Anyone who studies at U of T knows that the struggle is real for maintaining both a social life and school work. What students like myself tend to forget is the importance of balance. Now, I am not here to sounds like your parents and professors, but maybe they’re onto something. 

In light of this, I have investigated this theory and found that many student life websites repeat the same generic things – they all regurgitate the importance of achieving and becoming the ‘perfect’ student. As you scroll down every site, you continuously see the same superficial attributes: use an agenda, set goals, get your beauty sleep, eat healthy to avoid getting sick, and prioritize your time wisely. This sounds all too familiar. 

We students need something more concrete. We need words of wisdom that are actually helpful and will allow us to find the time to balance work and pleasure. 

Having a balanced lifestyle is challenging. So here I am! Reflecting on myself, I have come up with key concepts to keep in mind, which can allow you to achieve a work-life balance too.

How I find balance is simple:

What you should first learn is to practice patience. Now, I always try my best to remain calm when school begins to stress me out, but we all know that sometimes, that isn’t possible. That is why I always resort to certain tasks, which I have learned work best for me. I release my oxytocin with two things: repeating Beyoncé on my playlist, or jogging around the neighborhood with my pug. But if you don’t have a dog or your don’t like my favorite artist, I assure you that once you start small by finding easy everyday methods that can lead you to spend hours on, you can then break down time for balance.

Once you have established this, you can continue to focus on identifying the right moment for a break.

But before pleasure, I first get my homework organized. This is my main priority.

How so? Well, I make a list of every assignment that is due. I then list them by what is due first, and is most important. That is what I begin to work on: the non-demanding tasks at hand can wait until a later date. This is because as important as school is, you need to find your inner Zen. Personal care is like taking care of your health: when you’re sick, you take care of your body first then everything else falls into place. 

So, what I mean by balance is prioritization. This means I focus on the content, time, and importance of the workload. Don’t get confused here: every assignment is important because they are all relevant to our academic careers. But to determine where to start, I work my way down from the most to least demanding. Somewhere in the middle, I find time for myself. How? Well, let me explain. 

You need to acknowledge how much time will be dedicated to your studies. It should be obvious to dedicate more time to your homework than your own leisure time, but how long is too long? I am not going to go through all the ‘scientists have shown’ theories, but you need to look at 8 hours in a day. I prioritize the majority of my hours for homework, and two to three hours to myself. This applies to both weekends and weekdays.

At this point, I now have you thinking, “How do you know when to take a break?”

Most importantly, you need to know your body. Once you know your body, you can detect its warning signs when to take a break. I say this because my body warns me when I have overworked myself – I feel not only physically but also emotionally drained. This is when I know I need to stop what I am doing, and relax. 

Everyone hates being stressed. To avoid this, I take a break and recollect my thoughts. I do so by keeping my mind occupied on enjoyable tasks in order to remain in a positive place. 

During these two to three hours for myself, I do many things that take my mind off schoolwork. I practice self-care. Although this may sound broad, I have narrowed down two options: I devote my free time to school clubs, or to fun leisure activities. 

Since I have a couple of hours to myself, I spend more time on school activities. I believe getting involved in our school community is important for personal growth. This is a non-stressful approach for interacting with peers, classmates, and new friends. And just maybe, if you really get to know new peers, you can spend even more of your free time with them. Speaking on a personal level, whatever time I have left I spend it on playing with my pug or literally just taking a nap. 

Since I established the importance of all this, my university life has been more enjoyable. I finally have time for what is most important in my life: spending those long nights dedicating myself to read 1000 pages, while also finding time to go for a night out with friends in the 6ix. Shouldn’t life be about having the best of both worlds? I would think so.

You too can take my approach, so you also can balance schoolwork with pleasure. School should not take over anyone’s life. Don’t let it take over yours.

Life is too short: get outside, go meet up with friends, or just eat a sandwich. Whatever that may be, leisure time will calm down any anxiety or stress you have toward school.

This will allow any U of T student to have a better university experience.  

How To U of T is a column of The Innis Herald, dedicated to sharing tips for success for upper-year Innis students.