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Finding Your Balance: How to Make Time for You & Academics

By: Jessica Silverman

In college, achieving balance between academics and your personal life is easier said than done. I can personally attest to this sentiment and have developed some strategies that have helped me transform my work-life balance from precarious to intuitive. Here I have outlined six strategies that have helped me strike a more perfect balance:

Block Out Your Schedule & Maximize Google Calendar

Before entering Cornell, I had never been a Google Calendar user and internalized all of my upcoming deadlines and meetings. This strategy was unreliable for me, and oftentimes, I found myself forgetting something. I would especially suggest Google Calendar to achieve balance because it limits procrastination and allows for a physical reminder that time with friends and schoolwork can be built in (together!). I do not use Google Calendar for only academic purposes and have found that it has helped me become more intentional and conscientious of my time.

Example: I also color-code different types of blocks—for instance, schoolwork (blue), club/work meetings (purple), and time with friends (red). This also helps me assess how my colors, or work and personal life, are balanced throughout my week.

Start Assignments Early / Don’t Procrastinate

This semester I have made it a priority to begin my assignments earlier to reduce school stress. This strategy has helped me so much and as a result, I have been able to achieve more balance. I have also found more time in my schedule from this, which I have blocked in to relax or spend with friends.

Prioritize Your Sleep & Rest

As a college student, it is extremely important to prioritize your sleep to ensure that you are able to perform and function at your best. Your highest priority should be maintaining good health. As an important reminder, it is never selfish to make time for yourself or to practice self-care.

Here are some of my favorite self-care strategies:

Treating myself to a delicious Chai at one of Cornell’s cafes
Going for a long walk with a fun podcast to the Commons
Planning an upcoming trip or event with friends (see our next point about this!)
Looking Forward: Schedule in Fun Events with Friends

Friends are so important because they inspire us to grow into our best selves and surround us with positivity. I would recommend blocking in time to meet with friends to relax and have fun. This strategy also provides you with something to look forward to and get excited about!

Mindset Shifts: Be Gentle with Yourself

As college students, it can feel difficult navigating the turbulence of school, extracurriculars, and personal life commitments. Your body and mind do so much for you and it is important to block out time to slow down. Remember to practice self-care and treat yourself with kindness!

Eat Nutritious, Healthy Foods and Build Movement into Your Schedule

It is important to eat healthy foods and build movement (that works for your body!) into your schedule to perform and function at your best. This strategy can also be an effective way to focus on self-care.

I hope these strategies help you strike your more perfect balance between academics and your personal life during your time at Cornell and beyond!

Spending My First Year Away: First Semester on Campus as a Sophomore

Yonsei University Eagle Statue — Yonsei University, Seoul

My ever-so romanticized second semester of senior year was put on hold by a global pandemic. None of us expected this situation to take away our last high school spring break, our last prom, and ultimately, in-person graduation. And eventually for many of us, even our first year of university. As days turned into weeks into a month of lockdown, we monotonously repeated our final goodbyes to our childhood friends and teachers through a two-dimensional screen.

Applying to the Study Away program at Yonsei University was probably the best decision that I made at the peak of Singapore’s lockdown. The semester-long program in Seoul, Korea gave me a reason to finally set foot in the airport again and even remotely experience a tangible manifestation of a university experience. Looking forward to in-person classes, I packed my two suitcases, I moved into the dorms, I met new people. But outside my hopeful illusion, the pandemic raged on, and my classes remained confined to the four corners of my laptop.

Winter came and left. And like that, my first semester in Korea was over. I found myself on the flight back to Singapore wondering how I had changed. I still felt like the same person. I still felt like a high school senior. The fleeting taste of freedom was soon replaced by bitter reality. Back in the alcove of my childhood home, I was suffocated by the equatorial heat. All days were the same, starting with sunset and ending with sunrise. I spent my second semester throwing away hours as if they were paper airplanes. And with each additional photo or video that I saw of Cornell, I hated myself more for not fighting harder to study on campus.

And now, another semester later, I’m finally here. Initially, it was definitely intimidating to step into an environment where everyone already seemed to know each other so well. Although I was finally with the people I wanted to be with, meeting the people I wanted to meet, I felt a different kind of isolation. I have a lot to catch up on and so much more to learn. But it’s something I’m willing to work through, and I’m grateful that I was privileged and lucky enough to have grown stronger from my unique experiences. For everyone who’s starting their first semester on campus, I’m so glad that we’re finally here. I can’t even begin to imagine all the different ways our times have collided to lead us all to the same place, but I’m sure that it will be worth it. Time seemed to have stopped in my asynchronous and isolated freshmen year, and writing about the continuous thoughts that I had in the back of my mind was truly a cathartic experience.

4 Things I Wish I Knew as a Freshman

Cornell can be overwhelming to navigate, especially when dealing with internal and external pressures to do well and keep up with an extremely busy schedule. Part of adjusting to Cornell’s environment involves figuring out how to manage stress and being surrounded by such high achieving peers. These four things can help you stay calm and remember that everyone’s needs are different and taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do!

Keep reading to learn about the freshman experience!

To My Undergraduate Self: Professor Corinna Loeckenhoff

Picture Caption: Professor Loeckenhoff (second from the right) is pictured with students

We had the honor of sitting down with Professor Corinna Loeckenhoff to talk about her journey from being an undergraduate student at the University of Marburg, Germany to becoming the Director of Graduate Studies in Human Development at Cornell. During her time in college, she had the opportunity to participate in an international exchange program at Penn State University, where her interests in research blossomed. Professor Loeckenhoff later went on to earn her Ph.D. at Stanford University. As the Director of Graduate Studies in Human Development, she often gives life advice to graduate and undergraduate students. Here are some highlights from our conversation:

Keep reading about Professor Corinna Loeckenhoff!

To My Undergraduate Self: Sean Nicholson

We sat down with Professor Sean Nicholson to talk about his journey from being an undergraduate at Dartmouth College to becoming a Professor at Cornell University in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management (PAM). Professor Nicholson received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Dartmouth College in 1986. Upon graduating, he worked at APM, Inc. as a consultant for four years and then as a math teacher at Worcester Academy for two years. He then went back to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997 to obtain a Ph.D. in economics. Professor Nicholson often gives advice to undergraduates about life after college and was very willing to share his life wisdom and career advice with us. Here are some highlights from our conversation:

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