How To Stay Sane In College

College is a busy time. You start with a full class load, add on a couple of student organizations, one or two part time jobs plus an internship and you're already overwhelmed. As a junior with all of the above, I soon realized this year would be more difficult than freshmen and sophomore year combined. I challenged myself with being a Resident Assistant on top of 16 academic credits, an on-campus job, an internship, three student organizations and still making time to eat, sleep and see friends. 

As a PR major, I have found almost all of my friends in the major are in a similar situation, yet we all are able to be successful and somehow keep our sanity. 

Here are the ways I have been able to cope and survive week to week:

My planner is my life. 

Every year, I get a free Temple University planner from my residence hall, and it saves my life. I like it better than putting events and reminders in my phone calendar. All of my meetings, appointments, exams and work schedules go in it right away. Whenever I get an email I pencil it in. My planner keeps me organized and prevents me from double booking myself.

Make "me" time.

Going to the gym and just lying in bed watching Netflix is sometimes 100% my priority. I love going to one of Temple's gyms or group fitness classes;it makes me feel good and forces me to put down my phone or homework. Afterwards, I feel refreshed and more energized. The same thing happens with Netflix because sometimes at 10 pm I just cannot work on my study guide anymore or edit another assignment. I put everything away and lay in bed with my laptop to unwind after a long day.

Prioritize!

When meetings overlap and you get asked to do 5 things at the same time, pick what is most important. It is okay to say no to people or organizations. You cannot be everywhere all the time. If you said yes to something last time, give something else a chance next time. It can be very hard, and I struggle with not making everything a priority but have gotten better at it over time.

How do you stay organized and handle all of your obligations?

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Shaun Luberski.