If you’re like the majority of high school students, including myself, you may struggle with balancing your time. Having to deal with deadlines for homework and projects and making sure you’re prepared for tests is enough for most people already. Add in clubs, school sports, and other extracurriculars, and school is taking up a large portion of most students’ time, in and out of school. This leaves very little time for students to hang out with friends, enjoy leisure activities, and do things for themselves. Students get so caught up in school and grades that they struggle to find time to do things that make them happy, which is very unfortunate because finding time to do things that make you happy is essential in a student’s growth. Another factor to think about is spending time with your family, something that can be overlooked in the busy, time-consuming daily life of a student.

Personally, as a senior this is exactly what I have been going through as a student, especially over my past two years. Taking harder classes is one of the main things that leads to consuming a lot of time. Taking these classes is a good thing and challenges students to work hard, but sometimes students overwork themselves and end up stressing out and taking more time. I take multiple AP level classes, so the workload is pretty tough, and I know that I have found it difficult to manage my time with a large amount of work to do. I know students personally who are so caught up in school that they are unable to do things that they enjoy, and I hate to see that. I have been in this situation plenty of time as well, from missing out on hanging with friends, to missing family gatherings, and missing school events. This was all because of school work.

It wasn’t until this year that I figured out a good way to manage my time. One thing I would suggest that has worked for me, but won’t work for everybody, is to get a planner to organize everything you do. Everyday, I use my planner to write down all my homework and make sure I know all my schoolwork for that night. I also write down all my extracurricular activities and figure out how much time I believe everything will take. This helps you get an estimate of how much time you will spend working and the amount of time you will have for leisure activities. Organization is key in making sure you are on top of your time management, and is a great help to limit stress. Finding time to be with friends and family is something that students should work their school schedule around, not vise versa. Yes, school is very important, but don’t let it drain you mentally. Do things that help you manage your time, but also do things that make you happy.