Content Updated 02/19/2025
Furthering education can be challenging for many students, especially if this is their first time attending college. Balancing this significant responsibility with other obligations can initially feel overwhelming, but balancing your personal and school life is crucial to a successful academic experience.
East Ohio College is here to help you with your new journey. Here are 10 tips to help you balance your personal life with school.
1. Create A Schedule And Stick With It
The first tip we can offer is to create a schedule. A schedule is vital in balancing your school and personal life as it lets you plan things. With a schedule, you can have all your due dates and other commitments in one central place. When scheduling, two essential parts are equally responsible when determining the success of your planner: creating your schedule and sticking with your schedule.
When creating your schedule, you should include the dates assignments are due, your work schedule, dates of quizzes and tests, social events, and any other important events. The best way to maximize the effectiveness of your schedule is to follow it and meet all the deadlines.
2. Take Large Tasks And Break Them Into Smaller Tasks
One large assignment, such as a research paper, can seem like an extensive project, and it can become a very intimidating task to start. By breaking it into smaller tasks, you can turn an intimidating project into several smaller and more manageable tasks across several weeks. One week can be spent on research, followed by creating an outline; the only thing left is revising and finalizing your paper. What was once a scary task is now three small assignments.
3. Set Aside Time For Breaks
We understand that finding the time for a break when you have a lot of work to do can seem counterproductive, but breaks are crucial in preventing burnout and maintaining a work and school balance. We do not mean you should take so many breaks you cannot finish your work. Still, we want to stress the importance of taking purposeful breaks, even if it is as simple as not doing any work while eating your favorite meal.
4. Be Able to Say “No”
Setting boundaries is another crucial step in balancing your personal life with your education. It is perfectly okay to be able to say no to someone when you notice that you already have a busy week on your calendar. You stay more on task to complete everything you must on your schedule by knowing when to say no.
5. Ask Questions When You’re Stuck
If you are stuck on a question or don’t understand the directions of an assignment, you should ask your professor and/or your peers. If you find yourself still stuck on a problem after putting in a serious effort, it is okay to ask for help, and it is better to ask than stay stuck on it and waste valuable time. You can also work on something else while waiting for a response to maximize your time.
6. Set Goals That Are Clear And Defined
By creating strong goals, you can maximize the benefits of your schedule. SMART goals can set you up to meet all the deadlines listed on your calendar. The easier you can meet all the deadlines, the easier it will become to balance your personal life and school.
7. Keep Everything Organized
One of our most vital tips is to keep everything organized. Even if you create a firm schedule, set goals, and follow every tip we have listed so far, being unorganized can make it so you do not put everything on your calendar. Also, you could lose specific papers that you need to complete other assignments. This is why keeping everything organized is crucial.
8. Manage Your Time Effectively
Effective time management can allow you to spend less time on school work and more time on your personal life. Discipline is the key to striking this balance. For example, instead of spending 30 minutes between activities using your phone or lying around, spend that 30 minutes on one of your assignments. Here are a few more tips about how to manage your time effectively.
9. Limit Time Spent Procrastinating
Limiting the time you spend procrastinating goes hand in hand with effectively managing your time. Although it may seem like a good idea at the time to push something back, there will be significantly more stress trying to complete the assignment at the last minute, and your personal life and school balance will be disrupted. Not procrastinating is crucial to managing this balance.
10. Care For Your Body
Our last and most crucial step is to practice self-care. Make sure that you are eating, staying hydrated, and sleeping. Furthermore, being stuck inside at a desk for long periods can make focusing harder, so take a walk or sit outside during a break. If you fail to take care of yourself, problems can seem much worse than they are, and you will not be able to perform as well as you usually can.
Find Your Balance At East Ohio College!
Do you want to further your education? If so, contact East Ohio College’s admissions office by Requesting Information today!