It can be difficult to balance out life as a student. Sometimes when you’re behind on one thing, everything else seems to fall through. It might feel that way, but it’s not always the case. Compartmentalizing stress can be a helpful strategy when life feels like a lot.
Understanding Compartmentalization for Stress
Compartmentalization involves mentally separating different areas of life to manage stress more effectively. For most college students, this can look like: personal, work, and academic. With this basic breakdown, there are a lot of factors that can influence how we feel about each of these areas. At times, the stress in these areas can intertwine, causing an overwhelming feeling of “WHAT IS GOING ON?”. The purpose of compartmentalization is to prevent stress from one area in your life from negatively affecting other areas.
Benefits of Compartmentalizing
Improved Focus: Compartmentalizing allows you to focus on the present and to be productive in each area of your life without feeling overwhelmed. This can be done by focusing on one task at a time, for example, studying during designated times.
Mental Health: By isolating each stressor individually, this can help to manage anxiety and stress levels. By preventing negative emotions from one aspect of your life from spilling into another, it can lead to improvement in your mental well-being.
Balance: Compartmentalization allows you to put time aside, and conserve energy across each aspect of your life.
Compartmentalization Techniques
Time Management: Sometimes, looking at schedules can be very overwhelming. It is important to build a routine and set aside time for specific activities throughout the day. Allocating specific time for studying, exercising, socializing and self-care can help reduce stress.
Self-Care: Self-care is very individualized. Take time throughout your day to do a calming activity. This can be watching an episode of your favorite TV show, taking time to journal, or meeting up with friends. Finding an activity that emphasizes self-care can provide positive impact in your academics.
Different Spaces: It’s important to find different spaces for different tasks. For example, the location of where you study can be different from where you relax. Having that separation of location and tasks that are performed can help motivate you to complete that specific task.
Compartmentalizing sounds easier said than done, because it is! This takes time and practice. Changes to your schedule do not have to be big ones right away, they can happen gradually over time. If things become overwhelming, and you need additional support, remember there are campus resources that are available to help you. Take a look at what the Student Health and Wellness Center is offering, check out a student organization, or reach out to your peers!
Michael (he/him)
Peer Health Educator