adventures of a typical high school student

Good morning everyone!

Today I will be discussing time management, a highly important concept for all of us. During the school year there can be a ton on your plate- homework in all your classes, sports, clubs, other extracurriculars, chores and family responsibilities, possibly a job- the list goes on. It may seem daunting to go into the year knowing how busy your schedule is about to become, but don’t fret! There is definitely a way to balance it all, as long as you carefully plan your time and are aware of all your commitments. I will be giving you some of my tips for time management and creating a healthy balance between everything, but it’s something I need to continue working on as well.

• Use a planner or calendar and write ALL important dates/times/events down– Planning and understanding what you are dedicating your time to is so important. When you have upwards of five classes plus extracurriculars, it’s easy for little things to slip your mind; however, they won’t if you write everything down as you find out about it! I always jot down my homework before I leave a class and on Sunday nights I fill in all my extracurricular commitments for the upcoming week.
• Evaluate how much you’re taking on; there IS such a thing as doing too much – Mental health always comes first, and you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin. Understand when everything becomes too much you need to step back and possibly drop a few things. It’s okay to start the year off having maybe a little bit more than you can handle, but please make those adjustments and quit the things least important to you if it becomes too overwhelming.
• Only participate in activities you genuinely enjoy – This will make it much easier to manage your time because if you actually want to do something, it won’t feel like a chore. You’ll have the most fun doing things you’re passionate about, and you’ll probably be better at those things as well. Find activities that match your interests and if there’s not a club/group that caters to it, try starting your own!
• Get as much of your homework done during school hours as possible – Whenever you can, try and get ahead on your work before you actually get home. This can be finishing your homework during any extra time at the end of class, working on homework before school starts or after school when you’re waiting to get picked up, on bus rides to sports away games, whatever. Remember to keep a balance with this too; don’t skip out on every lunch break to go do homework in the library, but try your best to get what you can done inbetween actual classwork.
• Make sure to go to bed as early as you can and get a good amount of sleep – Sleep is essential for your brain to actually function well and for you to perform in school. Staying up late into the night to study will only harm yourself (and your grades) more. Obviously get all your homework that is definitively due the next day done before bed, but go to sleep at a reasonable hour; if anything, get up a bit earlier to study.
• Accept that there might be schedule conflicts – If you have a lot of different extracurricular commitments, eventually something’s going to clash. You might have to miss a couple club events because of a band concert or a sports game, and that’s just how it is. If it gets to be too much, either drop some activities or expect to be speaking to your coaches/advisers a lot about scheduling.
• Maintain strong relationships with teachers and advisers – This goes along with my last point, but if you have good relationships with the adults in your life, they will cut you way more slack when it comes to having to miss class/events. If they know more about you and understand your other involvements, they’ll be more lenient about your scheduling. It’s also just nice to network and get to know these people in general- I’m sure they’re pretty cool.
• Know your priorities – When it comes down to it, at some point you may have to give a few activities up. You should know what’s most important to you and what activities are the most fun in case that time comes and you need to decide on what to drop. It’s often better to be more committed/involved in a few activities than just a member of lots of activities; that’s what college admissions seem to be telling us, anyways. No matter what, just have fun with your extracurriculars and engage in your classes- time is fleeting and it’s best if you soak it all in.

I hope this little guide on time management helped you out! It’s very important to know how to balance your responsibilities in order to be a successful high school student; we’re all just trying our best. You also have to keep in mind that the habits you set now will most likely carry over to college and the rest of your life, so it’s awesome if you are already a time-management superstar. I’m definitely working on this myself as I tend to get overwhelmed and stressed easily- this year I definitely have a lot more going on than I did my freshman year. Let me know if you have questions or requests as always, and stay on the lookout for more exciting content.

-Brooke