Nobody said it would be easy, but they certainly didn’t say it would be this hard, either.
Your high school years are supposed to be your best, right? While that may not be exactly true, they should certainly be enjoyable, and the amount of responsibility facing a high school student today can sour that experience.
There is a way to be successful in high school and still have fun. Following these management tricks will help you stay ahead of the game while making room for a social life as well.
1) Set aside time each night to study and complete homework.
You’re not going to skate through high school without doing a lick of work. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to successfully balance school, work, sports, and fun.
Establish a study routine each night, whether it’s for a couple hours before bed or a couple hours right after you get home from school. Stick to it, avoiding the urge to go to that movie or play that video game instead. The longer you do it, the more natural it will become. This will assist you in avoiding the nasty results of procrastination and might even help you learn a thing or two.
2) Unplug.
You may think you only check Facebook a few times, watch and comment on a YouTube video for mere minutes, and tweet something witty for just a second while studying, but social media can act as-as a time warp. Before you know it, those seemingly minuscule distractions can take up most of your study time.
While more research is needed to establish a clear connection between lower academic performance and social media use, USA Today reported a correlation between lower grade point averages among Ohio State University students who used Facebook compared to those who didn’t. Don’t be the one to help prove the connection. Play it safe, and save the social media for after study time.
3) Make school, not work or sports, your priority.
Anyone who’s been in high school gets it: It’s nice to have extra spending cash and to belong to a team. But when work and sports become the priority over school, your academic performance takes a hit, and hard one at that. Even if you must work to help support yourself and your family or you have a good feeling you’ll do something with sports in the future, carefully consider the impact this will have on your studies and any backup plans you may have.
Map out what you need to do in school to get where you want to be in ten years, and factor in how much time outside of school it will take to accomplish your goals. Don’t be afraid to request fewer hours from your employer or discuss your concerns with your coach.
If they are unwilling to work with you, perhaps that job or team isn’t the right fit anyway. Often, making tough decisions now will pay off later.
4) Schedule time for fun.
You saw that right. It’s important that high school is not all work and no play. If you regularly schedule time to relax and hang out with friends, this will help you stay true to the other time management tricks above.
Carefully balancing school, work, sports, and fun can be challenging. Making time for each in your schedule helps you establish a workable routine and ensures you are able to experience all that high school has to offer.