Being a university student in 2026 does not mean that you are just preparing for one career, but for hundreds of careers.
I started university in 2022 and, I must admit, I felt overwhelmed since the very first day.
The path ahead seemed nonlinear and uncertain.
The constant notifications, social media, and digital tools fragmented my attention and blurred the boundaries between my studies and personal life. As if that wasn’t enough, I constantly perceive the pressure of AI taking over most of the jobs I could do in the near future.
I happened to ask myself way too often in these years:
Did I choose the right career?
Will I find a job?
Am I meeting society’s expectations?
Am I studying for something that will be taken over by AI?
I saw these doubts leading many students around me to burnout, overcommitment to draining activities, and emotional exhaustion.
As a result, students, like leaders and professionals, can lose alignment with their values under constant internal and external pressure.
Small Habits for a Healthier Student Life
In an era where “studying hard” is no longer enough and students feel pressure to monetize their skills early, university can become intimidating.
One strategy that helps me cope with these concerns is writing down and visualizing my priorities. Alongside my academic commitments, I remind myself to take care of my health and give myself breaks.
I used to feel trapped in an endless cycle of productivity, where I perceived breaks as a waste of time. But, finally, I understood that taking a break for a walk, a yoga class, or a chat with a friend is an invaluable moment to recharge and reconnect with myself.
It is important for me to set the most urgent tasks and divide them from what I do in my spare time, without feeling guilty if I do not achieve everything I have in mind for the day. I want to be productive while maintaining balance and respect for myself.
And most of all, I want to express gratitude for what I was able to do.
Designing Your Academic Life Intentionally
Designing Your Life, a framework inspired by design thinking research conducted at Stanford, can help students to experience university in a more intentional and fulfilling way. It encourages us to take the lead in our own studies and use them to our advantage.
In fact, it is possible to use some of the Designing Your Life tools to find the courage to become the agent and the designer of our academic career.
One of the most powerful tools for me is Reframing.
Reframing is a technique used by designers to view problems from a different perspective to find innovative solutions.
Designing Your Life applies this method to personal life and career, trying to rephrase the thoughts and problems that get us stuck.
Sometimes, the real problem is the story we tell ourselves about it.
I spent my university years asking myself:
What if I chose the wrong degree?
What if I am wasting my time?
What if I never find a job that satisfies me?
And that is exhausting.
But after learning how to reframe, I started telling myself something different.
Instead of asking myself all those “What if?” questions, I understood that I am just experimenting.
And that is the most beautiful possibility I have in my hands. Trying out as many things as I can.
That’s why I moved from Italy to Amsterdam, after having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Science in Bologna, to pursue a master’s degree in Linguistics at the University of Amsterdam, combining my passion for languages and intercultural communication.
I changed country, I changed degree, I moved away from what was most familiar: people, places, habits. Sometimes it feels overwhelming, and sometimes it feels amazing. And that is normal, because I am experimenting.
And as with any other experiment, the outcome can be positive or negative, but the essential thing is that I am trying, and I am putting myself fully into it. It is not a matter of right or wrong; it is a matter of getting clarity about what works for me and what does not.
University life in 2026 is complex and often unpredictable. Yet frameworks like Designing Your Life suggest that we do not need to control the future to move forward with confidence.
Instead, we can learn to design how we respond to it.
By approaching our academic journey with curiosity, experimentation, and reflection, we can transform uncertainty from a source of anxiety into an opportunity for growth.
Written by: Gioia Tramet
Italian Student in Language and Society at the University of Amsterdam
