College students are notoriously bad at time management - who wouldn't be, with all the new and exciting activities going on and people to meet? Not to mention that new-found freedom to come and go as one pleases and to be responsible only to one's self.
Unfortunately, trying to keep up with classes, studying, social commitments, clubs, sports, jobs, and so forth can leave very little "me" time, time for taking care of one's mind and body and mental faculties.
Once the excitement dies down a bit and a routine is established, it's time to take a look at the type of one's lifestyle and assess priorities and importance to all one's activities.
Obviously, the reason for attending college is to gain an education so one must assuredly put this topic at the number one spot. A typical college student enrolls for approximately 15 hours per semester, which means 15 classroom hours - don't forget to account for another 15 or so for studying outside the academic building. Additionally, there is time needed for travel, especially if one lives off-campus, and any other research, writing, or activities related to the classes one has chosen.
For the sake of argument, let us assume that about 35 hours in a 168-hour week is consumed with classes and studying; it sounds like a lot, but broken down into days it's just five per day - as a college student, again, one's "job" is education. If, however, one also has outside employment, that could easily take up another 20 hours per week, plus travel time unless one is working on campus. So now we've accounted for 55 hours in a week, or about eight hours per day.
Of course, college students must party - a lot, it would seem. Nothing wrong with that, it's all part of the college experience. If one confines one's socializing mainly to the weekends, half the problem is solved; if one continues to burn the proverbial candle at both ends throughout the week, more serious issues can crop up quite quickly.
An unusual phenomenon appears to be the college student's inherent incapability of leaving for an evening out any time prior to 10:00 pm. As any serious partier knows, going out for less than four hours is a waste of time, which puts the student back safely in the dorms by no earlier than 2:00 am. Lack of sleep, as well as certain effects from the partying itself can wreak havoc with any self-care plan as early as noon or so the following day.
Let us again assume that an average student "goes out" at least three times a week, classes and job notwithstanding, so one can safely attribute another twelve hours weekly to these social activities; add these hours to the above total for some 67-68 hours accounted for in a weekly period.
Roommates. That one word can be a time-waster, or at least a time-consumer. There are squabbles with roommates, discussions with roommates (ranging from furniture placement to the state of the Union), helping roommates (especially if one owns a car or, heaven forbid, a pickup truck), and hanging out with roommates. There can be quick trips to the store, an impromptu party at the dorms or apartment complex, and so on and so forth. Add a couple hours a day, conservatively, to the weekly hours and there are now about 80 accounted for.
It has been stated, for the record, that the average person needs 8 hours of sleep per night to be able to function and be at their healthiest, mentally and physically. Most college students would disagree with this, but most college students are not yet mature enough to realize the wisdom in this: more sleep equals more rest which means more stamina to partyuh, study. Add 56 hours to bring the total to 136. And add a couple hours a day for planning, preparing, grocery shopping, and eating (or, alternatively, for driving and waiting in line at restaurants and eating) - there goes another 15 or so, and there are now just 17 hours left in the week for a student to have actual time for himself.
Wait a minute - how often does a student say he is "too busy" to call home, or stop by for a "hi, Mom"? Pretty often, unless, of course, there is laundry to be done or he's flat-out broke. Now, sure, if one lives quite a distance from home one can hardly be expected to hop a plane or road-trip it home in just three free hours a day. But still, Mom sure wonders why it's so difficult to actually mail that Mothers' Day card....
So, in reality, there is plenty of "time" as "clock hours" for one to be able to take care of himself; there's time for hanging out, reading for fun (don't laugh, a lot of people do this!), going to movies, shopping, or just daydreaming or thinking about the future - or even a trip to the post office. There it is. With a little planning and an awareness of available time, any college student should find it more than easy to carve out time for himself.