This past quarter, I decided to be crazy and take 30 units which is almost unheard of. There were times where I lived unhealthily and times where I cried about how stressed I was because on top of all those classes, I also had two jobs and a third volunteer project (basically a third job). Unfortunately, I like to keep busy and I take on way too many responsibilities, but I hope these tips can help those who do the same.
1. Schedule everything!
The only way I found myself not going crazy is by scheduling everything I did. I used an online calendar platform to send me alerts of my schedule so that I knew what I was doing because when you’re overloading, you tend to forget where you're supposed to be. I also scheduled meetings, events, time with friends, and when to eat and exercise.
2. Take naps
My sleep schedule is probably permanently messed up from this past quarter but I attempted to get at least six hours of sleep every day even if it wasn’t all at once. Yes, this may sound unhealthy but some sleep is better than no sleep… right? If you can schedule in naps, do this as much as you can, you’ll feel better later.
3. Snack on healthy foods
I love eating and cooking food but if you don’t have the time to cook and you don’t want to live off of junk food, try finding healthy snacks to eat throughout the day until you can eat a real meal. I munched on fruit, carrots, crackers, or cereal bars. I indulged when I could and I tried not to eat out too much so that I could also save money. I found that a lot of my social times came from eating meals with my friends.
4. Find activities to relieve stress and do them
I have different ways of coping with my stress but I try my best to do healthy activities. Drawing, exercising, and adventuring with friends are my favorite past times. Since I was enrolled in an art class, I took that time to forget about my other classes and do something I love to do. It was a bit difficult to find times to exercise but I tried to squeeze in a half hour when I could and if you can find an activity that allows you to do homework or study at the same time then that’s even better. I also took the time to hang out with my friends and visit beaches or go to school events with them because if you don’t take some time off for yourself, you will feel overworked.
5. Remind yourself that it won’t last forever
This was probably my hardest quarter and as it came to an end, I felt very accomplished and relieved. Time goes by quickly and my stresses today will eventually end and new stresses will arise in the future, but imagining an end will help you get through it. If you can avoid overloading, I highly recommend it because your health comes first and I experienced many unhealthy days in the past few weeks. I learned that when you overload, you also sacrifice how well you will do in your classes because you can’t devote as much time as you should and you will end up panicking and overstressed. Find your pace and understand that it is best to work with what you are comfortable with so that you take care of yourself first.
