HealthChips: Balance your life

HealthChips is a weekly blog focusing on healthy living and wellness. Come back next Thursday for the next edition of HealthChips.

As October passes, the end of the quarter is slowly creeping up on Blazers. The workload has increased now that students have gotten into the swing of things in their classes. Along with the work, many students have extracurricular activities and other commitments they have to honor – part-time jobs, volunteer work, a sport or any activity that requires time and effort outside of the normal school day. It's good to be involved in several activities but it's also important to maintain balance in life for all of them to fit.

HealthChips is here to offer you tips on how to balance the many commitments you hold in your busy schedule, so that you don't have to sacrifice sleep, sanity or social life.

Tip #1: Don't overload on the amount of activities.
Because of the wide variety of activities available at Blair, many students take on an increasing amount of clubs and positions such as service clubs, academic teams and leadership roles. However, many of these students cannot handle everything they've signed up for along with their homework, study habits, family and social life.

Many students believe that if they don't have a list full of activities on their college applications they won't be perceived as a good candidate. On the contrary, it can prove to be a bad thing to participate in many activities. The whole point of joining these clubs and leadership roles is to make a long-term commitment and invest time into the activity. This is best completed when there are fewer activities and more effort, time and quality put into them, which colleges like seeing better than a huge list of clubs and minimal involvement. A smaller amount of commitments would also reduce stress from long school days and extra work. With a heavy load of activities, there would be unbalance, which in turn causes stress.

Tip #2: Regulate time for everything you do.
Setting aside time for everything that's on your to-do list is important so that you don't have to scramble to finish everything at the last minute. If you set aside time for all your work every night there will be no need to stay up late finishing the assignments or to scribble illegible sentences at the last minute. After you have finished with your predetermined homework time, you can use the rest of your evening to do whatever you like. There will be time leftover to take a nap, listen to music, read a book or chat with friends. Scheduling your time allows for balancing of time so that too much isn't spent doing one thing.

Tip #3: Plan things ahead of time.
Plan out and remind yourself what you are doing during the week before it starts so that you aren't left clueless as to what you are doing the next day. Leave short notes to yourself in a place you know you will look at frequently. This way, there is no confusion as to what is going on with your life and your time will be prioritized. With your week planned out, you will now have the option to fit other things in according to your free time throughout the week. Make sure there is a clear and organized method of keeping track of things you're doing during the week, such as keeping a day planner or a calendar.

Tip #4: Give yourself a break
Every once in a while you need to let loose and forget about all of your activities and commitments and spend time for your own enjoyment. In order to have a balanced lifestyle, remember the three R's: relaxation, rest and recreation. Give yourself time to sit back and do nothing for once in your busy life. You are not a machine. It's important for you to take time to reboot to stay in a healthy state of mind. Go and do something fun occasionally to let off some stress built up from responsibilities such as going to the movies with some friends, shopping, play sports or whatever helps you let off some steam the best. Most importantly, make sure to get the optimal amount of rest you possibly can as it fits your schedule.

Maintaining balance between responsibilities and relaxation is essential to be able to fit everything in your schedule and still have time for fun. Balancing out your priorities allows for you to benefit from at least a minimum amount of sleep, keep your head screwed on and have a social life.