Submitted By: Cassidy June, VP of Programs
I don’t know about you, but the start of school usually means I have no more free time. It also means staying up late finishing up English papers to turn in at 11:59 when it’s due at 12. You’ll just have to believe me when I say that might not be the most healthy way to go through the school year. So to try and lend a hand I have put together some tips on how to schedule all of your work and events throughout the school year to make sure you don’t get eaten alive by stress.
- Pick your own pace: Most people have two settings- they either overdo themselves or procrastinate until the last possible second. So when setting a schedule you need to find out how you work best and find a balance between the extreme and the minimum. I suggest that if you set a pace and it isn’t working, change your schedule because a balance is important when staying sane.
- Set aside days to work on certain things: One thing that has always worked for me is that if I have a lot of things to do for FCCLA then I’ll pick a day and set aside everything else to just work on FCCLA. If I have a project for Science to do, then I’ll pick a day after school and just work on that project. This can come down to personal preference, some may like to find the time and work on five different things at once and others prefer to just work on one thing for a good amount of time and then move to the next when the first task is completed. Once again, this is just about finding out which way will help you be more productive.
- Consistency: Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s easy to remember a task to do if it’s in a pattern. Let’s say you have homework for math all week, you could schedule in an hour after school every day to make room to complete the homework. Or if you want to study for the SAT or ACT, then set aside two hours every Saturday for practice, which is what I’ve done myself.
- Take days off: The last piece of advice I can give to you is to make sure you set aside time for yourself. If you get overwhelmed with tasks then life won’t be worth living. This can be especially damaging to your mental health, stress is never a good thing. So be sure to take days to go outside, hang out with friends, or read a book. Remember to find time to have fun!
One last thing, I always recommend buying a planner. You can buy a simple planner or go all out like some people I know, buying giant color-coded planners with decorative pineapples on the front. So as you go back to school, remember that the most important thing is to stay on top of everything without being drowned in stress.