Obviously there isn’t a scale for how busy your day can be, but there may be signs. Signs like exhaustion, fatigue due to lack of nutritional food, mental burn out – and obviously so much more. It’s easier to push through the discomfort to meet all the expectations you’re given as a college student and new adult but balance between your well being and external efforts are important. I had previously interviewed athletes on their relationship with balance and learned a lot. To continue this important topic I’ve gathered students from the nursing field and explored their world and how they balance their responsibilities.
Taylor Baxley (Tay),20 years old nursing and psychology student at gulf coast state college. Tay’s day consists of work, school, and rest : from 9am – 1pm she goes to school, then from 3pm – 11pm she goes to work, after all this she plays games or catches up on homework from 12am -3am. Throughout the day she makes sure she checks up on her friends and family as well. When asked what she does to assure this balance she says “ I balance everything by ensuring I take time for myself, this is very important for individuality.” She goes on to explain the effects of past experience has brought her to this point of life, where she strives to live life to the fullest and achieve as much as she can all while nurturing herself. “It has taken me eight years, and i am absolutely far from where i want to be-” “ the lack of balance allows everything to come crashing down, for example if i fail a test and don’t show up to class later on that day it leads to me lacking motivation to go to work.” “I think about how failure has made me feel in the past, and seek ways to not feel that again. The fear of not being able to live my life to its fullest potential kept me motivated.” She advises people in this field to seek improvement in past failures and live life to the fullest. Though it’s not a perfect balance she’s made it her routine to prioritize her growth as an individual and to show up as her best self.
“My name is Carson Brogdon, I’m 21, I’m in my second semester in the RN nursing program at gulf coast state college. As an individual, maybe uh emo.” Carson often laughed in between answering questions which gave a sense of freeness, and the answers reflected just that. Carson’s definition of balance came from the ability to plan his day with the intention to put his well being first, advance academically, and care for his health. “I try to manage my responsibilities by setting time aside and acknowledging due dates in my head so I can plan what to do day by day so I’m not behind while taking in account work and the gym.” he leads us through his day starting at 9am. He leaves for class an extra 20 minutes before to ensure he’s not late for his 10am lecture. Around 12pm they receive an hour lunch, he takes time to reflect on the teachings to grasp his understanding or lack thereof. Once his academic responsibilities are met he uses his free time playing games and catching up with friends. By 7pm he eats dinner, 8pm he hits the gym, then by 9pm he does his nightly duties with a show to keep his company and repeats the cycle. “I’d say it was hard to get to this level of balance especially at the beginning of the program because it was definitely different from my pre requisite classes so I had to change my studying style. I’m definitely not where I want to be but I think establishing study groups is putting me in the right direction.” His ability to balance all of his tasks comes from his planning out his whole day and “having consistent times where I do things such as going to the gym at 9 every night. I feel as if it helped me get into the routine to do certain things at the same time.” Through time Carson has made a routine, a balance just for him. He’s found the importance in it and continues to stick to it for his personal wellbeing.
Dr. Martha Ruder , gulf coast associates degree nursing program coordinator sat down with me to give me her personal relations with balance. In her experience as a nursing student she’s managed it all with time management, “as a student time management is crucial, in order to succeed in this program you need to be able to manage your time.” she explained the business in her schedule back then, from 8am -4pm she had class, then she had to do homework – the day before she had to go to the clinic and pick a patient assignment (look up patient diagnoses, create a care plan, and submit it through demonstration the next day). The next day was a day of evaluation and demonstration, she had to do this for four years. “Be very calendar oriented, plan out assignments, tackle hard things first and do ‘the nice to get done’ things later .”, in one of her classes she teaches time management. She explains that time management is all about balance and flexibility, finding convenient ways to get things done – like meal prep, food delivery, shopping in one store, ordering gifts all online, scheduling tasks around family and friends as well as responsibilities. Finding a balance does not mean you have to ‘miss out’. “Finally discovered in my last semester of nursing school, it took me four years to get an ‘A’, I finally figured out how to do it – I started integrating 30 minutes of exercises , made sure I ate dinner, and closed my books by 11pm. If i didn’t know it by 11pm i wasn’t going to know it at all. I would be too tired to think the next day.”, “and sleep, sleep is a very important factor in your balance, you don’t get enough sleep you’re going to decrease your ability to focus.” she went on to express the stress it puts on your body, the lack of sleep or excess stress causing increase in cholesterol and blood sugar which results in a foggy mind. Aside from a foggy mind, a tired body and burned out mentality come along with it. “You have to have perseverance , it’s not to overdo it but to have a balance, find what works and manage your time well.”
