A balanced academic life
MANY students step into a tertiary institution with sincere intent to perform well academically.
However, in a place where you are suddenly given the free rein to determine how you spend your time, keeping a balance between your academic and social lives is no small challenge.
Here are some tips for a balanced university life:
Set realistic goals
Your goals should be achievable so that you do not burn yourself out in the process of reaching them or become disappointed when you fall short.
At the same time, do not set goals that are so low that they are no longer a challenge or become boring. Moderation is key.
Expect mistakes
If you have only been in university for a month but expect to execute every task with perfection, you are being too hard on yourself.
Even if you are realistic in setting your goals, there will be times when you fail to reach them, and that is okay. Failing a test in the first half of your semester means you can identify your area of weakness, work on it and do better in your final examination.
Prioritise
To be sure that you accomplish any important task each day, prepare a list of things that need to be done for the day, with the most urgent tasks written at the top of the list. Try to complete the most important tasks first before moving on to the ones nearer to the bottom of the list.
When important tasks have not been checked off the list, it is only wise to say no to the less urgent activities.
Treat studies as your work
One way to be a disciplined student is to strictly set aside weekdays as your workdays.
This means that if you have a few hours between classes, you should spend it catching up on some academic reading instead of catching a movie at a nearby mall
with friends.
Consistency counts
If you make it a habit to continually work on your assignments, tutorials and essays throughout the week, you will realise that an amazing amount of work can be completed before Friday evening comes around. This means your weekend will be freed up for quality family time, fun activities with friends and other leisurely pursuits.
When you are consistent in doing your college work throughout the semester, you will find that balancing academics and social life is not that difficult a task after all.