Since coming here, I’ve been on this go-go-go mentality. And even though the world has continued to give me time to slow down, I’ve been stuck in this headspace. The past two days have felt a little different for me; mainly because I have been taking the time to do absolutely nothing. 

Society has taught me that if we are not productive during every hour of the day, then we are lazy. But how could we not think this way when “hustle culture” is so romanticized? We hear stories of people grinding their whole life, working late nights, how it all pays off for them in the end. We rarely hear a success story that involves a balance between work life and personal life. And while hard work is necessary for success, we don’t always need to break ourselves in half all the time to achieve it. Although I do believe that the hustle is important, I find greater importance, and enjoyment, in achieving a balanced lifestyle instead. 

One of my favorite concepts is the yin-yang. It symbolizes duality and balance in itself. You cannot have one thing without also encountering its predecessor. Everything in this world has an opposite, and while that can be a frightening thought in some ways, I think it’s a beautiful approach to life. With this mindset, while one can have a jam-packed schedule and a full to-do list every hour of every day, one must also be able to slow down and implement the art of doing nothing from time to time. 

I recently noticed that my headspace was getting a little foggy and I was beginning to feel a little burnt out. College is only a little bit stressful and I started to overwork myself, and for absolutely no reason at all. So here are some things that I’ve done recently to help me slow down. 

I started checking myself when I began thinking “I need to do more”. I realized that I don’t need to do EVERYTHING and that what I was doing was more than enough. To help with this, I’m trying to train my mind to stop thinking this way so that I can avoid feeling overwhelmed and burnt out in the future. 

Another tip that I’ve found beneficial for my well-being is creating time in my day that separates school time from my personal time. This looks different for everyone but doing something for yourself in the morning before jumping into the “work” mindset can help. And at the end of the day, do something that signals it’s time to let go of work, such as taking a hot shower, a long walk, etc., so that your brain knows that work is done for the day!

I hope this post has encouraged you to step away from the hustle mentality or at least try to find a balance between being productive and letting yourself relax. Although productivity is important, remember that a healthy mind will always take precedence!