1005 My tips on balancing study sleep and life

I will start by saying there is no right or wrong way to balance this. It is all about what works for you, having said that I do not know one person who hasn’t neglected one of the three at some point in their lives. It is not the easiest thing to balance. Do not feel like you have let anyone or anything down if you do let one or two of them slide. We are all humans, and everyone makes mistakes no matter what (even professionally trained Doctors make mistakes. To be honest, the best way to learn is to make mistakes. I have always learnt better by giving things a go and seeing where I went wrong.

I have not met one person who did not battle with this equation at some point. The truth is when you find the right way for you it will finally be easier. If you haven’t found a way that works for you yet then keep trying, you will get there at some point. No one routine is perfect for everyone, certain things will work for you and not for me and vice versa. Some basic points will help everyone, but minor changes and alterations will be involved. It is all trial and error, using your judgement to find the perfect way to move forward. You must take responsibility for deciding when you have time to do each task if you run out of time you can only blame yourself.

Just keep changing things and switching things around, add more breaks, take longer breaks, and do a subject a night or an hour of one and then an hour of another. There are a million different things you can try to make it work for you. The effort you put in will give you results. With little effort, you won’t get the benefits of working hard etc. A lot of people do a little of each subject each day, but I completely fail at that. I would much rather finish one thing and then do the next, but you can’t always do it that way. I struggle to dip into different projects a bit at a time. I tend to dedicate a day to one thing for half the day etc.

You must think about which one of the three is most important for you. Put it in an order of importance and then work out the amount of time you can spend on each. Once you have established that it will be much easier for you to sort out (don’t forget this doesn’t have to be a science, it can still be switched up but keep priorities in mind). Studying is generally more important than partying (at least for me it always was) but that doesn’t mean you can’t go to any parties. You must make a sensible decision about what parties you go to and the ones you don’t go to. For example, you could miss the neighbour’s nephews, the son’s christening but not your sister’s birthday etc. If you don’t think you will regret not going, then maybe evaluate if you have the time to spend going to a party.

Something that a lot of people don’t think about is that everyone can function on different amounts of sleep. I know I used to be able to function on 3-4 hours of sleep but now I am dreaming if I want to function on less than 7 hours of sleep. I think your lifestyle plays a big part in your sleeping pattern. If you are someone who has quite a chill day then you can get away with less sleep but if you are someone who runs around like a headless chicken, eating junk all day then sleep is going to be required in abundance. If you are struggling with sleep, please see a trained professional.

One type of person is the most irritating/annoying (for me anyway). Those who are naturally smart barely must try to get good grades. I knew someone who got 99% on an exam and retook the exam for fun because they wanted 100%. This is a great work ethic and amazing attention to detail but so annoying when you must work your bum off to get a good grade. The good thing is they won’t get the satisfaction of a good grade because they didn’t work on it.

Another tip set achievable goals. Don’t set a goal of studying every spare moment of your life. Create a plan where you do have a life in between studying even if it is just a 20-minute coffee with a friend or getting a pizza with your family. Don't beat yourself up, you can only do what you can do. If you are feeling like you haven’t quite done enough, accept it and plan to move forward. There are always other ways to get to where you want to go. It might take longer but there are plenty of crossroads for you. Don't give up when the first hurdle gets hard. You will regret it.

If you are not feeling determined, why are you doing it? Being determined shows your car a lot about what you are doing and are willing to work on what you are doing to improve. Find another way if you are not seeing the determination in your work. Decide what you want and aim for that instead.

I strongly believe if you want something enough you will get there somehow. If you find yourself making excuse after excuse after excuse, you will end up not achieving what you want to achieve. Stop finding excuses and stop blaming something or someone else. Take some responsibility and work. It's a hard world, no one is going to hand you anything if you want success you have to work for it.