Hi! Nice to meet you ☺ My name is Stacey Speranza and I am a 4th year student at The University of Toronto in the Rotman Commerce Program. I am heavily involved in my school community and am the Host and Co-Founder of The Business Casual Podcast! My podcast is one of my biggest passions and truly takes up all my free time but with a full course load, school clubs along with time for friends, scheduling is my best friend. Every student has so much on their plate so I wanted to share my top 5 tips for balancing everything you have going on…
1. Google Calendar
Ok, you may have heard of these 100 times but I guarantee you are not using your Google Calendar to its full potential! Did you know you could make different calendars for different parts of your life? That means you can easily separate work from school from personal but then easily layer all three to plan accordingly. Using a calendar also helps with time blocking which is one of my favourite ways to plan my day.
2. Prioritize Sleep
Another thing you probably hear over and over again, but I have a small tip that may help you prioritize your sleep as a student. You may or may not know but all iPhones have a sleep feature where you can program your desired sleep and wake-up time as well as how many hours of sleep you hope to achieve every night. Once you have programed your phone, it will automatically turn on each night to remind you to turn off your electronics and get to sleep!
3. Stop Thinking & Start Doing
I won’t lie, I procrastinated writing this article a few too many times but one of the worst things to do when you have a lot going on is to procrastinate! It will only make you more overwhelmed and stressed in the long run. So one of my tips and something I remind myself of many times is to stop thinking and just start doing! You will always feel better getting it done than waiting and stressing.
4. Learn to Say No
There isn’t much to explain here. You should never feel pressured to say yes to make others happy. Be sure to put yourself first. You also don’t need an excuse no, is a full sentence ☺
5. Ask for Help
In addition to learning to say no also make sure you learn to ask for help. Lean on your Professors, TA’s, friends, families and advisors. Sometimes the only way to make things work is by asking those around you for support. There will always be people in your corner cheering you on!
I hope this was helpful for you and that you maybe learned something new if you are interested in listening to my podcast you can find us on IG @business.casual.podcast or if you wanna chat more feel free to follow me @stace.speranza