College often seems like a nebulous point between adolescence and adulthood, with the question of what a work-life balance means becoming more prominent as you progress in college. You may feel pressured – both internally and externally – to build your résumé by maximizing your involvement on campus while juggling a job and college coursework. After all, results are proportional to effort, right? Not exactly. 

Before you rush into any commitments, know this: Your health comes first, and effort means nothing if you do not know your day-to-day needs. 

Maintaining your health while fulfilling your work commitments may seem simple, but your personal health encompasses physical, mental, and spiritual health. In order to satisfy each dimension of your personal health, you should carve out your daily schedule into time blocks; planning helps to build habits.  

As work increasingly shifts from a valuation of physical endurance to mental endurance, it is imperative to sharpen your mind just as much as you would train your body. The primary way to build mental endurance is to participate in hobbies and, while performing that hobby or after you finish with the hobby for the day, consciously reflect on the process.  

For instance, if you are going to sleep, take five minutes to jot down your thoughts about what happened that day. Or, if you are going for a jog, take in the environment around you and note how this makes you feel. This is known as cultivating mindfulness, which will help you ground yourself in the present amidst incessant worries over the future. 

In the process of building habits, it is essential that you avoid shaming yourself for the occasional stumble. Shame induces fear of failure, which is an inherent possibility in the countless experiments of life. Do not live your life as you would complete an assignment with strict criteria for a pass or fail. When it comes to your health, you can only find your own right and wrong by trying different methods of self-care.  

If you find yourself feeling inadequate for the amount of work you’re currently doing, remind yourself that productivity is not the entirety of life, and that a healthy mind and body empowers you to live life to the fullest, including fulfilling your commitments. So unashamedly take breaks in your day if you feel the need, whether it be to refresh your mind or warm up your body – your health comes first, above all other considerations.