So, it’s 2016 and your New Year’s resolutions are underway. You’ve committed to making this year one of your best ones yet! You’re excited to be starting a new year of school or varsity/college but you and your bae are still enjoying each other’s company (you’re practically joined to the hip!). You know that to grow a healthy relationship, you need to spend time with each other. But, you also know that studying and spending enough time with your books is just as important.

So, how do you balance your relationship with your need to learn? Balancing both can be tricky but it is possible chomas! Here is how:

Make a schedule

Plan out how much time you will need for your school work and how much time you need to spend with each other, and then schedule him/her around it. Write down your schedule. That way, it will be a little easy to stick with and neither your relationship nor your books will suffer. Your end-of-year results and bae will both appreciate this!

Have study dates

In order for this to work, you both need to be realistic about what to expect from each other. This means that you both need to be understanding enough to not distract each other from studying. Why not go to the library for a study date? You will find that it’s easier to focus on your books when you are in a public place that doesn’t allow disruption. It’s a win-win situation because you are spending time with each other while focusing on your studies. This way you are also both being positive influences to each other.

Be realistic and compromise where you can

There might be days where you feel frustrated and think that this plan of balancing your relationship with your books and relationship was just a dream – that’s normal. There will be days where you need to spend extra time with your books. There’s nothing wrong with prioritising your studies… Your partner will understand this if you are both on the same page.  Nothing and no one is perfect. But, talk to bae because nobody is a mind reader. Which brings me to my last point…

Communicate

You’ll be amazed by how much you will know about a person and what is happening in his/her life by just talking to them! So you need to communicate with your partner in order to find out what is happening in his/her life – especially when it comes to school. Once that discussion happens, you will know when their assignments are due, when exams start and when school closes. This way, neither of you will be put in a difficult position of choosing whether to go on a date with bae or a date with your books. Both of you should recognise that school needs to come first. This way, when you do experience stress with your school work, he or she will understand. You BOTH need to be considerate of each other when it comes to this.

It’s always the small things that count. So having a WhatsApp profile picture of bae with the status update “Good luck on your assignment! Can’t wait to see you for ice-cream and a movie on Saturday!” will put a smile on your partner’s face.

Make 2016 the year where you can have it all, you just have to work hard at it!