Life can be challenging when you are in college, taking classes, working a job, socializing with friends, and still trying to sleep a good amount each night. We all want to be successful in each part of our lives but it can be difficult because we can’t ace on each one equally. Society divides out the three pieces to our life that everyone wants to be good at, having a social life, doing well in classes/work, and still being able to sleep a good 6-8 hours. The myth is that we can only have two of the three pieces respectably or attain all three mediocrely. However, I have learned how to measure my time out so I hit all three aspects of my life decently.

Want to know the secret? It’s about balance.

Throughout my college years I learned from my mentors and others who have been through college and now are running their own businesses on how they balance their work and social lives. It can be hard especially if you are in college because all you may want to do is sleep and go hangout with friends, but we all know that classes and work is just as equally important. In my book that I just recently published, I dedicate an entire chapter to this topic and how each area of your life can be fulfilled based on how you balance your time and priorities.

The number one thing college students and people have difficulty with when it comes to balancing their life is when to say yes and no to decisions. I don’t know how many times my friends have asked me to go out during the week or weekends, but every time I weighed out my priorities first and then told them an answer. When I was in high school and even a freshman in college, I would think that my main priority was hanging out with my friends. Maybe to a certain extent it was, but choosing to hangout with them everyday over school work and sleep is never a good idea. Now, I choose designated times in the week where I tell my friends that I would hang out with them. That way I am getting my work done, but still making time to socialize.

I know people who work well over 40 hours a week including classes and work they do on the side. Sometimes that’s fine because I do the same thing but other times that can be hazardous to your health if you are not getting the proper amount of sleep. Sleep is what keeps you energized and gets you through the day, which is why I now have a set time where I get my work done, go to sleep, and then wake up at a designated time. No matter what else may be going on I make sleep a priority, otherwise it can easily get away from me.

Everything that we need in our life such as, socializing, sleep, and work, can be mastered in one’s life through balance. However, before we can even achieve all three of these we must have discipline. Everything that I talked about and put into my life while being in college was because I disciplined myself to stick to my guns when making choice of when to see my friends, how much work I wanted to get done, and when to sleep. In the beginning it can be difficult to set these boundaries even for yourself, but once you do it will be so worth it because you will live a well balanced life.

Sabah Ali

#theclockisticking