So, you are reading this blog likely because you have multidimensional interests and want to know how you can continue them while balancing them with engineering. Or, perhaps you are interested in what the social life is like in engineering – study all the time or work hard and play hard? Both of these hint at the same fundamental question: How do you balance your needs and goals for college as well as make time for your hobbies?
It’s definitely possible! I thought it was all about balance, but it took me two or three years to realize that it was not. I learned that for myself to be successful, it was all about prioritization: the opposite of balance. Let me explain.
Yes, you need to have balance on a superficial level with an organized google calendar to function at your full potential, scheduling time for social interaction every day, time to exercise and eat, time to recharge (TV show/meditation/book), and time to sleep.
But there is a lot more than that. I love electrical engineering but it is not my whole personality! Dance is my passion. Yoga grounds me. Teaching and mentoring fills my cup. And, I have a whole host of other commitments ranging from research positions in two labs to being a resident assistant to writing this blog. I have voluntarily taken all of these on because I am at a school where these experiences are accessible to me, and I find them rewarding in some way — personally, professionally, academically, or socially.
I’ve found that for me to make headway in each of these a) commitments and b) areas of my life, trying to balance them all on a daily or weekly basis drives me crazy. Simply, there are only 24 hours in a day (I make sure only 16 of them are productive non-sleeping hours). So, my solution is to prioritize one or two things at a time in the short term to not be overwhelmed and long term to feel like I am fulfilling my purpose. (That got deep really quick!)
Anyway, let me illustrate.
- Monday: my exam until Tuesday
- Tuesday: progress for my research meeting on Wednesday
- Wednesday: homework due Thursday
- Thursday: my research meeting on Friday
Instead of trying to do a little bit of everything on each day, I work purposefully for and up to the closest deadline. Seems pretty standard right? Perhaps similar to what you have found works for you.
Here is the longer term part. I see my life as a bunch of balls rolling down a hill — dance, music, yoga, class, research, TA-ing, friendships, networking, planning for the future. Those are the main ones but the list goes on. College is the time to explore and do a million things! Metaphorically, I cannot push all these balls up at once. At any one point, I think about one or two of these and push them up the hill. Naturally the others roll down slightly. Then, I reprioritize and push another two up making sure that at any point no one thing is so far down that the cost of pushing it back up is unaffordable.
For example, in September I had a 90 minute solo dance program for which I was learning a super exciting new piece. Naturally, I prioritized dancing for two hours every day and doing yoga to strengthen my practice.
My classes took a backseat, and when midterms came around I had to compromise on sleep to catch up. On the other hand, there have been semesters where class and research have been priorities. I knew that I wanted to spend 20 hours on each electromagnetics labs to gain the most from the class and publish a first author paper, so I don’t think I danced much at all that semester.
There are months where it is recruiting season and I needed to figure out what to do in the near future – which means I deprioritize something else. And there are birthdays and beach days where spending time with my friends is non-negotiable. I will drop everything (whatever the cost is) to be there. Learning to embrace and intentionally make this tradeoff has been very rewarding!
I believe prioritization is the key to success in college (and beyond) – however you may define success. And, I am still learning as I prioritize every day!
