Whether it’s parents, teachers or other authority figures in life, we all have people who care enough about us to push us to succeed. But where do we draw the line between a “good work ethic” and a constant and unhealthy need to be productive? How do we know what to prioritize in our lives with so many responsibilities and expectations?
In today’s society, there is a very high expectation, particularly aimed towards teenagers, to be hard-working and future driven. And while it is true, as during your time in adolescence you acquire life skills that will be vital in adulthood, the pressure doesn’t seem to become lighter as you get older.
So how do we understand when our work ethic becomes unhealthy? It can be a difficult realization if everyone around you is also acting in the same ways and even promoting it to you. This perception can become even more dangerous when you are validated on your unhealthy habits. For example, if you find yourself staying up late all the time to finish assignments at the last minute, and in return, you receive parental praise or amazing marks, it proves to you that you can indulge in this sort of lifestyle and still succeed in the end, further internalizing the need to work like this.
If you don’t have a proper school-life balance, over time, you can find yourself being physically and mentally tired, and even have a loss of motivation for life. Having time and stress management is key to so many parts of our lives, and it can be miserable if you can not build this skill early on.
Fighting the Problem at Its Root
Though it may take a while for you to realize your damaging tendencies, just by acknowledging the problem, you have already taken a large step in helping yourself become better at managing your life. Throughout my own life, I have struggled with my own school-life balance because of my stress managing skills and my need to be a perfectionist. I would put too much time and attention into my school work for the sake of “good grades” and prioritize everything else regarding my personal life at the bottom. This sort of mindset is tiring, both mentally and physically, and it is not at all sustainable. After all, “good grades” look different for everyone anyway.
Personally, I have found that this issue stems from the way we perceive life and ourselves. We all have aspirations and expectations for ourselves, and regarding those expectations, we will do things that we think will fulfil them, and will put these tasks as the first priority. When this happens, we can compromise everything else and use the excuse of being too busy. Well to offer perspective, no one really is busy, it is simply how we prioritize our life. If something is truly important to you, you will find the time to invest in it.
And that is why you need to want to improve. If it is not you who wants to change, no improvements can be made to your own life.
So, how can we become better at managing a school-life balance? To create a balanced lifestyle you need to make changes both at school/extracurricular activities and at home.
At school, try to…
- Plan out your day
- Keep a planner or checklist so that you know what to expect of the workload for the day/week/month
- Create efficiency with your work
- Be productive in class and try to stay as focused as possible so that you have less work to complete at home
- Take the necessary steps to be successful
- If you know that you work better while listening to music, in a noisy or quiet environment, etc. let teachers or your authority figures know and make use of the opportunities given to you
- Communicate if struggling and need extra assistance or need extensions on assignments
- If you are struggling with subjects/topics get the teacher’s attention beforehand so that you can work on what you are lacking
- If you know a particular day or week is not convenient for you or that big life events are getting in the way of your schedule, communicate that to teachers clearly
At home, try to…
- Take a break after getting home
- Right after getting home try to get some deserved rest by doing a relaxing activity to wind down. This can be reading, going for a walk, listening to music etc. but be mindful of time. And remember, it isn’t a break if
- Get chores out of the way
- If you have any simple chores like laundry or organizing your desk, try to get them out of the way so that you don’t keep pushing them for later on
- Designate time to work on assignments/study
- If you find that blocking out time for work and studying is inconvenient (a lot of the time you can underestimate how long something takes, or how difficult it is) you can try designating a work period for every day. For example, “I will work on anything school related for two hours every night from 5pm to 7pm”. This way you still take care of your academic responsibilities while still having time for other activities.
- Lessen the workload on busy days
- Don’t try to overpack a day with activities if you already have many things to do. Try your best to alleviate workload by distributing tasks as evenly as possible over the week/month
- Take action to involve yourself
- Try to find other activities to involve yourself in that you know you will enjoy like picking up a sport you have always wanted to try. Finding an outlet will help you feel more motivated, and help relieve any stress
- Get proper amounts of sleep and don’t skip meals
Final Words
The key to a good school-life balance is being able to manage our time effectively and prioritize the right tasks. Regardless, I hope you gained some insight into how you can improve your time management skills, what a well-balanced lifestyle looks like and how important it is for your health! If you have been feeling overwhelmed with your life lately, remember that there is a solution and that better days are ahead.
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