As someone who thrives off balance, these past few months have felt quite off-kilter, as I am sure many of you have also felt. The summer months, which many of us look forward to each year in order to “take a break” from being a student, were nothing like they have ever been. I would typically use summer breaks to spend time on myself and with friends, relaxing and taking time off from constant school work – those 4 months off of school would be like a reset before going back to my student life. However, this past summer was filled with uncertainty and felt like a far cry from a relaxing time. Even though most of us had all the time in the world to ourselves at home, there was an overall feeling of unpredictability with what the world would throw at us next. That lack of a reset period definitely threw me into a bit of a loop this September.

Now with school having started online, our homes have become lecture halls, and there is no longer a divide between our student lives and our regular lives. The boundaries between our work and our lives and relaxation are not so clear when you are attending online lectures from your bedroom, and this can take a huge toll on our mental well-being. It can be so tempting to try and watch all the lecture videos your professor posted until 2 AM in an attempt to get it all over with, but having school take over every hour of your day will be draining in the long run. Setting up boundaries between school and the rest of your life is even more important now that the lines can feel blurred. Give yourself time to just do what you enjoy at the end of the day and bring balance back into your life. It is obviously much easier said than done, but starting off small, like making sure you are done with your work for the day at 10 PM, can make all the difference. No one would want to be at school 24/7 if we were to be in-person, so why do school work until the early hours now?

Find that balance in your life, and make sure that at some point school can be paused for you to be able to live your life. It is so important to set those life/work boundaries and maintain them to avoid burnout and ensure success in the long-run!

Wishing everyone the best of luck this semester!

Katrina M. 

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.