Managing your wellbeing at university

I struggled to manage my workload alongside my mental health, and unfortunately, this led to a vicious cycle. One week behind on reading led to two weeks, and before I knew it I was trying to cram in weeks of reading within a few nights, and rushing my assignment! I felt burnt out, inadequate, and exhausted. In my second year, I learnt how to manage my workload – my grades increased significantly and I felt a HUGE sense of accomplishment!

Here are a few tips and tricks that I have learnt along the way:

• Create a structure – and stick to it! Implementing a structure ensured I had enough time to complete the weekly workload, leading to a more fulfilling semester. There was no rush - lots of time to read, write, edit, and get those grades!  
• Mitigation is there to help you. There is no shame in applying for mitigation. The university has a ‘fit-to-sit’ policy. It is there for a reason, and that extra time might be the difference between grades. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself that extra time if you need it. 
• Reading time. Even 10-20 minutes – it is useful! Reading 2-3 pages at a time ensures some progress is being made. If you feel like you can’t take strides that day – baby steps are perfectly fine. Whenever I’m not feeling great, but I have reading to do, I try to find an audiobook version (YouTube is great for this!) and follow along/take notes. 
• YouTube can be a great tool to use. If I encounter a theory or a book that I just don’t grasp straight away, I jump on YouTube and there are many academics out there with channels dedicated to course specific literature. Sometimes, I just need something explained in a simple, visual way and YouTube is a great tool for exactly that. 
• Take a break! It is all well and good creating a study structure, however, breaks are a very important part of studying. I got some great advice, to only do work on days in which I did not have a seminar or lecture. This does not work for everyone, but it is a good starting point. Yes, getting your work done is important, but your wellbeing should be your priority. A healthy mind will make university a nicer experience; make sure you nurture yourself. Take that time to enjoy hobbies and social events, your wellbeing will thank you! 
• Most importantly - give yourself the recognition you deserve! University can be hard, give yourself that praise and be proud of your accomplishments. Make good memories and take pride in your hard work!