By ANNA DIMOND
RED STAFFER
Making the grade while having fun --
and not stressing out.
As you mill around on your school's club day, plan your classes and start envisioning your next few months at school, here are a few things to consider:
Decide what your goals & priorities are for the semester or year.
Before you sign yourself up for anything, write down your key goals. As you think about and develop them, your choices about activities and scheduling should be based on and support those goals and priorities. Things to consider include:
1. Courseload:
OK, it's school – so you can't really get around the fact that classes need to come first. Do you have options, though, about how you schedule them? Instead of stacking really long days, consider spreading them out across your week so you're not overloaded on any one day. Are you thinking about AP or advanced classes? Don't succumb to the pressure to take five – one to three is more than enough.
Plan for exams and other stressors.
2. Sports & Activities:
If you're already on a sports team, that's next. In both high school and college, sports take up major time and generally structure your days. Don't underestimate how much time and energy they take – or, if you feel there just isn’t time to try other things you've been wanting to (like theater -- hello, Zac Efron), taking a break from your sport for a semester is OK, too.
3.Other Commitments?
Are you going to be taking the SATs? Applying to schools? Just getting started with college life? Again, give yourself time to focus on these things – they really can't be squeezed in among an already hectic schedule, unless you're willing to give up your social life, or any other free time that makes it all worth it.
Still scrambling? Disappoint people.
Obviously, by 'disappoint' I don't mean be the black sheep of your family and make everyone worry that you'll be a jobless partier like Matthew McConaughey in 'Failure to Launch' ten years from now. We mean just say no if you don't have time to do things. Even if you sometimes it means skipping a trip to the mall or maybe not taking a lead role in your volunteer club – it will let you focus on the things you've already prioritized.
You might think that you're occasionally letting people down --but you'll look actually be stronger and more confident because you're taking control of your own time.
You think you'll have it all figured out, with no glitches in your carefully-planned schedule of school, dance class, hanging with friends and your weekend job? Sorry, dudes – there is no way it's always going to go smoothly. So plan a certain time each day – even once a week – in which you're going to do that set of math problems you forgot about, check a few cell phone messages, eat (don't forget that) –whatever. Just set it aside.
Overwhelmed? Ask for help and regroup. The good news is, you don't have to have it all figured out yourself – it's ok to ask for some advice. My high school guidance counselor – followed by my college adviser – always helped reassess and plan better when things got a little chaotic. I didn't always take their advice, but sometimes, going to your coach, professor, parent, teammate – even your boss or co-workers – is the best way to get some perspective.
They may task you with making some hard choices – like giving up something for the time being that isn’t a core priority – but it's good to toughen up sometimes, even if it seems like a sacrifice at the time – it's really doing yourself a favor.
In other cases, maybe they'll surprise you, and give you the OK to skip a game, get an extension or opt out of a club meeting one day. It happens – just be honest about it with yourself and others. Keeping some of these ideas in mind, soon, you could be surprising yourself.
