I've never been as busy as I have been this week. Two exams, four meetings, two group projects, one philanthropy event, and two date parties. That doesn't include my standard homework load or class schedule. I often find that I am running from place to place, thinking about the next thing I have to do, checking it off my mental checklist. I'm consistently awake until 2 am, or until my body can't stay awake any longer.
Through all of this, I still make time for the things I value: my friends, boyfriend and myself.
If I'm doing work, I do it in the sorority house along with my sisters. If I want to get off campus food, I invite my boyfriend. And if I really can't focus, I stop, lay down, and watch some useless YouTube video and relax. I have found that it can be easy to include the other people that are important to me. I simply find activities that I need to do, like eating, exercising, doing homework, and I do those things with other people. If these are things I need to do anyways, I might as well do them with friends.
But it can be harder to find time for yourself. It's easy to say that I can stop doing work to watch a YouTube video, but that doesn't always happen. I find myself feeling guilty if I'm not constantly doing the things that I need to do. But it's important to keep in mind that, although it may seem like a waste of valuable time, everyone needs to take at least a few moments for themselves. Just take a breather, relax for one moment.
It may not seem like much, but everyone needs a break from time to time. If we don't take a break, we will inevitably overwhelm ourselves and become to stressed to function. There have been countless times where I have panicked over all the things piling up in front of me that I need to complete. But simply taking some deep breaths has helped me.
Another great way to take time for yourself is to do things just for fun. If I don't want the dinner that is being served at my chapter house, I go to Playa Bowls. If I don't want to haul my overloaded backpack all the way to Lindy, I just work at my desk in the comfort of my own room.
Just making small changes can make a big difference. Everyone at Lehigh has a million things to do at any given time. But the important thing to remember is that everyone must make time for themselves in order to recharge and be ready to tackle those one million things.
