[...] One Extracurricular: Having a laundry-list of activities has become so outdated as a strategy that it’s almost embarassing at this point. Choose one pursuit and then spend four years pushing it somewhere exceptional. If it helps, you can ease into this lifestyle with an activity vacation. [...]

[...] Drop that extra science course you shoe-horned into your schedule. If you can’t do this because your double major is drowning you with requirements, then drop one of your majors. While you’re at it, put a torch to your activity schedule. Do you need to be so involved in three different clubs? Choose one and kick the rest. Nervous about letting go? Take baby steps by first declaring an activity vacation. [...]

Welcome to the gang. I’m glad to hear you’ve found hope!

A brief thought regarding your situation: just because something is good — in the sense that it helps other people, not just yourself — does not mean it can’t cause stress. I really admire your commitment. What makes the activity vacation work, however, is to really feel a release from any regular obligation. There are ways, I would argue, that you can still feel connected to the world without connecting your schedule to a lot of obligations. One possibility is to keep an aresenal of one-shot volunteer opportunities in your quiver. That is, have options such that, if you see, for example, that an upcoming Saturday is pretty open, that there are places you go and offer your services and be useful. At the same time, however, you don’t feel an obligation that every Saturday you need to be somewhere.

However, I don’t think I’ll be able to do it. My main activities revolve around volunteer work, so if I quit something for my own sanity, what I am I doing for the community? Though I’ve cut out practically everything else from my schedule, I can’t seem to cut out the volunteer stuff because I feel as though it is way too easy to sit in my college campus bubble and enjoy my life without truly understanding what’s going on just outside the bubble. So here’s my question, and maybe someone can help me with it: where do I cut stuff from my schedule and focus without becoming a myopic college student who is selfishly out of touch with the world?

But that’s just me.

Maybe other people do activities for the sake of doing activities.

I’ve turned down so many extracurriculars here, and so have my friends. It’s no big deal.

On the post, it’s an interesting thought. I don’t think I’ll be taking an activity vacation anytime soon (not that burned out so it’s not needed), but I’ll be stricter about cutting out some time sinks.

I don’t agree. A student who engages a quality liberal arts curriculum will develop a sophistication of thought, exposition, and understanding of the world that basically goes unmatched by all but the most exceptionally autodidactic non-college educated individuals.