Balancing work and social life
Hi everyone I hope you’ve all had an amazing Christmas and New Year, I cannot believe that it is already January and term 2 has started! So I’m now in my final year of university (scary!!) so my uni work has definitely been kicked up a notch but I am also trying to make the most of my final year too, so I just thought I would write a blog about some tips that I use to manage my work and social life 🙂
1. it is really easy to get distracted and procrastinate by doing things you enjoy e.g. watching movies or scrolling facebook but these are what prevent you from finishing work on time. The best thing I do is list all of the deadlines that I have each week in order of what is most important and needs my attention first. There is no point starting an essay that is due in 3 weeks first and then starting another essay that is due in 1 week…..that doesn’t make sense! Get ahead early because you will have a more time in the future to do social activities.
2. Time Manage: This term I am only in university on a Tuesday and a Thursday, so I have a lot of free time to organise when I should work and when I should relax! This year I am going to spend Mondays, Wednesday mornings and Friday’s in particular, to focus on my coursework! I also divide my time up during the day so for example, I will get up around 8:30 get to university for around 9:30/10 and work until 4/5 (whilst having breaks in between). This has worked so well for me because I don’t feel guilty in the evening and I can sit and relax with friends.
3. Extra-curricular activities: most students at university will be involved in some sort of non-academic society, for example, I am part of Warwick Women’s Netball and Warwick Volunteers. What’s great about sport in particular is that training happens the same time every week, which helps me organise work around it. Of course, if you have work that needs doing but clashes with your hobbies, sometimes you will have to miss one training session because work is priority. Whereas for volunteering as I am a project leader, I am relied upon to organise beforehand therefore I reserve Sunday for planning activities and buying food for each session so that I don’t have to do it during the week or last minute.
4. It is extremely easy to get persuaded into going on nights out by your friends! I hold my hands up and say that I have gone on nights out when I know that I could have spend the time doing work instead. The best thing for me this term is limiting myself to 1/2 nights out a week and sticking with this limit otherwise the morning after you are just tired and end up wasting time that can be used more productively.
5. besides nights out and sports, etc., your social life is also made up of just spending time chatting with friends or going for coffee. It is really important that you don’t restrict yourself too much to doing work otherwise you’ll end up neglecting friendships and becoming reclusive. Meeting up with friends during breaks between work or in evenings when you have free-time is the best way to manage your social life without interrupting study time.
6. Make a plan: either a timetable or using a diary on your phone is a great way of organising your weekly schedule and prevents you from clashing events. Timetables are brilliant for keeping track of deadlines, your lectures/seminars and organising your social life. I really recommend using Reminders on your phones as well because often if we are balancing a lot of things, we forget other important dates, so use your phone to help you keep on top of everything.
I hope this has been helpful, if you’re having trouble coming up with ideas or plans to manage your time just email me and hopefully I will be able to help 🙂
