I believe priorities matter. Having them, at any age is such an important, helpful way to stay focused, to not become overwhelmed with all the things and to hone in on what actually matters. What matters to you is all that matters.
It is okay if your friends or your parents or your professors have different priorities. It’s even okay if they have different thoughts about what your priorities should be. Knowing what your priorities are will keep you focused on your most important things. It will also allow you to not be completely swayed by those around you. Because that is hard in college no matter what!
But How Do You Choose Your Priorities?
My first piece of advice is to take some time to think about what actually matters to you. Take a walk or have some silence in your room. Journal at a coffee shop or library. Clearing out space in your schedule, will allow you to create the space in your mind to think about what is actually most important to you.
I like to think about priorities in terms of big picture categories. When we get too specific, it can end up restricting us when we are actually trying to live these things out. In this case (as in most) the simpler, the better.
As you are thinking of big picture categories here are some that may come to mind:
- Academics
- Relationships
- Finding or building community
- Athletics
- Job/Internship Experiences
- Having Fun/Enjoying Campus (!)
- Your faith or spiritual journey
- Leadership Experiences on Campus
- Taking care of your mental health
- A bigger goal (ie: training for a marathon)
- Finding Balance
- Figuring out your major
- Figuring out post-college plans
- Your physical health
- Your Bucket List
There are many more categories that could fit in here, but you get the idea. If you are a freshman, you are probably wanting to focus on finding friends (community!) and making sure you figure out how to do well academically. This may be very different from your senior year goals of figuring out your post-college plans and checking items off your bucket list. If you are an athlete or have a demanding major, that may be on your radar each of your semesters. Your priorities will change over time and that is a very good thing. The most important piece is to think through them and plan your schedule around those — they can always be adjusted as needed!
Knowing what your priorities are will keep you focused on your most important things. It will also allow you to not be completely swayed by those around you.
How Many Priorities Should You Have?
I would recommend having no more than 3 priorities each semester. Since these are bigger categories, a lot can fit under them and having too many will cloud their importance in your schedule. For example, if community is one of your priorities, getting involved in some student orgs, hanging out with your friends in your dorm and staying in touch with your family can all fit under this! Stick to three and you can always change them if needed!
Edit Your Schedule
Once you determine your priorities look over your commitments and your schedule. What fits under these categories? What clearly doesn’t fit at all? Can you remove these things from your “to-dos” for the semester if they are completely outliers at this point? It is hard to say no to things, especially if you have already said “yes” to them. We sometimes feel guilty for un-committing to something, but your mental health and your own capacity are so much more important than keeping a commitment you’ve made. Chances are, the world will keep turning — even if you say no! Read this and this for more on un-committing.
Ideally, eventually you will be building your schedule from the start based around your priorities, but sometimes we already have commitments or items in our schedule we feel we “need” to do. You have permission to opt out of these — for a semester or forever!
Always Items + Simplicity
Once your schedule is edited as much as possible, add in what I like to call your “Always Items”. These are those things you always do to keep yourself healthy — like working out, prepping healthy meals, going to therapy or creating space for rest. These are your non-negotiables that will most likely always be important to you, not matter your semester or what year you are.
Sometimes these items become priorities — your physical health may be a priority when you are training for a marathon for example, but may just be an “Always Item” all other semesters.
From there, create space in your schedule for simplicity. This can look like lots of things (here are some ideas) but mostly it is space created for the slow and simple. Walks, coffee dates with friends, naps and space for things you love. These are the things that will give you life, especially in the middle of the semester when you are beyond exhausted with everything else going on.
If you don’t take the time to schedule these things in, they are usually the first to go from your calendar. And this is when you need them the most!
Once you have determined your priorities, edited out what isn’t important this semester and added in space for Always Items and simplicity, you are ready to start your semester. Write these things down so you can be reminded of these every day. There is no grade on how well you keep these. Some days and weeks you will feel totally on and some you will feel a little lost. Thats okay. These are meant to help and not hinder you so just adjust as needed throughout the semester.
I hope this guide is helpful as you start (or continue) your year on campus. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or other resources that will help you simplify your college life (hello@simplycollege.org).
Cheering you on in all things simplicity!
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