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The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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Column: Thoughts on spreading yourself too thin

Don’t forget to factor in your mental health and stress levels while registering for classes.

As the end of the semester nears, I’m left wondering how it went by so quickly and why I feel unsatisfied in its wake.

This spring, I took on a larger credit load and more jobs and responsibilities than previous semesters, but frankly I was too busy to stop and think about the effects it had on my stress and mental health until far too late into the semester.

I felt a pressure when registering for classes to take on as much as I could fit in, but paired with work and homework and sleep — an activity I am usually too stubborn to give up on — my schedule left little room for me to check in with myself and make sure I was doing okay.

While discussing a mutual shock of the proximity of the semester’s culmination with my friends, they usually express a sense of relief and excitement. I find myself almost wishing I could start it all over, giving each of my classes and myself more individual attention.

Aside from the added stress, taking on more than I could handle also meant getting less out of everything, making me wonder if it was worth it at all to take on more than I felt comfortable with. Too often, I found myself feeling distant or behind in my classes — sometimes all of them at once.

Being busy is unavoidable, especially if, like me, you need to work to make ends meet — but there’s a fine line before you just overwork yourself. While registering for fall, make sure you know where your line is.

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