The Bad
This month started off on a bit of a downhill trajectory, I was actually really struggling to find the balance between university work, having time off, blogging etc. I really felt aware of the fact that I wasn’t making enough time for everything. Every time I was taking time off from working, I felt guilty for not and when I was working, I just didn’t feel like my head was in it.
I had a few down days where I just didn’t want to do anything which, in the end, was not actually a bad thing. It actually really forced me to take a step back and have a break and I didn’t actually feel guilty.
The Good
This month had some stand-out positives. If you read my “HOW I PREPARED FOR MY EXAMS” you may have seen I managed to get firsts on both my exams I took at the start of January. The results were such a shock but so glad my hard work paid off. I did question whether it was really worth the stress but I’m overall really happy and it’s made me motivated to do well over the rest of this term and going on into my final term of university.
Looking back, some of my favourite days of the month were spent on my own going for a walk, sat in Starbucks, going to an exercise class and even blogging. I’ve really enjoyed spending some time doing these little things in between my uni work and they all helped improve my month.
My parents and sister all came up to visit me as well this month and, even though just for an afternoon, we had a really nice time and got a chance to take some lovely photos of York which I shared in my “PHOTO DIARY: YORK” if you want to have a peek at the photos.
While it’s had its down moments, February has been a month of realisations of what makes me happy and what doesn’t. It’s been really eye-opening to see what aspects of my life are important to me and make me happiest.
What I’ve accomplished
Looking back at some of the things I wanted to focus on relating to Balance this month, I think it’s a real 50/50 split as to what I feel I managed to accomplish and what needs a little more improvement.
A highlight of this month, and one that I think I feel I implemented well and will be carrying on doing, is tracking my mood. I’ve found this really helpful to not only see what triggers my bad moods or what has made me happy on certain days, but it also allows me to track how often I do certain activities such as uni work, blogging, seeing friends. It has helped me see if I’ve been getting that balance in. The app I’ve been using is Daylio and I love it! I’m so happy I’ve started doing this in February.
I feel like my diet has been slowly getting back to a good place. I’m in no way watching what I eat but more just making healthier choices and eating when I’m hungry. There have been days where I have treated myself but I’m slowly cutting back. This is probably going to be an ongoing focus for the future but I definitely have felt my diet has been getting better this month.
In progress
I’ll be honest, I forgot that one of my focuses of the month was to decrease my screen time. I had a quick check of the screen time recorded on my phone and, while it’s high, I can’t tell whether it’s any lower/higher than last month. I’ve noticed my Instagram daily average has gone down which is a plus but I still think my screen time needs to be reduced and I think this will be something that I can link into next months focus and try again at getting the screen time lower.
Now, for the big one. My work-life balance has fluctuated throughout this whole month. It’s been the first month since summer that I’ve had more than one day off of doing any uni work at all and I’ve loved it. I felt a lot happier after having these days off and less overwhelmed as I managed to get my thoughts in order and sort out what I need to do and when for, without feeling too stressed. Having said that, I do feel there is more to be done for me to really get this balance. So, while I feel I’ve made steps forward in getting this balance, I still feel I can do a lot more and hopefully, this will progress further into the future months. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on how this goes.
Overall, while there have been some bad parts, there have been some good moments. While I haven’t found the balance just yet, having this to focus on this month has definitely encouraged me to work towards having a balanced life in many different aspects. Balance is going to be a theme that I’m sure to carry into the next few months to really help me progress. I think once I get this balance, I will be a lot happier.
How has your February been? I’d love to hear what you’ve accomplished this month and have you any plans for March?
Hope you’re doing great,
Sarah x
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