[Oswald]

I'm having a hard time balancing the square-with-diagonals of: school, sleep, exercise, and friends.

Do you have a balanced schedule?
Do you have a plan for what to do to maximize efficiency? What happens when that plan goes wrong?
Can you give pointers on a balanced schedule/ rescue me from this asphyxiating nightmare that is my life?

I'm not talking about a healthy colon and regular poops. I would very much appreciate examples or pointers.

 

[Black_Sphinx]

Start by sorting your tasks by priority. School is obligatory, and sleep is required for your health, so emphasize on these two points. If you need 8 hours of sleep to feel good and you need to wake up at 7am, plan accoridngly.
I am unable to know whether you like excercise or friends more, but I advise you to learn how to say "no" to an invitation of your friends. It is probably harder than it sounds, and even I am struggling with it, but it should be beneificial to you. And it will make more room for other activities.
In case that you have various tasks to attend to, group them and plan them in with other tasks which are located closely to minimize the amount of time needed.

 

[Praying Mantis]

Are we supposed to type our schedule?
Alright.


I think my schedule's pretty balanced. I would prefer if I didn't take so long with chilling in my house, but it feels so good (And I try to lessen what I have to do in school).

Again, it isn't in the maximum efficiency, but it does well enough. If my plan goes wrong I'm going to skip the violin, and probably sleep a lot later (It's happened). However, school can't be manipulated at all and most of who I know are at my school (So, two birds in one stone.)

Weekdays:
5:25am - Wake up
6:00am - Go to school.
7:15am - Arrive in school
7:20am - Cram-- I mean rest.
7:50am - School
2:50pm - School end
3:00pm - Train
5:00pm - Train end
6:00pm - Arrive home
6:10pm - Fix/prepare stuff for next day/rest
8:00pm - School stuff
(Whatever time's left) - Violin
11:15 - Sleep

Weekends are really flexible for me so no schedule needed there just as long as I get things done.


And, as @Black_Sphinx said, it's all about prioritizing. I don't know about you but an hour of exercise is all right for non-athletes. Also, trial-and-error you'd need a lot of that too. And, I restrict my gimmicks to Saturdays (and a few Fridays), so my weekdays are focused on what's important.

 

[niss]

I'm having a hard time balancing the square-with-diagonals of: school, sleep, exercise, and friends.

Do you have a balanced schedule?
Do you have a plan for what to do to maximize efficiency? What happens when that plan goes wrong?
Can you give pointers on a balanced schedule/ rescue me from this asphyxiating nightmare that is my life?

I'm not talking about a healthy colon and regular poops. I would very much appreciate examples or pointers.

Stephen Covey helped me a lot in getting control of this problem:

Are You Working on the Wrong Things? | FranklinCovey GO Community

 

[outofplace]

I'm a very routined person. If someone or something throws a monkey wrench into it, I tend to be pretty testy and there goes the rest of my predictable day.

If you're an organized person (like most ISTJs), then like Black_Sphinx mentioned, just prioritized the most important thing on the list and work your way down. If you have to, write it down and hang it on your fridge or put it in your cellphone with little reminder alarms or whatever it takes to keep you stuck in a routine.

Personally, I can't function unless I have a planned out day. But then again, that's just me.

 

[MonieJ]

I would like to think it's as balanced as I want it to be,of course my insomnia can get in the way of good night's rest at times but *shrugs* I think it's pretty good.

 

[Out0fAmmo]

I have no interest in living my life "efficiently", I'm not a damn robot. As far as my schedule goes, there's only work and everything else.

 

[Praying Mantis]

Stephen Covey helped me a lot in getting control of this problem:

Are You Working on the Wrong Things? | FranklinCovey GO Community

Have you read his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"?
Now that you mention him and I it I think I'll go reread something.

 

[niss]

Have you read his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"?
Now that you mention him and I it I think I'll go reread something.

Yes. And his much better book, "Principle Centered Leadership."

 

[Praying Mantis]

Yes. And his much better book, "Principle Centered Leadership."

Well, I know what next to do when I find myself in a bookstore.

 

[Vic]

Do you have a balanced schedule?

Sure.

Do you have a plan for what to do to maximize efficiency?

Not usually. I don't concern myself with efficiency. It just happens during the course of things.

What happens when that plan goes wrong?

Restabilize. Remove toxic factors.

Can you give pointers on a balanced schedule/ rescue me from this asphyxiating nightmare that is my life?

school: Temporary, but important. This is a high priority item. Give it its due.
sleep: 6-8 hours at night. Simple.
exercise: 30-45 minutes in the morning or evening'll do ya.
friends: If they are good friends, important friends, they understand. If they lose interest in you for attending to higher priority items, you'll find others.

 

[MBTI Enthusiast]

Everyone needs to find their own balance. When time is an issue, just re-weigh the importance of each item in the schedule and cut down. I have no qualms about minimizing my obligations so that I am not overwhelmed.

 

[illow]

Prioritize. Prioritize. Prioritize. It really needs no elaboration.

Momentum is gained through prioritization, then obstacles seem smaller, for me.

 

[SirBlunder]

hell no

 

[sriracha]

As a college student, there are some days and times that are set in stone and cannot be changed. These things for me include class days and times, sleep, regular exercise routine, transportation time, etc. Other things such as work may vary greatly. I prefer a consistent and predictable schedule. Last minute changes drive me nuts! I use a planner/agenda to write everything down. This helps me out a lot! If your schedule is changing all the time, you should use something similar to this:

Except it needs all 24 hours. Write your priorities down first. Empty boxes are the times you could use to do something else. As an introvert, I prefer to have nothing planned but homework to do during those times. I may also use that time to wind down, catch up, cook and eat something, care for emergency/unexpected events (car broke down, friend in hospital, etc.). For homework, if I'm going to do it, I should finish the assignment then and there. If not, I may not finish it later because of no time or I'm too lazy!

In what area exactly, are you struggling with?