January 18, 2019
Balancing It All
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cengage. The opinions and text are all mine.
Hi everyone! Now that finals are over for one of my toughest semesters, I’m so excited to have some time to relax. At the end of last year, I added another major in Accounting since I had enough time in my schedule, which obviously created a heavier course load then I’m used to. Now I am a double major in Accounting and Marketing, with a minor in Fashion Merchandising. It’s been especially hard this semester balancing school, along with blogging and a social life, but I’ve figured out balancing is a matter of priorities and using your resources. Here are a few of my tips for balancing life as a college student!
1. Get a planner & write everything down!
I am a huge fan of using a planner to stay organized, and this semester I even took it one step further and added everything to my calendar on my computer as well. One of my good friends uses his calendar to stay organized, and after seeing how organized he is, I knew I had to try it out. By writing everything down in multiple places, it helps me stay on-top of deadlines and prioritize what is most important. I love having everything on my calendar app since it’s both on my computer and phone. That way I can check it every day and know what I have due that day, if I have any special events, and if I have anything coming up. It’s also easy to color coordinate events, so I can separate between schoolwork, blogging, and miscellaneous events. Another great feature is that you can easily send calendar invites to others which is great for group projects and work events.
Here are some of my favorite planners:
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JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.Here’s what a typical month looks like on my calendar:
2. Budget Your Time & Make To-Do Lists
Having everything written down is great, but it doesn’t create specific goals day-to-day. I find that making a to-do list, especially on my busiest days, is very helpful for me to get things done. Allotting myself specific blocks of time to work on homework, blog posts, etc. is really helpful.
3. Saving Money with Cengage Unlimited
Books are one of my least favorite things to spend money on, because most of the time I only use them a handful of times and the prices are outrageous. Cengage Unlimited helps solve this problem! A lot of my homework assignments for my Financial Management and Intermediate Accounting classes were on the platform as well. Last semester was my first time using Cengage Unlimited, and I was blown away by how many resources it had! I am definitely going to be using Cengage Unlimited for the upcoming spring semester, which includes online homework, study guides, videos, online textbooks, and more. My online homework is through the platform MindTap which is included within Cengage Unlimited, along with WebAssign and a library of over 20k online textbooks. It’s $119.99 for a 4 month subscription; it’s so useful and has saved me a lot of money in textbook purchases.
One of my other favorite features of Cengage Unlimited is having resources for some of my classes in one spot. When I’m traveling for work, or heading home on the weekends it makes it so much easier to bring my work with me. Instead of lugging a bunch of textbooks around, I only need my laptop!
4. Make Time for Yourself
Mental health is so important, and making time for things you love is a necessity during college. I always love spending time with my friends and family, watching movies, or treating myself to something fun. Being healthy both mentally and physically is so important in order to well in school and everything else you do- make sure to prioritize making time for yourself!
5. Working Out
Since I’ve been in college, I’ve started working out as often as I can. I find that not only is it great for staying in shape, but I find it alleviates a lot of stress as well. Being able to take an hour to workout some days is such a great break from everything else going on. I generally will workout at the school gym, and sometimes like to go to boxing classes with my friends!
Thanks for reading!
