Have you ever heard the saying that life is like a triangle, where you can only excel in 2 things? Study, sleep and social life – pick two.
I think we’ve all had times where we feel like we’re juggling more of an octagon rather than a triangle. Rather than doing two things really well, we often attempt to do little bits of everything mediocrely. This can result in immense stress, lack of sleep and fatigue. It’s in these overwhelming times when we start to notice injuries, niggles and pains starting to occur. To get the best out of your body, see my 10 top tips for school or uni students trying to balance it all.
1. Set goals
At the beginning of school term, or uni semester write down everything you want to achieve in this period. In order to make sure our goals are achievable make sure that they’re SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic and Time bound. For example: improve my 5k running time by 5 seconds before the end of term one, by doing 3 runs per week.
2. Prioritise – figure out what’s most important right now
Perhaps one of the trickiest parts of balancing a busy life is trying to figure out what is important right now. Making daily lists of the top 3 things you need to achieve today can be a helpful way to organise your day. Remember its ok to have periods where the focus shifts, for example training or social life takes a back seat while assessments and tests are busy at school/uni.
3. Take time out
Find some time in each day to make time for yourself. Whether this be time to meditate, read or take the dog for a walk. It’s important to remember that these time outs will help make the on times more productive and efficient.
4. Get sleep
To make sure that you wake up feeling refreshed and energised its recommended that teens get ~8 hours of sleep per night and adults get 7 or more hours per night. If you’re up training early in the morning this means an early night!
5. Eat nutritious, whole food and hydrate
When you’re racing from training/sport to school or uni and can be easy to neglect eating enough and hydrating well. Utilise weekends to prep meals that are quick and easy to eat on the go.
6. Ask teachers/tutors for help
To avoid feeling extra stressed around exam and testing periods make sure that you have kept on top of all work throughout the term and semester by asking teachers for help as you go. Keep teachers informed of when you’re needing extra help or struggling to understand topics/concepts.
7. Make the most of the time you’ve got
When there’s already limited hours in a day avoiding distractions such as Facebook and Instagram can be helpful to make sure you have achieved the most out of your day. Set limits on your phone to make sure that you’re not getting carried away scrolling for extended periods of time.
8. Study and train in groups
Divide and conquer. Study groups and training groups can be a great way to incorporate spending time with friends while still being productive. At Eric St Physio the teens group exercise classes are an awesome way to see friends, while working on injury prevention or rehabilitation.
9. Get into routine
Joining classes like the teen group exercise class at Eric St Physio can be a good way to make sure that your weekly rehab and injury prevention is being included in your routine.
10. Know that your best is enough!
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself! The best is all you can do.