When seven hours of your day are overwhelmed by school it’s hard to not just go home and take a nap. Falling into a comfy bed or binge-watching TV are attractive pass times after those long hours of focusing on tedious numbers and obscure facts but in the be all end all, great sum of things it’s not beneficial to you, your work, or your body. Here are 7 ways to handle a busy schedule and the school year:

Stay on Top of Your Work:

As boring as homework might sound, and is, staying on top of it helps keep you stress-free. Schedule time for yourself to get your homework done and to study for any of your upcoming tests. Put your phone away and delegate a certain amount of time to your work allowing you to focus without any distractions. To help play calming music or use a reward system to keep you motivated while working on your assignments. Also, there is no rule saying you can’t take time after school or class to do something that you want to do. If you’re happy, doing your work will not seem as much of a chore and is often easier to get done when you are in a good mindset. 

Reward Yourself:

Schoolwork can often be mind-numbing and the boredom it causes leads to a lack of focus and a strung-out process of getting it done. To keep on top of your work, or even help focus during an assignment, reward yourself. After a long day of school or work, do something fun or that you like, and try to avoid being inactive. Though laying down and binging TV seems like great after-school activities, binge-watching can be harmful being addictive and dangerous to your health. As well it often unfocuses your mind from anything other than the show. As positive rewards try a sport, taking a walk, an artistic hobby or even just hanging out with a couple of friends. Each of these activities helps stimulate your brain and helps put you into a better mindset and increases your energy and often improves how you feel. 

Make Plans:

As a way to help you get through the school year you need more to focus on than just school work. Whether working, volunteering, hanging around your friends or going out, making plans to do something allows you to have something to look forward to. 

Stay Active:

Besides improving your physical health, staying active is beneficial metally. Physical activity is a natural mood lifter that can relieve stress, anxiety, anger, and depression. As well, working out gives routine to your days and another activity to look forward to. Other effects are improving your strength, capability, maintaining a fit body, and longer life.  

Figure Out Your Priorities:

Figuring out your priorities is extremely helpful when juggling more than one class or activity. If you know when assignments are due and how much time you have to work on them you can break down them all down into a list to see what is emergent and what you have time to do. This can help you organize your work and delegate your time properly. If you prioritize your schedule it can be easier for you to spend time doing things other than work.

Make a Schedule:

Keeping a schedule will keep you on track. By writing down due dates, tests, quizzes, meetings, and your plans will make sure that you’re on top of things. As well it helps you manage your time and relieves the stress of possibly forgetting something. You can do this with a calendar, a dot journal, and agenda, a notebook or even just a simple list. However you keep track of it does not matter exactly but having it all written is beneficial and will ensure success.

Develop Habits:

As you work on improving in each of these categories, and get into a flow of things, developing good habits is very important and sets a precedent for how you do for the rest of the school year. By starting off good and working hard, as well as keeping a schedule and staying on top of your work, you are setting yourself up for a good school year. Do not slack off or save things for later, get into a good work routine and make sure everything is under control. By doing consistently you will have this year down.