Balance

"Too much of one thing can end up creating stress; this is something that no one needs in their life. But living a life in balance can provide harmony and peace" — Catherine Pulsifer.

Our lives are composed of a variety of aspects: education, work, social life, love and family.

How are we meant to balance these diverse parts of our life? It’s not easy to balance life at all. It is so difficult and always a work in progress. To be honest, most individuals are unable to reach a point in their life where they feel that their life is perfectly balanced.

We are all in the same sinking boat in which “stress” is consuming our life.

Balance is not about allocating the same amount of time for every important component of your life. Balance is about YOU. It is that feeling of satisfaction when you are content with the time you allocate to the parts of your life. After all, we prioritize certain aspects of our lives more than others; everything is not equal in importance. Thus, balance can only be somewhat achieved when you reach a state of satisfaction with your life.

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Though it is nearly impossible to reach a perfectly balanced life, here are some tips to alleviate the stress within your life to become happier:

1. Self-Reflection

Take a moment of reflection to really ponder on “what is important to me?” This question drives balance within your life. You will never be satisfied with the time allocations within your life, unless you are aware of your priorities.

So I suggest, you grab a cup of coffee or tea (if you are a tea lover), and reflect on:

“What is important to me?”

2. Time Management

Are you a really busy person like myself? Is it hard for you to keep track of your schedule and your to-do’s?

I suggest planning out your day! Quite literally, begin your morning with 10 minutes to thoroughly plan out your day. First, write a to-do list on the things you wish to accomplish; the to-do list must contain mundane activities such as meals, groceries, showering and chores as well. Second, divide your free time into 30 minute intervals and assign a to-do to each.

Example:

8:30 am shower

9:00 am breakfast

9:30 am read biology textbook

10:00 am complete calculus review

10:30 am complete calculus review

Pro-tip: give yourself more time than you think you will need! Afterall you are not scheduling in your breaks and it is better to give extra time to a task than not enough.

I live by this strategy!

3. 5-10 Mins is Really Not That Long

Personally, my family always asks me to do small chores throughout the day. Before I would complain and protest because I thought I was too busy. However, in reality, these tasks would have only taken a few minutes to accomplish. Yes, I could be working on something else and easing my workload but my family is important too!

If you are in a similar situation, I suggest you say “okay” and complete that little chore because it will help you feel inclusive within your family and shows your family members that you care. This is a really easy way to incorporate family into your life a little bit more.

4. Social

Please do not spend your life studying 24/7! Have fun! Socialize! Make mistakes and regret them!

Do not live your life focused on one thing. Remember to have fun and meet all different types of people!

Make lots of friends! Find your core group of people that work well with you.

Because only then are you really living your life.

5. Self Time

I am okay with you ignoring everything else on this post, but please READ THIS.

No matter how well you “balance” your priorities, you will not be satisfied until you give time for yourself. This could be something simple such as reading before bed or watching an episode of a tv show. Don't make time for yourself an excuse to procrastinate but allow yourself to focus on you for at least 30 minutes a day. If you are busy like me, quite literally schedule it into your day.

Time for yourself is essential for your mental health.

So please give yourself the luxury to have time for yourself. There is not a single excuse in the world for you to justify missing self time within your day.

You deserve time for yourself :)