With the new semester approaching, your schedule may be more demanding than it was a month ago. Although this may seem intimidating, there is no reason to stress. There are multiple ways to get ahead and manage your schoolwork, clubs, and sports.Â
BE Grateful
Instead of worrying about upcoming events, there are ways to cope with stress. Rather than just focusing on all the negative emotions, you can take a step back and put things into perspective. You have the opportunity to join clubs, be a part of a sports team, or take extra classes that many kids around the country don’t get to do. Perspective is everything, and you have the power to change your own mindset. You have a choice in life; you can say you have too much on your plate, or you can think of it as having all these great opportunities and clubs on campus that you are lucky to be a part of!
using a planner
Seeing events on your calendar may be overwhelming. Using a planner is a great way to manage your work, get ahead for the week, and plan downtime. Take time each Sunday to write down what you have going on for the week; whether that is practices, exams, quizzes, club meetings, and some planned downtime. Taking time for yourself is just as important as physical events. This way, you can see everything spread out on different days instead of everything jumbled together in your head.
prioritize
Sometimes having so much on your plate may be a good thing, but sometimes it can actually be too much. As I previously said, taking time for yourself is just as important as physical events. However, if you have no time for yourself, you’ll never be able to relax and take some for personal things you want to do or accomplish. Prioritizing your extracurriculars and school work will leave you time for your own hobbies or downtime. If you are a student-athlete, academics always come first. So, it is important to decide what’s most important and takes up most of your time.Â
be realistic
Just like prioritizing, there are only so many hours every day that you can jam-pack. Be realistic about your time and what you think you can accomplish based on your past experiences. For example, don’t tell yourself you’re going to sit down for 5 hours straight and do homework. While some may be able to do this, it is almost impossible to sit down for 5 hours straight and be able to concentrate the whole time. Know yourself and what you’re capable of finishing. It might be more realistic to say you’re going to work on 1 subject for an hour, take a break, then work on another for half an hour.
There are several ways to manage both academics and extracurriculars. With having the mindset of being grateful, using a planner, prioritizing, and being realistic, you’ll be able to accomplish so much every day. Don’t be intimidated by your schedule; instead, attack and make use of every opportunity and be thankful you have so much on your plate.