Hello everyone! I hope you’re having an awesome semester!

Life as a student can often be hectic. We usually have many different roles: worker, partner, volunteer, friend, classmate, etc. and these roles come with various responsibilities. These responsibilities can sometimes clash with one another and it can seem like a daunting task to get everything done without feeling stressed. In order to optimize functioning, it is essential to find a healthy work-life balance.

And today I would like to share with you,
Five Tips to Achieve a Healthy Work-life Balance: 

1.  Work Ahead and Avoid Procrastination

When you procrastinate and avoid certain tasks, your to-do list starts to grow and grow into an intimidating amount of work. Once all this work piles up, it becomes even harder to motivate yourself to start. Getting ahead on readings, assignments and papers will help reduce stress and by doing so, you will have more time in the future to relax with friends or to go to the gym.

2.  Let Go of Perfectionism 

Many of us develop perfectionistic tendencies at a young age, usually in high school or in college. While it’s easier to maintain that level of perfectionism when we don’t have much going on, perfectionism soon becomes out of reach as we climb up the ladder and our responsibilities grow. If this habit is left unchecked, it can become destructive! The key to avoiding burning out is to let go of perfection. Your focus should be on learning, not getting 100% on every exam or ranking #1 in your class. Check out some helpful tips to manage perfectionism here.

3. Learn to Say No

That word is very hard for me to say! However, I’ve realized that saying “no” is critical to managing my time and can help me stay focused on completing important tasks. Saying “no” may seem selfish to some, but it isn’t. There will always be pressure from others to do this and that, so we need to learn to say no to low priority commitments. This will free up time so we can commit to the things that do matter.

4. Schedule Some “Me Time”

Whether this means spending time with friends, visiting family, watching Netflix, or even just taking a moment to relax by yourself, it is important for your wellbeing to have some time set aside away from work and school. Once you’ve added work/school related tasks to your calendar or agenda, be sure to add some “me time”. Penciling time for yourself not only helps you visually see and balance your time, but it also allows your leisure time to have the same importance as your work-related events.

5. Unplug and Take a Mental Health Day

If you’re feeling emotionally and physically drained, consider taking a day off to take care of yourself and to recharge. Use your mental health day to do things that help you reconnect with yourself – get a massage or take some time to meditate.
And if taking a full day off isn’t feasible then try to unplug from your devices (all of them!) for a period of time. Time away from electronics allows you some quiet time to reflect, think, and refuel your tank.

I LIVE for comments! Please share your thoughts, let me know you stopped by, or tell me about your favourite cat gif. 🐱

See you next time!
– Akshay

The views expressed in this blog are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the University of Victoria. I monitor posts and comments to ensure all content complies with the University of Victoria Guidelines on Blogging.