Calm Over Chaos in Student Life

Have you ever found yourself doing too much? Do you ever feel like there are too many things to get done in a day?

College life is full of opportunity and it is easy to find yourself taking on too many responsibilities. Between classes, labs, internships, volunteer positions, and social commitments, the pressure can escalate quickly. During high school and early college, I often stretched myself too thin, leading to immediate burnout and constant stress. 

While I knew that my habits were not sustainable, I didn’t necessarily know what to change. With time and reflection, it became clear:  The way I started each semester significantly influenced my routine and mood for the months ahead. Building simple habits early made it much easier to stay balanced and avoid falling back into survival mode.

Starting a semester strong should involve setting rhythms, boundaries, and habits that give you space to breathe. Thriving in one area (e.g. academically) does not have to come at the expense of another (e.g. physical or mental well-being). When you create balance, you set yourself up to grow holistically. In the remainder of this post, I will share a few practices that have helped me bring calm into the chaos of student life:

1) Pauses without devices. 

It often seems as though our phones and computers are a constant reminder of all we have to do. Notifications of grades, assignments, and meetings can make it feel like we don’t have time for ourselves. Finding periods throughout your day for breaks without devices in reach can give you time to reset your mind and reground yourself. Whether 15 minutes or 2 hours, this gives you a moment to journal, pray, or practice mindfulness. Walks between classes can be spent breathing and resting our minds, but are often filled with concerns of what should be done next. We have to create time for ourselves in our busy schedules. 

2) Learn to say no. (It’s a good thing!)

It is easy to compare ourselves and to want to chase every opportunity that may come our way. Without learning to say no, students risk scattering their energy across too many groups, roles, or opportunities. In doing so, we can lose touch with the very reason we are in college: to grow in wisdom, character, and clarity of purpose.

When we overcommit, we may quickly burn out, compromise our values, and miss the deeper opportunities God designed for us. It is in the pauses, the boundaries, and the intentional choices that we create space for true growth. Learning to say no is not about closing doors, but about keeping the right ones open. By guarding our time and energy, we make room for meaningful relationships, deeper learning, and spiritual formation.

3) Have designated spaces.

Something I often struggle with is having separate spaces for different tasks. For instance, I used to treat my bed as a multipurpose space. I would complete assignments, scroll on social media, watch television, and sleep all in the same spot. Over time, this blurred my sense of focus and rest. My brain didn’t know when to sleep or work. This impacted my productivity during the day and my rest during the night. (More specific is possible?) Having boundaries of when and where we work can help improve energy and mood patterns throughout the day.

4) Seek support.

I find it concerning that it is so widely accepted to seek academic help, but so stigmatized to seek emotional, mental, or spiritual support. We ask our professors and advisors for guidance regularly. Yet, we often find it challenging to ask for help in other aspects of our life. 

There are so many resources available to students in the Gainesville (and even Orlando or Jax) communities for students. Rising Calm makes it so easy to set up an appointment and get support through all of life's challenges. No long waitlists (same week sessions)! No barrage of questions! Just a safe and uplifting place to receive real support and kindness when you need it.