Balancing work or study commitments with the rest of life can be a challenge. It’s important to remember that the balance does not always have to be equal. It can and will change throughout the year, particularly if you are in academia – this is normal! What’s important is how you manage this balance.
A good place to start is thinking about what is important to you, and what is urgent. This can include thinking about what you value in life, what you want to do well in, or what you want to achieve.
It’s important to recognise that you are responsible for managing your own work-life balance.
The Time Management Matrix by Covey (The Covey Time Management Matrix Explained) helps to breakdown and identify what is urgent, and what is important. It’s a useful tool to help approach your tasks or to do list in a more productive way.
Try to separate out what is urgent (i.e. needs to be prioritised and done now) from what is important, but not urgent (routine, exercise, time with friends or loved ones).
You can and should still spend time on the non-urgent/important things but prioritise the urgent activities first.
Tips for getting the balance right:
Planning really helps when it comes to managing work-life balance. To be effective, your plan should include time for work, chores, relaxing, eating, exercise, socialising, sleep and so on. You might find it helpful to plan your week in advance to help you get the balance right. You can download weekly planners in a variety of formats here Weekly calendar 2024 UK – free printable templates for PDF (calendarpedia.co.uk) If you need some help with managing study time, our recent Wellbeing blog on How to catch up if you need to and maintaining motivation has links to some resources which you might find helpful.
If you recognise that exercise is an element missing from your life, why not try one of the University Sports Centre Give it a Go activities for Cambridge students! These activities are free, beginner friendly and take place every week during term. All sessions have a leader, and all equipment is provided.
If opportunities for socialising are missing, why not check out the Find a Society list on the Cambridge Students’ Union website. Or, you could see if one of our own Trinity Hall Societies piques your interest.
Finally, if sleep is something that you have difficulties with the NHS has information on How to fall asleep faster and sleep better.
