A *Realistic* Day in the Life of a College Student Who’s Trying to Do It All
Since I’m back on campus and away from the dreadful Zoom classes from my freshman year, my days have never felt the same. I am probably 3 times busier than I was last year and I found that I needed to create a better routine than I had last year. Now that all of my classes and events are in person, this is what a typical day looks like as a student taking 19 credits, a paid researcher, and a part-time writer.
6 AM: That is the goal, at least. My alarm (across the room) goes off and it takes me a lot of effort to get out of bed, especially when it’s about 40 degrees in the morning.
When I finally get out of my room, I make breakfast and coffee. I try to avoid going on my phone during this time, but every once in a while, it’s inevitable.
When I’m done, I spend 5–10 minutes doing morning pages. I am still relatively new to this practice, but I really like to use The Most Dangerous Writing App to help me get through it
6:30–8:30 AM: I “clock in” around 6:30/40 and get to work on my undergraduate research grant. I aim for 2 hours of work every morning reading literature reviews and analyzing different studies
9 AM: When I “clock out” after finishing my work for the day, I usually start getting ready around this time. Do my skincare, get dressed, do my hair. All that good stuff
10 AM: I try to crank in an assignment or two during this time before I have to go to my classes. Or I edit a post I wrote last night. Or I eat a snack and read a book. Or I sit on TikTok for an hour. It really depends, but I can guarantee that this time will be spent doing at least one of these things.
11:10 AM–5:15 PM: Depending on the day, all of my classes fall somewhere in this time frame. I wander around from building to building, eat lunch in between, do some homework at the library, and plan out assignments and articles in between.
4 PM–6 PM: On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (when I don’t have class at 4), I play ultimate frisbee with the college club team, since I despise any other form of working out for the most part.
7:30–9:00 PM: Every Wednesday, I hang out at my favorite coffee shop in downtown where they host open mics and poetry slams. Sometimes I perform a poem if I have something fresh, sometimes I go to listen to other amazing poetry.
9:30 PM: I finally get home, eat some dinner (if I didn’t already after frisbee practice) talk with my roommates, go on my phone, and just do whatever to unwind from the long day.
I crank out whatever homework I have left during this time too (sometimes). Usually, I am reading text, taking notes about curriculum, lesson planning, and studying teaching strategies.
10:30 PM: I find that I write best at night and work best in the morning. So, when I finish my homework, I use this little bit of time to write. Since I do not write full-time (not yet, hopefully!), I write whatever my brain is feeling that day. Could be a blog post, parts of my novel, a poem, or even just journaling. Whatever it may be, the nighttime hours are my designated writing hours, unless I fall asleep, which happens a lot too.
11 PM: Go to bed (hopefully)
When I was writing this post, I began to realize that it was difficult to write about a “typical day” in my life when, truly, my life is different every day. Despite that, even as a 19 year old college kid, it is very possible to do it all if you really focus on it, and prioritize the time you set for yourself.
I get stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed, and burnt out for sure, but my thought for all the other college kids reading this is that it will never stop you from doing something you’re truly passionate about. It might slow you down, pause your flow, but never forget that you’re strong and capable. Make your college years your years.
