With all of the chaos that has been these past couple of school years, school is now back to a more familiar way of learning. In-person learning is back to being the new norm, with online education being a backup in case of snow days or other tricky weather conditions. 

At the beginning of what should be a normal school year, it’s important to develop good habits and routines that will set you up for a productive and successful school year. An Instagram post came on my feed the other day about tips on how to make it through the school year, so with inspiration from the Instagram account impact, here are some tips for this year. 

1. Learn how to Say No

School can be exhausting, especially when it first starts. Getting back into a routine is more complicated than one might realize. So if you’re feeling tired or like you don’t have the motivation to go out with friends, just politely decline. You do not always have to be going and going. You don’t have to join every club or go to every school event if you don’t feel like you can. It’s important to also say no to situations you’re not comfortable in. Go with your gut and trust your instincts. The Earth will continue to spin and life will go on if you decline an invitation or take a rain check. 

       2. Prioritize Sleep 

As someone who will stay up until the wee hours of the morning no matter what I have going on the next day, this is something I struggle with the most. If I haven’t had enough time to myself during the day, I’ll resort to something called revenge bedtime procrastination. I’ll spend some extra hours awake and do some reading, watch TV, or play video games to make up for the lack of free time I had that day. The next morning I feel it. This definitely impacts my school focus and sometimes my motivation. So even when you feel like you need more time to yourself to watch TV or play video games, opt for some sleep. Having a healthy sleep schedule will help you with stress, improve your work at school, and improve your mood. 

      3. Find a Creative Outlet

Creative outlets are one of the most important things to incorporate into your lifestyle. You can’t always work with no play. Having time for yourself is super important for your mental health. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. It may not seem like it, but if your mental health is not taken care of then you’re just as bad off as you would be if you were physically sick. So, finding something that comforts you and your mental health is vital for having a productive school year, whether it’s reading, journaling, drawing or painting, or listening to or making music. Having something you can fall back on in moments of stress or anxiety is so relieving when you’re under a lot of stress. 

       4. Try to Eliminate Distractions

For most students, there are about a million other things we’d rather be doing than studying or doing homework. It’s so tempting to just get on your phone or get on a game instead of doing work. Thankfully, there’s enough time in the week for you to be able to balance all of your wants and needs. When it comes to things you need to be doing, it’s important to eliminate distractions preventing you from being productive. If you have a hard time focusing on work, you can also try to practice mindfulness, meditation, taking short breaks when necessary, connecting with nature, and getting more sleep. By grounding yourself, you’re allowing your mind to calm down and focus on things since your mind isn’t going a million miles an hour when you’re stressing about multiple things at once. 

      5. Grades don’t define you

The biggest factor for stress in my life is grades. I’m constantly worried about assignments, tests, and quizzes that could negatively or positively affect my grades. If my grades aren’t what I want them to be, I stress out and worry about it for as long as it takes for me to fix them. However, I’ve realized that I can’t worry myself to death about something so minuscule in the span of my lifetime. It’s okay to be stressed or worried about grades, but not to the point where you sacrifice your well-being to get what you want with them. So if you don’t always get the grade you want, know that that’s okay. It’s not the end of the world, it’s just a bump in the road, and you will still be able to do great things in the future, even if you didn’t always get that perfect grade.   

     6. Take study breaks

When doing work for long periods of time, you can easily get exhausted. So if you start feeling this way while trying to get work done, know that taking a short break might be the best idea. Brain breaks can help you with concentration and stress when you’re feeling overwhelmed. It’s most productive to take a break from anywhere around 5-60 minutes in order to improve your focus. Don’t pressure yourself to get everything done in one sitting, take breaks when you feel necessary.  

        7. Don’t fear new ideas or activities

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to face your fears and get out of your comfort zone. Schoolwise, you can do that by joining clubs, sports, and taking classes that maybe you typically wouldn’t. Take classes that are more challenging and require more work than your average class. These classes can benefit you further in the future and bring you closer to your goals. 

       8. Be present in the moment

Don’t let yourself get so caught up in all of your work that you forget to have fun. If you want to have a productive year, you have to let yourself enjoy other activities so as to not overwhelm yourself with your workload. Attend any football games, basketball games, soccer games, or literally anything that interests you throughout the school year. There’s at least one school dance per year, so go with your friends and try to enjoy yourself. 

      9. Branch out

There are so many clubs here at Central Hardin for all students to join, so join any clubs that may interest you. Don’t be afraid to attend any meetings for these clubs, or contact their sponsors. You can find our article talking about all of the clubs we have at Central on our website here. 

      10. Balance

Balance is incredibly important in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Balancing school and work can be a complicated task for some. They can’t find a happy medium between the two, as well as any other activities they might be doing. Sometimes you have to force yourself to stop working or stop being unproductive. Self-control and self-discipline are attributes that come with time and practice. After some trial and error regarding what works for you regarding self-discipline and what doesn’t, you’ll be able to find a balance in your life. Work and school are important, but so is time for yourself. Balance will help you with school, your mental health, and eliminating distractions. 

Everyone’s school year can be productive in their own sense, whether it’s passing classes with honors grades, or just passing the class. All goals are goals to be celebrated, so no matter what your goals are this year, I encourage you to pursue them and push yourself further once you meet your goals. So with all of the advice I’ve presented to you today, apply what stuck out to you, and reach your goals this year. Good luck!