#college, how can I better balance school and personal life?

You will need to focus on stress and time management. In order to manage stress you have to manage your time wisely. <span style="background-color: transparent;">You have to set a routine for yourself and stick to it for the most part. Once you get into the groove of a routine it will be much easier for you to manage your time and have enough time for everything you need to do (including relaxing). Make yourself to-do lists on a weekly basis, use Google calendar or a planner to keep track of events, deadlines, and due dates. In addition to setting a routine and sticking to it, plan out relaxing activities into your day. Or set aside a time, after everything is done for the day, that you can have "me" time. I have also personally found it essential to not only find time for myself but also make use of that time in a way that is best for me and my holistic wellness. I have found the HeadSpace app to be an essential tool in helping me relax and generally feel more relaxed throughout the day, Guided meditation, even if you have a busy schedule, will make you feel more at ease and relaxed throughout the day as a whole (not just when you have the time to relax and focus on that "me" time).</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent;">Set a routine.Use Google Calendar.Set aside Me TimeWrite weekly to-do lists and use a planner.Find a peaceful and restful activity that will help you feel relaxed.</span>

This is a question more students should be asking! I've found that many students who feel they don't have time for anything except studying and school work are not using their time effectively. These students usually can be separated into three types of workers:

• Student #1 studies more rigorously than necessary to earn a satisfactory grade. They overwork themselves out of fear of failure.
• Student #2 studies ineffectively. They are using learning techniques that don't work.
• Student #3 thinks they are studying for massive amounts of time, but in fact, they are unfocused on the job at hand. They space out or get sidetracked often while studying, so it takes them longer to cover the information.

Based on your self-identification as a perfectionist, it sounds like you are Student #1. If that's the case, try taking a look at this video from AsapSCIENCE on science-backed studying techniques to help you choose what type of studying works best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=186&v=p60rN9JEapg

If you're more like Student #2, the same YouTube video can help you! If you are using techniques that are not effective, STOP USING THEM. Set yourself up for success and only do what works.

Finally, if you're like Student #3, the video above can help you out, but you also need to work on your focus. Here is a great article from crowdspring on 5 scientific ways to help you improve focus: https://www.crowdspring.com/blog/scientifically-proven-ways-improve-focus-concentration/

***In the end, some of the best advice I can offer is to CHUNK YOUR WORK to avoid burn-out and to help make maintaining focus possible. Work in 20-30 minute spans. Plan a bite-sized chunk of material to cover in that time period. At the end of your time limit, quiz yourself to see if there's anything you still need to work on for next time. Then TAKE A BREAK and when you're ready, move on to the next chunk. Want a better understanding of what chunking is and how it can work for you? Check out this great video from Sprouts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hydCdGLAh00

Good luck!