First of Things

When you add up all the course work and social opportunities, the uni experience can be overwhelming, and one of the worst parts is feeling like you have to sacrifice part of your study time for a party or vice versa. But fear not!  The university experience doesn’t have to be all work or all play  – there are ways to have a successful academic career and still have time for fun. The key to making it through is finding a way to balance your studies and social life, by setting realistic expectations, staying organised and having interim goals. Set the right goals A good goal is one you have to stretch to achieve, but is not so unreasonable that you’d have to drop everything else to get there. Try to get into the habit of setting goals not only for your academic life but other parts of your university experience as well. Break your course work into achievable segments.  Instead of waiting until the last minute to study for an exam or start a big project, set intermediate daily o

Some students seem to have little trouble juggling schoolwork and socializing. In many cases, this is because of who they are. Some of us are better than others when it comes to resisting temptations or saying no to peer pressure. Some students, too, worry more about grades and class performance than others do, and they work hard to make academics a priority. To a great degree, this is an acquired skill. Freshmen aren’t accustomed to a typical college schedule which can mean only one or two classes on some days (or even none on others) and deadlines that may be weeks or months away. While their workloads are often gigantic, their free-time periods seem so too, and it’s easy to procrastinate. It often takes a semester or two (or three) to perfect the fine art of knowing how much work to do and when to do it. The college one attends can make a big difference as well. Some places are renowned for their 24/7 parties, while–at the opposite extreme–are schools where strict rules keep so

"Balance" might be the single concept that guides the success or failure of college students. Many students work and desire to have active social lives during their time in school. The ability to keep a balanced focus and schedule in these three areas usually gives students a better chance to experience success. Sponsored link Global MBA Search Engine Start Your MBA Search Today! Over 900 MBA Options: Full-time, Part-time & Online ceo-mag.com Communicate A central ingredient to balance in school is communication. Many employers, especially in prominent college towns, want student workers. They also likely have experience with scheduling around a student's classes and study needs. Communicate upfront that you're a dedicated student and provide your schedule. Discuss with the hiring manager the amount of hours you can reasonably work in a week. Retailers often need students during evenings and weekends, when traditional students often don't have classes.

Do you look at women who have both their work and social lives under control and find yourself asking, "How does she do it?" You can have that type of control, too; it just takes a little balance and guidance. Amanda Alvaro, managing director at Narrative Public Relations, is known by her friends and acquaintances as being "that girl" -- the one who travels and is a woman-about-town, yet manages to run her own successful public relations company. Here she offers six tips on how to create a good work-life balance, without running yourself down. 1. Get mobile "Work doesn't always have to happen from behind a desk," says Alvaro. "Use mobile technology to allow you to unplug and spend an afternoon working from your favourite cafe, local park or cottage dock," she suggests. By putting yourself in comfortable surroundings, you'll likely be more productive and -- though you're working -- you'll feel like you've fit in some &qu

Chandler Parsons has been generating headlines for his struggles on the basketball court, his social media posts about #Chancun and his relationships with actress Bella Thorne and reality television star Savannah Chrisley. Thursday, before heading out on a trip to the two cities where he played before arriving in Memphis, Parsons sat down and talked to me about all of that and more: Q: David Fizdale just said you had a great practice. How did it go? A:  Yeah, there was an emphasis on getting out on the floor and running, Obviously, part of my problem is my knees are sore and it’s been frustrating not feeling like I’m 100 percent and not having the explosiveness, but I think a lot of it is mental. So today I just tried to block a lot of that out and really sprint, really cut, crash the offensive glass, do all those little things that I used to do. I was very productive today. Obviously, I’m not the fastest guy, I’m not the most athletic guy, but I’m smart and I know angles and I

WASHINGTON — Staying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “Our results indicate that living a socially active life and prioritizing social goals are associated with higher late-life satisfaction and less severe declines toward the end of life,” said study lead author Denis Gerstorf, PhD, of Humboldt University. The research was published in the journal Psychology and Aging. Gerstorf and his colleagues analyzed data from over 2,900 now deceased participants in the nationwide German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) Study (48 percent women, average age at death 74). The German SOEP is a nationally representative annual longitudinal survey of approximately 30,000 adult residents in former West Germany from 1984 to 2013 and former East Germany from 1990 to 2013. Participants in the SOEP provide information annually on