This post contains affiliate links.
Is free time a struggle to have as an engineering Student? Not really! Then why do we not have a social life? Why can we not have a comprehensive university experience full of social life and free time to do all the activities we want? Is it the study, or is it just the stereotypical engineer students usually identified as introverts that get in the way of having a social life? Those questions have been asked so many times that it is only fair to discuss this subject in more detail as it feels that it makes people counterproductive and more inclined to doubt themselves.
The truth is engineering courses are a lot of fun, at least for the people who are in it to learn first. Most universities have a lot of fun activities that could keep engineers busy. At the same time, it is also essential for engineers to have a life outside their course by being more time-efficient with their studies. Not having free time or social life is usually because of the assignments and exams, which have nothing to do with the student’s personality.
The following is a breakdown of why and how you can have free time to socialise or do other activities. Feel free to skip to the part you feel you need the most help with.
The truth about not having free time as an engineering student?
Engineering courses have many problem-solving aspects and complicated assignments that keep students busy, filling up their weekends and most of the week. And while it is true that engineering students have a difficult degree compared to other studies, students can and should take some free time to keep their mental health in check and stay energised.
How can you do that? There are 3 ways we identified to help students achieve that social life – study balance
1- Increase concentration level
The key to having free time is to become more conscious about your activities which boosts concentration. It is very hard to have free time if you are always going back and forth on some problem that you always forget how to solve. While it is good to revise, it is also counterproductive if you are not studying effectively. To combat this issue:
- Ensure that you are studying in a quiet room.
- Take notes while studying.
- Sleep well.
Yes, that is right, you can not study in a loud environment and certainly can not study without taking notes. Not taking notes is the reason why you spend too much time revising something when you can just look at your notebook. Finally, you can not study if you are too tired often. Drinking coffee can also help to boost your mental acuity while studying.
If you think that concentration is the main reason why you spend too much time studying and do not have enough time in the process, then this should be able to give you further help: 5 Strong Habits For Engineers To Boost Concentration.
2- Handle stress better
Everyone experiences stress, especially when exams and assignments are closing in. Unfortunately, anxiety and self-doubt sometimes go together, forcing us to spend more time on one thing than we should. A few things identified with a student experiencing stress:
- Stress is something that has to do with not taking action on something.
- Stress is related to perfectionism.
- Stress puts us in self-doubt.
We experience stress usually because we have not started studying for next Wednesday’s exam, and it is also quite common for students who care so much about the marks that put them in self-doubt. To help with this, these are two in-depth resources to help students deal with stress:
- When Marks In Engineering Degree Matter And When It Doesn’t
- How To Beat Stress, Fear & Anxiety as Engineering Student
3- Become better at time management
We feel that there are a lot of improvements you can make in this area. Not having free time for anything is highly related to not setting up some priorities and habits for your study, specifically for students who work and study. There are a few signs that you are not being as efficient as possible with your time:
- You start your assignments late and finish late.
- You stay up all night for some assignments.
- You are more inclined to copy someone else’s work or pay for it.
Not taking advantage of your time means that you are either spending too much time on things that waste your time or not knowing how to prioritise your tasks. You need to stop the bad habits that take so much of your time and prioritise tasks based on importance. These are two resources to help you with time management:
