task ahead and stick to that schedule. ^
Sleep: Oh my goodness, Arianna Huffington said it first but sleep is sooooo important. When I am halfway through the college semester, a lack of sleep seems to hit me pretty hard. And at times it is hard to catch up on it! During this time, I have to remind myself to rest, relax and repeat. My inner voice sounds something like: “The work can wait. The studying can wait. Your mental health can’t.”
Focus on what matters: This sounds like another scheduling tip and I guess, you’re right, it is. But when it comes to work and school deadlines, I have to set priorities. I should probably do A before I do B. Even though B – is more fun, A was assigned first. With that being said, my focus is decided in another way too. With two questions: Why does it matter? And how is it impacting my future? When I can answer this… I know I’m on the right track.
XO, Alyshia