Eyes on the Prize
By Sona Bhargava
For me, being back on campus this year (well, sort of) and simultaneously dance competitions being back in-person equates to too many hours of academics and practice, and seemingly not enough hours in the day. As a DDN (Desi Dance Network) college student, it often feels like captaining a dance team (shout-out UCD Raasleela) is a full-time job. Competition season, as many of you may be familiar with, brings with all the excitement, sweat and chaos to an otherwise routine lifestyle. While I absolutely love dancing with my friends each night, here are some tricks and tips I have learned in order to maximize my time. I hope these will help anyone who is struggling to balance extracurricular and their career goals:
Get your work finished during the day/before practice
It’s important to note that everyone works on a different schedule. While those around you may be able to work well into the night, having a designated late-night practice time daily makes working post-practice uni-deal. During the day, work getting your assignments done into your schedule so that you can get the amount of sleep you need following practice to remain healthy and motivated to work the next day.
Go to your classes in-person
Although this seems counterintuitive, I find that when I attend class on campus instead of from my bedroom, I learn more and therefore have to spend less time studying for exams. With nearly all universities offering hybrid or online classes, to stay on top of your academics it becomes increasingly important to keep a routine and attend class regularly. It helps me to stay present if the classroom is physically in front of me instead of on my computer screen.
Schedule classes strategically (if you can)
When possible, schedule classes for later in the afternoon or at night before practice. This way, you can sleep in every morning to keep a sense of consistency and retain as many hours as you can in a row. While napping after class is also effective, it cannot top the value of sleeping through the night. For an even less stressful schedule, see if you can squeeze classes into a few days in order to give yourself entire days to work on assignments and extracurricular activities.
Work chronologically
At the beginning of each week, I create a to-do list in chronological order with dates so that I do not miss deadlines throughout the week. Whenever I have free time, I start with the assignment that is due next instead of working based on the value of the assignment. This way, it becomes harder to miss due dates because you are always working towards the next one.
Focus on what you are doing in the present
Whether it’s class, dance, a social event, or work, make sure that you focus all of your energy on the task at hand. Although it’s tempting to do work during class, or let your brain wander about what you have left to do while at practice, in order to give each aspect of your life all of your energy, it is important to remain focused. If you are like me and your mind is constantly spinning, it helps to at least attempt to live fully in the moment despite other stressors.
If I’m being honest, all the advice I have given here is me on a good day. Most times, I feel overwhelmed and stressed, and when that happens I have to remind myself why I am dedicated to both pursuing my career path while balancing my passions. Big picture - involve yourself in activities that at the end of the day, you enjoy. Balancing the types of activities you do, and making sure you get time to focus on non-academic activities is also important. Although it can be stressful going to practice during competition and midterm season, when I am there I tend to forget about the chaos going on in the rest of my life and just sweat it out. I am super excited to be competing back in-person this season and continuing to dance in college. If it’s also comp season for you, good luck!