Lectures, society work, assignments, certifications, mids, volunteering, finals, side hustle, CGPA, and a lot more. So many tasks at hand and so little time to manage them. Sounds familiar? Facing the same problem, aren’t you?
Studies show that students involved in extracurricular activities are 15% more likely to have higher GPAs and demonstrate better time management skills than their peers who focus solely on academics. While extracurriculars are proven to enhance students’ performance, focus, and activity, balancing them along with academics can be a taxing task. Meeting deadlines of assignments and preparing for on-campus events when the dates are clashing is not something everyone is good at. If you also feel like you’re moving like a pendulum between two extremes and lack stability, you’re at the right place.
Here I’ve described pro tips to help you manage your extracurriculars and activities without compromising your peace of mind.
1. Create a To-Do List
Using Excel can be very interesting if you create daily to-do lists in it and color-code them. Green for low priority, yellow for moderate, pink for high and red for urgent tasks that need immediate attention. This visual system helps you understand your workload at a glance. To-do lists not only help you clear your head about the tasks at hand, they also save you the time and energy you otherwise would’ve spent fretting over your workload.
You can even buy already-made planners from platforms like Etsy or Creative Market that sell digital Excel to-do lists and even get them customized for you. These lists will help you track your performance better and make your work look easy and achievable.
Applications like Me+ focus on prioritizing their customers’ mental health and help them achieve their goals by creating a customized plan for their users.
2. Prioritize Your Work
Prioritizing stuff lays out a map for you to follow. You can go from easiest to hardest tasks or hardest tasks first and easiest ones last, it’s your choice!
Things that matter the most, keep them at the top of your to-do list. Set periodic reminders for them. Make your important tasks pop up regularly so they stay front and center until you complete them and strike them through the list. If you find your weekly assessment more important than floral decoration for the bake sale at college, tackle your prep work first, flowers can wait.
3. Manage Your Time, Master Your Day
Another way to maintain balance between extracurriculars and academics is to incorporate time management techniques into your life. The easiest one is to follow the 8+8+8 rule, which tells you to allocate 8 hours of your day for work, 8 hours for extracurriculars and hobbies, and 8 hours for undisturbed sleep.
You can also try the Pomodoro Technique, work for 25 minutes with full focus, then take a 5-minute break. This keeps your mind fresh and prevents burnout. Start thriving around the clock instead of constantly racing against it. Be dangerously disciplined and watch how your life morphs into a perfect balance between academics and extracurriculars.
Smart devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit help keep you on track. The notifications can be annoying sometimes, yes, but if used with purpose, they can be really helpful to boost your activity and maintain balance.
4. Manage Your Energy, Not Just Your Time
You might have read about energy conservation topics in physics, and let me tell you they are equally important in your life too. Your energy level is your driving force. Between two extremes of burnout and boredom lives a balanced energy that is influenced by physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.
McKinsey.co in its yearly Forward Program elaborates further on the importance of wellbeing in both your professional and personal life. One effective way to keep yourself energized is to take power naps and short breaks so you don’t run out of energy all at once.
Another thing to avoid sluggishness caused by low energy levels is to incorporate physical movement into your work. Sitting in front of a computer screen for five hours straight when you’re doing your remote internship will obviously burn you out. So instead of calling your sibling to get you a glass of water, get up yourself, stretch, and help yourself with water and some healthy snacks.
Decluttering your physical and digital spaces is a relaxing activity and eases the last-minute document search pressure off of you. These are only a few examples of energy-boosting activities. For more ways to keep your energy levels balanced, check out this article for Boosting Productivity by Managing Energy Levels.
5. Reflect on Mini Achievements
If you’re a management geek, you may have read the concept of setting SMART goals. What does SMART mean and why do SMART goals matter? It is natural for humans to celebrate and feel pride when they achieve something, even if it is something minuscule. For instance, getting something from your bucket list.
The purpose of setting goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (the acronym SMART) is to keep you going, to keep you hoping, and not to quit your journey midway. These mini celebrations keep you motivated and energetic.
So next time you’re stressing about how to juggle your academics and side quests like a pro, look back and reflect upon your mini wins, like the quiz you aced and the content you created that got approved in one go.
Conclusion
Balancing academics and extracurriculars isn’t about doing everything, it’s about doing what matters with discipline and intention. Apply these techniques consistently, and you’ll find yourself excelling in the classroom while still enjoying the activities you love. Slowly and gradually, you’ll juggle multiple commitments with maximum efficiency while keeping your peace of mind intact. So start today and reel in the feeling of ticking one item after another off the list!
