Day in the life of a student and intern

By Sophie

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Have you ever wondered whether it’s possible to study hard and still enjoy nights out? Have you ever wished to have more than 24 hours a day to achieve everything you wanted to? Well, the key is to organize yourself. 

Balance is the key in life whether this is in your personal or professional life. Some students may find school or university workload overwhelming when combining it with other activities. However, if you plan your tasks in advance and organize yourself, everything will seem more doable and less stressful.

It seems like you have to choose between either studying or enjoying life; however, this is not the case.

Planning your days can help you feel more in control and can help you stay on top of tasks. By planning, I don’t mean following a strict hourly schedule – however, if that can be useful to you then go for it! 

Here are some tips on how to plan your day:

• Make a to-do list: you can add any tasks you want on there whether it’s reading chapter 8 of your biology book or going on a run with your friend. You can either make this list in the morning or the day before; this can be done on paper or digitally, for instance, on the Microsoft To Do list application. I would highly recommend this app as it can be connected to your phone and you won’t have to worry about losing a piece of paper.

​Personally, I do this list in the evening and only include important tasks in my to-do list such as meetings, doctor appointments, responding to emails, and making calls.

I was never a to-do list type of girl but I must admit they are useful and I would give them a 9/10.

• Use a planner: Planners usually include a monthly and weekly calendar. Here, you can also write your to-do list, write down birthdays, highlight important dates, and take notes in the ‘notes’ part.

Every year, I would buy a planner but didn’t use it regularly and I would usually lose it after a couple of months; that’s why I would recommend planning digitally instead of using paper.

However, this year, I bought a nice planner and actually use it! I find the monthly planner more convenient as I have an overview of the month. So, since I only use the monthly calendar, I would give a 6.5/10 to planners in general.

• Have a weekly schedule: you can do an hourly schedule, meaning you’ll divide your tasks depending on the hours. This will help you organize your activities and clearly see your availability throughout the week.

I don’t write down my weekly schedule as I don’t have any classes that I absolutely have to attend at a certain time. Even though I do have extra-curricular activities, there are only 2 of them per week and I remember when they are, so I would give weekly schedules a 4/10. However, if I had more classes that I have to attend on Zoom or physically (instead of viewing the recordings of the lectures), then I would find schedules a lot more useful. 

Since primary, I have had extra-curricular activities, such as swimming, theatre, singing, and managed to balance school and fun – but doesn’t any child know how to balance these two?

My mom used to organize everything for me and my only job was to attend the activities, so it wasn’t complicated.

However, as I grew up, I had to learn to become responsible and plan everything by myself. Therefore, to avoid wasting my time, I searched bus schedules beforehand and planned my time wisely between activities.

For instance, I go to the bus stop around five minutes before the bus arrives and between extracurricular activities, I bring some light work (e.g., highlighting notes, reading a paper, memorizing a text, etc.) as I usually won’t be as focused as if I were at home.

These past few years, I’ve also been watching studytubers such as Holly Gabrielle, UnJaded Jade, and Jack Edwards – their channels talk about productivity but also all sorts of other subjects that you might find interesting!

Here’s an example of a typical day of mine:

• 8am: wake up, workout for 30 minutes, shower and have breakfast
• 9:00: start working for the internship
• 1:00-2:00pm: lunch break + see friends
• 2:00-8:00 university work (with 10-minute breaks every 45-50 minutes)
• 8:00: dinner
• 9:00-11:30pm: relaxing (Netflix, facetime a friend, read a book)

“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned” – Benjamin Franklin 
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So, if you ever feel overwhelmed, you should know that you’re not alone. Take a step back to breathe and relax before you feel ready to go back to work. Also, to avoid burnouts, try planning your days in advance, take breaks, see friends and don’t forget to take care of yourself.