“Less is more.” It’s a phrase we hear tossed around for everything from corporate slogans to lifestyle choices. The statement is overused for good reason: because it’s true. As students, we have an omnipresent balance of packed academic calendars, work, and life itself. This isn’t all that natural, and it certainly is overwhelming for our mental health and overall happiness.
Just as a bare minimum, without any unforeseen events, this balance makes life challenging for any student. But if you throw in health complications, family affairs, volunteerism, and just about anything else under the sun, then we can be at a breaking point. This is, obviously, never good.
Academics should always remain a student’s primary goal, as it’s the key to their future. The educational institution needs to facilitate this as much as possible. While much of this struggle and subsequent toll on our mental well-being is directly related to financial status, the institution itself can do more to help students.
And this is where “less is more” comes back.
Studies have shown that a smaller workload and a less jam-packed schedule not only relieve stress and improve mental health but also lead to higher productivity. This is certainly true in the workplace, so how can it be all that different on campus? In businesses and countries with shorter work hours, happiness and work outcomes go up, not down.
Finland is consistently ranked as the top nation in the world for quality of public education, yet the students there have no homework and have far fewer school hours than students in other countries do. This may be only for their grade-school-aged population, but why couldn’t it also include those in higher education? After all, we have more on our plates than children do.
It’s time for colleges to explore these ideas, and to explore what works best for students. Asking these questions is critical, and so is taking a break away from the demands of life.