When I was in high school, I thought balancing between my schoolwork and my social life was difficult, but oh how I was wrong. When I moved into college, everything changed.

I never had to ask permission to do anything, like go to the pool or go hang out at my friend’s dorm. Procrastinating homework had never been so easy with so many distractions around me. That was until I started falling behind. It felt like my to-do list on Canvas went on forever and I soon found out that I was supposed to be studying a lot more than I was after I bombed my first math test. No wonder I had so much free time.

After that score came into Canvas and my overall grade dropped a few percentages, I knew that I had to make some changes. I needed to gain control of my life and learn how to say no to people, including my friends asking me to go to the pool with them when I knew I had homework due that night at 11:59 p.m. It had become the ultimate balancing act.

“I balance my social life with my academic life by going to the library whenever I’m not in class or clubs to study,” FGCU freshman Zorie Dworzanowski said. “I also prioritize school over social obligations so when I know I have a big project or test in a class, I don’t go to my meetings that day.”

After I had gotten the hang of focusing more on my schoolwork and prioritizing my education, I began to let myself do things I enjoyed again like watching Netflix and hanging out with my friends. I had to let myself be immersed in school before I could let myself become social again and do things that made me happy. I could compare this method I used to operant conditioning. When I worked harder, I rewarded myself. It is extremely important to have a balance in this aspect.

“I prioritize my education always making sure to complete assignments, take time to study, and do my best work before I allow myself to go have fun,” FGCU freshman Paige Beauchamp said. “I do think it is important to have a balanced social life, so I do make sure to include that. Whether it’s doing schoolwork with other people or taking the time to be with friends and do fun extracurricular things.”

School can be overwhelming a good amount of the time so it is important for students to get alone time to decompress and let the thoughts of school drift out of their minds.

“I balance school life and social life by making sure I have time to relax and get to be myself,” FGCU junior Sebastian Mercado said. “That way, I can be more interactive and productive; I make sure to split it up evenly that day.”

After getting into the swing of things, it becomes fairly easy to go through routines and prioritize school before your social life. It took a while for me to learn that saying no to friends and fun plans is okay, my education comes first in the grand scheme of college.