How to balance school and social life

Resisting the temptation to put off schoolwork to go out is challenging, but something that must be quickly learned in college, or your grades could suffer. At the beginning of freshman year, I was so excited about the social aspect of college, I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find time for both of them and myself.

One piece of advice I would give in order to balance school and social life is to make sure you get all of your assignments done before going out. Don’t tell yourself you're going to get up early the next day to complete an assignment; just get it done before you go out, that way you don't have to deal with it in the morning. It is just easier all together if your work is done before socializing. Schedule your week. If you know you have something to do on a certain night, plan out your schedule (look at my last blog post for some scheduling tips), so you aren’t scrambling to get it done the night you are going out/have an event.

Doing homework with your friends is also a great way

to balance school and social life; you get to socialize and get work done at the same time! My friends and I like to go to the library, Starbucks, or just go to one of our houses to get work done. There is always at least one day a week when all of my friends come over to my house and we do homework while watching a movie or something in the background. Doing this allows us to catch up with each other while being productive. It is also a huge bonus if you have a class with your friends, so you always have someone to go to if you

need help.

Another thing I wish I knew freshman year was don’t pressure yourself to go out or socialize. If you have homework to do or just need time to yourself, don’t feel forced to go. Yes, you might have some FOMO, but if you think you need to stay in, then do it! Prioritizing school sometimes can be hard but it is okay to say no; there are always going to be other nights when you can hang out with your friends or go to a party. It is also difficult to prioritize yourself, both mentally and physically, in college. There are some nights when I’m exhausted, and although I want to go out, I feel like my body needs the rest, so I decide to stay home. By doing this I know I’ll thank myself the next day for staying in, watching a movie, and going to bed at a reasonable hour. There are also some nights when I don’t plan my week correctly and I have to stay home to do an assignment last minute, and that is okay too. Just don’t force yourself to go out even if all of your friends are going.