While the importance of working and studying hard are continually stressed, relaxation and fun are often looked as non-essential luxuries. While it is true that universities and colleges are places people go to learn, too much work and too little relaxation can have adverse effects, both physically and mentally. To perform your best, it is key to strike a balance between studying and fun. The following will give you tips on how to strike equilibrium between work and play.

Take a Day Off: I know that this concept might seem like nothing more than wishful thinking, but if you plan correctly it can be done. And it is important that it be done. Here’s why: working every day of the week doesn’t give your body a chance to actually process what you’re learning. Don’t believe me? Try this experiment: The next time you find yourself stuck on a problem or blocked on a paper, put it down and don’t return to it for twenty-four hours. I’ll be willing to bet that when you return to where you were stuck, you will be able to find the solution. Why? Because even as you are doing other things, your brain is still processing and working out the problem. Applying this concept by taking one day off a week will do wonders for your overall academic performance. Trust me.

Maintain Important Relationships: Everyone – no matter who they are or where they are in life – has the tendency to neglect friendships and other important relationships during periods of high stress. Students are no exception, with school often taking priority over everything else. This is a hazard that can be avoided with a little foresight. Give yourself an hour everyday (even if that hour is broken up into twelve five-minute periods) to return and make phone calls. This will allow you to keep in touch with people even when you don’t have time to see them, and this is important to your mental well-being.

Don’t Give Yourself a Guilt Trip: Students can be the ultimate guilt imposers on themselves. You went out and maybe didn’t study as thoroughly as you would have liked. Your dinner plans ran into the time you had allotted for reading for class. Oh well. Chances are you had a good time and made some memories. As long as this isn’t a pattern, one night of fun probably won’t impact your academics all that much. Giving yourself a guilt trip won’t help matters. Allow yourself to live a little.

The key to anything in life is balance. All work and no play is a poor philosophy that doesn’t yield great results overall. Find a balance between the two and you will be a much happier and productive person.