Rethinking study-life balance: Moving beyond the 80/20 ratio for Mass Communication students

Rethinking study-life balance: Moving beyond the 80/20 ratio for Mass Communication students

We’re bored of the post-pandemic conversations. Constantly only talking about shifting our lifestyles back offline, balancing work-life commitments, and prioritising mental health.

However, there is this one particular perspective that has been neglected and left undiscussed —study-life balance.

There is this prevailing notion of dedicating 80% of the time to academics, and allocating only 20% to personal, social, family and health, known as the 80/20 ratio. The traditional emphasis on academic excellence, especially in Asian cultures, has led to a disproportionate focus on studies, often at the expense of other crucial aspects of life.

Evan Kok Choon Foong, Senior University Counsellor at Taylor’s University, and Ang Yuet Wen, final year PR student at Taylor’s, both mentioned the 80/20 ratio as a means to balance academics and personal life.

Is this really the case? Or should we be reassessing the 80/20 ratio? How can Mass Communication students find balance amidst their heavily project-based modules?

The stereotypical Asian mindset of emphasising the importance of education as a means to attain social and personal progress has fostered a culture where academic success is regarded as the primary measure of an individual’s worth and future prospects. Even in the Western cultural context, based on a data survey conducted by UCLA Student Affairs Information and Research office, it has reached a point where 57% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they feel the need to sacrifice their health to stay on top of their academics.

Students studying hard in the library on campus

(Source: Bernice Lee)

“It’s important to have study-life balance because this is to help students to sustain and persevere along the way,” said Kok.

“Unfortunately, due to their workload, some of them have to give up on their social life. And that is what takes up their weekend.”

Based on Hernandez (2021), he shares in Harvard Business Publishing that there are several ways to achieve an academic-life balance, notably being particular about how you budget your time and picking and choosing your commitments or plans. To budget your time means to take away distractions and steadily work through your designated work time so that you can rest without worry. Choosing commitments or plans is knowing when to say no when you’re being audibly stretched thin.

Ang says, “In my case, I definitely felt burnt out, especially considering I didn’t know how to balance my part-time job alongside everything, and studies became so overbearing.”

“I had to put a lot of my emotional needs aside in order to actually fit my time into studies.”

Gwen Woo Wenqing, final-year Advertising and Brand Management student mentioned that for a long time, she had prioritised her study life over her personal life.

“Back when I was doing my diploma, I neglected my personal life and lost a lot of friends. Because I didn’t have those friends anymore, I lost a lot of my self-esteem and focused my self-worth entirely on assignments and my lecturer’s opinion,” said Woo.

“I haven’t been able to spend any time whatsoever with my family.”

Studying long hours is not necessarily equivalent to productive hours. To achieve a healthy balanced study life, we should consider adopting a 60/40 ratio. 60% to academics and learning, and the other 40% dedicated to fostering relationships with family and friends, taking care of ourselves, exploring hobbies or just living life beyond the books. This ratio may have been suggested by Harvey Schahter in 2013, but can still be applied in 2023. Although, it is important to note that your study-life balance ratio changes over time, and is never linear.

“Resting is a part of work as well. It’s like an engine that needs to be recharged in order to work,” said university counsellor Kok.

“The university could relook at some of the assignments and syllabus, and check if the intensity and the amount of work is actually necessary, like the additional presentations, videos, slides and so on.”

You may argue that it is a student’s commitment to study the same way office workers work a 9-5. Frankly speaking, you’d be surprised to know that based on Forbes (2021), the 9-5 working hours is “an antiquated relic from the past”. Ironically, there are several Reddit users ranting about how their 9-5 job is killing their mental health under the thread r/LateStageCapitalism. Regardless, late-stage capitalism is another whole topic on its own.

There are no proven studies to show that the 60/40 is effective nor is it supported by analysed data evidence. Despite that, the 60/40 ratio is repeatedly brought up by self-help experts, and even experienced employers.

There are several tips and tricks to truly optimise and adapt your lifestyle to the 60/40 ratio as suggested by Bartlett and Johns Hopkins Student Assistance Program.