So, there's this thing called "life"

My mum gave me some good advice the other day (mothers are generally quite good at that), and I'm going to share her wise words with you.

"Make sure you're not missing opportunities to live and experience by focusing too much on the future."

The context of this was that I was feeling a little overwhelmed with how much I had on my plate with work, study and blogging and I felt like I was losing touch with my hobbies, friends and general spontaneity. I had been so focused on everything that is working towards my future that I had forgotten to think about the present.

It's pretty normal to prioritise work and/or study - it's what enables us to have a life. The important thing to remember is that you should experience that life, not just exist within it.

Sometimes, it's important to grasp an opportunity, say "yes" rather than "no", be spontaneous, selfish even. Your work will get done, you will finish those assignments, you will manage to write another blog post. Key word: Manage. Shuffle your priorities so that nurturing your relationships and interests is level with everything else you "need" to do, and manage your time appropriately (ie, if you need to finish an assignment, don't watch a re-run of Dance Moms just because you can't be bothered moving from the couch after you've enjoyed an episode of MasterChef with your partner/family/dog/ferret).

All the cool stuff that makes you happy and that you want to talk about with your friends? That's the stuff that happens outside of your boring ol' routine. That, my friends, is life.