Maintaining balance...

[studentnurse2012]

hi

i need some advice on how to maintain balance in my life whilst at school. Last semester i did school work pretty much non-stop (yes i am a perfectionist) and took maybe 2 days off the whole semester. Other than those days...i was studying, in classes/labs or doing homework from about 7am- 9-10pm each night. My parents are worried about me and dont want to see me like that again so they have suggested i aim to work on a 6 day week and take 1 day off per week....doing something to take my mind off school each week.

I know i need to find a balance, but i get so panicked and anxious about getting everything in on time, studying enough for tests, prepping for classes etc that i dont feel like i have the time to not be doing school work all the time! Just the thought of having some time off makes me start to hyperventilate and i feel like if i do i will fail!

how do you guys do it?? are you able to take a day/night off most weeks?

Rhanks for the tips!

[sh1901]

Right now, I actually work full-time and go to school, so everything in my life is very regimented and scheduled. That being said, I schedule some fun-time or down-time into my week. I think that it is completely necessary to keep my sanity. Do you tend to study things more than once? Is there anything that you feel that you have a really strong grasp of that you can maybe back-off on to allow yourself some time to just "unplug"? I would suggest looking at the classes that you are taking and make an honest assessment of them. Do you really need to devote as much time to each class as you are? Or is it just the perfectionist in you? Be honest with yourself and see where you can trim down a bit.

Good luck with everything....remember, you still need to make time for you!!

[gillytook]

sh1901 is right. Use NCLEX and textbook reviews to test your knowledge. Then study what you are still not grasping. Going over and over only wastes your time, increases your anxiety and causes you to over think the test questions. I have a few students like you in my classes. They don't always get good scores because they are so nervous come test time and they read way too much into the questions. Rarely if ever do I see them going into a test feeling that they have grasped the material. If you read test taking strategies, they will tell you not to even study the night before a test. Instead, do something for yourself unrelated to school.