As we settle into exam time for most of my readers, now is a great time to think about opportunity costs.  Every time you make a choice, the thing you choose costs you something, and the thing you didn’t choose costs you something.  For example, if your friends want you to go blow off steam, but you decide you need to stay home and work on a paper, then the cost of staying home is that you won’t get to have fun with your friends.  The cost if you chose to go out would be the lost time working on the paper.  Every single choice you make comes with this kind of a trade-off, or opportunity cost.

Here are some of the opportunity costs you may be facing during this stressful time of the semester:

• Studying versus socializing
• Sleep versus study time
• Studying versus working
• Studying versus extracurricular activities
• Healthy meals versus easier take-out food

As you stare down the barrel of these choices, prioritization is the key to making sure you are making the right decision.  What is the right choice for your physical health?  For your mental health?  For your financial health?  For your academic health?  And which of these is the highest priority for you?  Everything must take at least some sacrifice in order to find the right balance for your needs.  Nobody can give everything 100%.  You only have a total of 100% to give, and that has to include self-care.

It’s a truly difficult time of year for students.  You won’t be able to do everything you would like.  But with skillful prioritization, you’ll be able to make everything work.