Balancing School with Life Outside of School
November 25, 2019
High school…this is a time when you are growing up and maturing. High school means taking on new responsibilities. High school means taking on new challenges.
For many high school students, it may be too much all at once and it may feel very stressful. One article by neatoday.org states ¨ Today’s teens and young adults are the most anxious ever, according to mental-health surveys. They admit it themselves: In February, a Pew survey found that 70 percent of teens say anxiety and depression is a “major problem” among their peers, and an additional 26 percent say it’s a minor problem.¨ Stress is very common among high school students and teens in general. There are some simple ways to reduce that stress and to live your best high school life. There are ways to focus on school but still make time for other things.
First, create some type of schedule or to-do list. Sometimes having these things just written down will help reduce stress by a great amount. Sometimes you may be overthinking. You may think that you have way more work than you actually do. Make the list simple, only write down what needs to be done today. When you cross something off the checklist, you will feel proud and usually motivated as well.
Next, think about procrastination. Many people struggle with this. If your phone is a distraction and is causing you to struggle in school, maybe you need to set a screen time limit. Wait to go on your phone until all of your assignments are completed. Try to do your schoolwork when you have any free time. Do not wait until the last minute because when you wait too long you are rushing yourself and your work probably will not be the best quality. Doing something last minute would also most likely cause more stress.
If you have finished all of your work for the day and have extra time you can always work ahead. Working ahead will make other days a lot better. Do not overwork yourself but if you do have additional time for work then you can always do it so that you can have more free time on other days to do the things that you enjoy.
Finally, take some time to reward yourself, take breaks and do something you enjoy. This will help to make you happier. Relax a little bit and try to do something that will release your stress. If you are stuck on schoolwork, take a small break and come back when you feel better. Overall this will improve your mood and make it easier to get work done quickly so that you can make time for other activities.