How to Balance School and Life as a Busy Student

As we all know, being a student usually makes us take on an unrealistic amount of responsibilities in the hopes of standing out among our classmates. We are required to join clubs, get involved in the community, be a team leader, get good grades, get an internship and more, then somehow figure out how to fit it all into our very limited schedules.

If our resumes aren’t looking like a CVS receipt… we aren’t doing enough.

This all becomes very overwhelming to the majority of students who can’t handle the stress of doing so many things (with the intent of also being the best). So today, I’m going to give you some tips on the ever-asked question: how do we do it all?

First let me say, you can’t do it all 100% of the time. That will just lead to burnout. However, you can learn to manage your time as effectively as possible in order to maximize the amount of free time you have. And free time = good.

So, here is all the advice I have conjured up over the years of being a student on how to balance school and life.

Use a Planner

I know you’ve heard this all before, but having some sort of planning system is essential to managing your time and getting the most done. I always recommend getting a paper planner because there’s something about writing things down that makes you more likely to do them. However, if you prefer a digital planner so you can access it on your phone anytime, I recommend using Google Calendar.

Your planner is going to quickly become a prized possession as a student because it can provide you with sanity amongst all of your responsibilities. If you’ve never used a planner before, you’ll start to realize why people can get obsessed over them.

In order to organize things, you have to know exactly what they are (and no matter how much you think you can remember to do it all, you can’t). Save yourself the trouble and write it all down!

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Make a Schedule

Now that you have a planner, you actually have to use it. The easiest way to manage your time is to first figure out your non-negotiable responsibilities (aka events where you can’t control the time). This includes school, sports, work, etc. Because you can’t change when these occur, write them in your planner first, and then organize the rest of your responsibilities around them.

For example, if you have soccer practice every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm, don’t schedule any night classes those days and allow yourself enough time before and after practice to eat, get ready, shower, etc.

This is the tricky part of planning because you’re essentially trying to piece all of your responsibilities together into the perfectly planned puzzle.

Once you have your non-negotiables in your calendar, look at the free space around them and start planning your more flexible tasks. For example, you see that you have 2 free hours in-between your classes. You can use that time to work on your essay that’s due at the end of the week. You have Thursday morning off, so you can pencil in time to study for a test.

Just remember that these tasks are more flexible and can be moved around if something else comes up. Don’t become too rigid with your schedule because that can cause just as much stress as not having anything planned at all.

With whatever free time you have left, pencil in non-school tasks such as grocery shopping, meal prepping, hanging with friends, etc. Although they are not school-related, these things are just as important for your everyday life. However, they really don’t have any restrictions on when they have to be done. Squeeze them in wherever you can!

All this planning may seem like a lot of work, and it can be, but it will save you so much more time in the long run. Taking an hour or two to plan your week will prevent a lot of anxiety and procrastination later on.

Click here to download a blank version of the weekly planning template!

Give Yourself Free Time

Being a student is like a full-time job. It’s just as important to schedule free-time and fun events into your calendar as it is your schoolwork. You don’t want to assign every single minute to a task and work like a robot because you’ll easily get burnt out.

Give yourself at least one hour every day to relax. This hour is open for you to do whatever you want. (And you may have more free time than just an hour, but on particularly busy days, that hour is important.)

You also want to allow yourself enough time for basic tasks like eating, showering, getting ready for the day, working out, etc. Sometimes we can forget about these things and run into the problem of overextending our schedule to fit them in.

The point of planning isn’t to dedicate every minute of your life to doing something; it’s about saving time by planning ahead in order to use your time as effectively as possible.

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Learn to Say “No”

If you’re like me, you try to take on everything that’s presented to you despite knowing that it’s too much to handle. Saying no is an important skill for time management and your overall sanity. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice one thing for another or learn to put your mental health first.

By having a schedule, you know just how much you have on your plate and whether or not you can add to it. If you’re invited out by friends, you can quickly let them know when you’re free. If you’re in a club that meets on Mondays, but you know you need to finish an essay by Tuesday, you might need to skip that meeting in order to get your priorities done.

Don’t feel bad for saying no. You might disappoint someone or yourself at the moment, but that feeling will quickly pass. You’ll be happy you gave yourself the time to work on what was more important.

Still Feeling Lost?

If you still feel like you need extra help with balancing your student and life responsibilities, I have just the answer for you.

I have created the Ultimate School Handbook to help students of all grades and academic levels do better in school.

It includes 11 pages, 5 printable templates to fill in, and 3 study guides covering topics such as note-taking, writing essays, and effective studying.

These are tools I have hand-made throughout my time as a student to help me be better organized and maintain high grades.

So, I’ve decided to share them with you! Click here to get a copy of the Ultimate School Handbook for only $10! (That’s like, two Starbucks drinks lol)

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Time management is definitely a skill you have to develop as a student, but once you do, your life will flow much smoother than before. Remember: don’t be too strict with your schedule to where it stresses you out to make minor changes. Also, don’t be too lax with yourself to where you get nothing done. It’s all about balance.

If you found this post helpful, feel free to use it as a resource throughout the school year! Don’t forget to pin it and share! If you didn’t already, make sure to grab yourself a free download of the blank weekly planning template to get started on planning your schedule. I wish you all the best and lots of love,

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