Image Credit: Harriet Vicary

All too often, I feel myself obsessively following the lives of rich, corporate girlies on social media, wishing that I, too, could achieve their levels of success. It should really come as no surprise that the media has a lot to answer for regarding the societal pressure to constantly be on the work grind. I know I am not the only one who feels guilty for taking a breather when it all becomes a bit overwhelming.

However, at 18, I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a rare facial paralysis condition caused by stress. This seriously puts into perspective the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. So here is a compilation of the habits I stuck to throughout my academic career (and beyond) to prevent burn-out, regulate stress and nourish the relationship I had with myself outside of academic validation.

Get Your Priorities Straight

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve found it easier to say “no” to plans with friends than to say “no” to extra workload in the past. In my experience, learning to balance work and friendships has been one of the hardest, especially now that I’ve finished university and my friends aren’t easily accessible anymore. I’m also guilty of being a rubbish texter which makes long-distance friendships even worse.

The best thing I did was set boundaries for my workload. This didn’t necessarily mean saying “no” to the extra reading, extra paperwork or an extra shift but rather working smarter. As difficult as it is to end the ‘doom scroll’, turning off my phone when I’m completing my essential work gets it done so much faster. My concentration is better and the temptation for a cheeky 5-minute scroll tends to go away when my phone is out of sight.

It also helps to have plans to look forward to, whether that be alone or with friends, as motivation to complete your work. A big life lesson I learnt at university was not to turn these catch ups down, especially as a punishment for not completing your to-do list. If my motivation or productivity wasn’t where I needed it to be, I took it as a warning to slow down, reset and come back to the desk later. The worst thing I could do was sit and stare at a screen when I wasn’t achieving anything.

Nourish Your Network

So I’ve stepped away from my desk- now what? One thing I learnt in my first year of university was to say yes to everything that opens a host of opportunities and activities for your down time. Now let’s be real, life isn’t exactly like the low-stakes associated with fresher’s week, and saying yes to everything is a bit extreme when balancing a job or a heavy workload. But avoid your down-time becoming mundane, otherwise you’ll be inclined to stay at your desk.

Just last week, I dragged one of my girls to an aqua class at the gym and we had such a laugh. A 45-minute session and a quick coffee later, I felt totally reset after doing something completely different to my norm of grabbing a snack and binging a few episodes of Friends. A tip for university students is to get involved in a society that you really enjoy (mine was equestrian) as they usually practice weekly to get you away from your desk. It’s also a great way to expand your network, giving you more people to have coffee dates with!

The thing I realised is that effort works both ways and good friendships will reciprocate what you put into them. And when I did arrange catch-ups or took the time to call them, it put into perspective the amount of weight I had been giving to my work. I really appreciate the odd low-maintenance friendship but having friends on your doorstep to keep you from becoming a hermit at your desk is something you’ll thank yourself for.

Make Peace with Yourself

So what happens when no one is free to catch up? Do you give in and go back to your desk, ready for another staring contest with the screen? This is where learning to be okay in your own company is a lifesaver. Recognising that you need to take a break, even if no one is asking you to, is key to preventing burn-out. And there’s loads you can do – cooking or baking, go on a “hot girl” walk, romanticise cleaning your room, take yourself on a coffee date, read a book, go to the gym, go shopping- the list goes on! And notice how none of those include social media which I found made me feel guilty for taking a break when I saw everyone else working overtime.

One of my favourite ways to self-soothe is meditating, which is such an underrated method of regaining perspective during stressful periods. I genuinely believe that (aside from 25 pills a day, yikes!), meditation prevented my facial paralysis from becoming permanent or reoccurring. The beauty of it is that you can turn to it literally anywhere and anytime.

In short, meditation is about focusing on breath work, making it super easy to turn to moments before meltdown. Techniques such as box breathing (inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds and exhaling for 4 seconds) or noting (labelling thoughts as ‘thinking’ or ‘feeling’) are methods that can provide immediate relief in overwhelming situations. Practicing meditation on a regular basis, like incorporating five minutes of mindful breathing into my morning routine, gave me better mental clarity, helped me prioritise tasks and highlighted the importance of listening to my body. From my experience, it can be quite intimidating at first, so I recommend using apps like Headspace (my personal favourite), Calm and Insight Timer to give you a bit of guidance.

So there you have it, a few easy habits that I’ve stuck to throughout my time in the academic system and now in the working world that support a healthy work-life balance. I find that even just one of these habits helps keep the unhealthy stress at bay and in turn, allows me to become more productive whilst finding time for myself.