March 14, 2016, by Words on Words

The Amazing Study/Work/Social Life Balancing Act

This blog post was written by English and Hispanic student, Sally Hirst.

Whilst at university, free time can often involve a certain degree of guilt due to the buckets of critical reading, revision, and activities which need to be completed outside of contact hours – just because not many hours are spent in class, doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of work to complete. I sometimes find that the hours I work at my part-time jobs can eat into the time I set aside for university work. Juggling university with placements and part-time jobs can be particularly difficult at times, but it is definitely possible and often rewarding.

As somebody who loves to be kept busy, this full workload feels challenging, but entirely worthwhile. There is, however, the small problem of maintaining an active social life amongst my degree, my two part-time jobs, and my placement. It can be hard to make time to see my friends, socialise, and just mindlessly flick through Netflix. Time for relaxation is crucial for sustaining a busy lifestyle and a healthy balance of work and play. If all hours are spent studying or working, it can be damaging to your health and general happiness. Half the value of university is the experience; meeting a variety of new people, living in a new area, and enjoying new-found independence.

Going out with friends or partners shouldn’t always have to involve an internal debate, and although that piece of critical reading for Thursday is important, time should also be set aside to unwind in front of another few episodes of Hell’s Kitchen. A guilt-free balance between work and play can be found. With the summer exams fast approaching, it’s crucial to keep this in mind.

Sally Hirst

[Featured images from: http://prescottcollegelife.blogspot.co.uk/2012_12_01_archive.html]

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