Balancing studies and personal life are one of the most significant challenges faced by students worldwide. Whether you’re navigating academic deadlines, part-time jobs, or maintaining social relationships, the struggle to manage everything efficiently can feel overwhelming. Here are some of the common challenges students face and practical strategies to overcome them and adjust your part on this academic journey
The Constant Race Against Time
Being a student means accepting the frustration, stress, and discomfort that comes with the learning process. One of the most persistent problems here is lack of time. Between classes, homework and extracurricular activities, it’s easy to feel stuck and overwhelmed by the flow of grades because the days seem far too short.
For this semester, I have courses on the application of business software, economics and marketing and I often rush to the deadlines for submitting homework and quizzes which very often coincide, which leads to strong last minute pressure and even gaps every week. This situation has limited leisure time with my 3-year-old daughter: going to the park at least every week, spending quality time with her, doing her homework. Basically, I don’t even have enough time to take care of myself and my daughter. Sometimes I feel like 24 hours a day isn’t enough! I started looking for solutions to reconcile my studies and my life. I had to learn Time Blocking: a tool that helps me allocate specific times to study, socialize, and take care of myself. As a distance student, we must divide our studies according to our free time, day and night. We are the ones in control of our time, so let’s use it wisely. Therefore, we need to prioritize tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix to identify urgent and important tasks
“Time is a created thing. To say I don’t have time is to say I don’t want to -Lao Tzu “
Managing Stress and Burnout
School burnout often occurs because we must juggle multiple responsibilities. The distance learning department’s academic advisors help us at the start of the semester to select the appropriate number of courses during your pre-registration period. Thus, depending on personal constraints, objections and life situation, it is advisable to choose a minimum of one course and a maximum of 5 courses per semester. Academic burnout and stress develop among students when they underestimate the intensity of academic programs and find themselves confronted with internal pressures that are often beyond their control. The challenges are real, especially when academic expectations are high. Therefore, the lack of balance between personal, academic, and professional responsibilities often leads to emotional exhaustion.
Action steps:
- Practice mindfulness techniques such as meditation or journaling
- Take regular breaks during study sessions to recharge
- Don’t hesitate to seek professional support if needed
- As a Distance Learning student try to connect with your classmate via WhatsApp or Telegram
Financial struggle
Managing your finances as a student adds another layer of difficulty, especially if you are directly responsible for your schooling, your studies, your life. Student life prepares you for a life of responsibility. We make personal decisions that can have a positive or negative impact on our academic journey. Some students struggle to pay tuition, rent and other expenses. You know, not all students always benefit from financial support from their family. Most of the time, some people must balance part-time or full-time jobs and academic commitments. It is therefore important to create a monthly budget to track your spending
Actions steps:
- Create a monthly budget to track your expenses
- Explore scholarship program: the University of Nicosia offers scholarship program for distance learning program in BBA
- Explore grants or campus jobs for financial support.
“Budgeting is the first step toward financial freedom “
4. Maintaing Relationships
The Bachelor of Business Administration is not a one-off event but an academic journey where we are led to consciously maintain a personal relationship with ourselves and with our family, our friends or our partner, because these are the people who count the most for us. Sometimes the academic pressure is so great that we unconsciously isolate ourselves to focus more on our studies, which is ultimately beneficial and rewarding. But the less time we spend with loved ones, the more disconnected we feel from social circles, which is most often accompanied by anxiety and frustration at a time in our lives when the satisfaction of our studies cannot replace love for our loved ones and vice versa. We learn to value and manage our relationships as students.
“Sometimes we focus so much on graduating that we miss out on the best parts of life. »
Actions steps
- Dedicate quality time to important relationships: , even brief calls, text messages, spend quality time , 30 minutes coffee in the restaurant, socializing . Be present and show love, care and attention.
- Use technology via social media to stay connected when physically distant.
5.Staying Healthy
Health, especially physical health, often takes a back seat when distance learning students are burdened with academic and personal responsibilities. The desire to know and understand the course material makes us spend time sitting at our study table in front of the laptop, forgetting that we must have breakfast or dinner. Often, we start eating more fast food than healthy convenience foods. We feel like we have so much to do to get our study projects and homework done on time that we don’t have time to take care of ourselves, we lack self-esteem, which results in poor eating habits and irregular meals. Sometimes skipping meals and having sleepless nights is due to time constraints.
Action steps
- Weekly planned for simple, healthy meals ahead of time so that you have everything at home.
- Incorporate quick, at-home workout or even light stretching into your routine
- Pro Tip: Start with small changes, like drinking more water or adding 10 minutes of exercise to your day. Enjoy nature during your breaks!
6. Overcoming Self-doubt
Self-doubt is a common challenge that many students face, especially when juggling academic expectations, social relationships, and personal growth. This often stems from imposter syndrome – bad beliefs and feelings that you’re not good enough, that you’re not smart enough, that you’re not going to make it, or that you’re too old for this program. Academically, it often hinders our academic performance and affects our mental health, leading to anxiety and low self-esteem. By avoiding taking risks or trying new things, you limit your opportunities, and you rely on past experiences, perfectionism, fear of failure, comparison with others to define your personality. It is this mental barrier that prevents you from reaching your full potential and enjoying the academic journey.
Actions steps:
- Celebrate small wins and acknowledge your progress
- Practice self-compassion
- Challenge Negative though
- Focus on your own growth and stop comparing yourself to peers
- Set realistic goal
- Seeking support
- Embrace growth
Self-doubt is natural, especially during college. But this does not define our capabilities and your potential. By recognizing it and taking steps to overcome it, we make doubt a steppingstone to confidence and success.Willian Shakespeare said:
“Our doubts are traitors and cause us to lose the good that we could often gain, by fearing to try”