Although no one wants to hear the dreaded s-word, school is here and it’s here to stay for another 180 days. From the looks of it, every student will be begging for their summer to come back with bags under their eyes on the first day back to school. In order to avoid falling asleep the first week of school or dashing off every morning without the school forms you need to turn in, here are some tips to lighten the load.
Start Going to Bed Earlier
When summer rolls around we can all stay up late and party until the sun rises, but when school starts, the whole idea must be tossed away. Most people wait until the night before school starts to readjust their sleeping schedule, but, as most of us know, it never works out. During the first week of school try to adjust your sleeping schedule so you have at least six hours of sleep every day; With this, you won’t be that kid who falls asleep in class the first week or two of school.
Pack Everything Away the Night Before
As school returns, loads of forms will have to be filled out for your new teachers, along with the endless pile of papers from the school. In order to avoid misplacing everything, pack away whatever you need the night before. It doesn’t hurt to plan out tomorrow’s school uniform dress-up or the supplies you might need the next day either.
“The advantages I find by packing my bag before school is that in the morning I have no idea what’s going on, so if I’ve already packed my bag. I don’t have to worry about forgetting something because I’ve already done that the previous night,” said Mishal Khan, sophomore in the Health Academy.
You Can’t Play Video Games Every Day Now
Unfortunately, one of the biggest losses for students across the nation is that they can’t watch their favorite shows or press the buttons on their video games 24/7 when school begins. Transitioning from this heaven to piles of work will be difficult, but perhaps making a schedule to even out the time between activities will help a bit.
Finish Everything As Soon As Possible
The number one problem for students is procrastination. You won’t get a load of homework the first few weeks of school, but this will soon turn into maximum overdrive as teachers stop babying you in your work. Stop procrastinating. Get things done or you might regret it when you’re staying up until midnight working.
“I always procrastinate and it causes me stress because when I try doing work last minute it causes me to get anxiety problems. I want to get a good grade, but putting things off makes me feel like I let myself down. I hate when I get a C or lower on something I could have done better on,” said Joyce Cardenas, a sophomore in Forensic Science in the Cambridge Academy.
Don’t Destroy Your GPA
Procrastination and your GPA go hand-and-hand. The less you procrastinate, the higher your GPA will go, but if it’s the opposite, you might as well wish your GPA sayonara. For incoming freshman, don’t play around. This is the year to make a foundation for your next three years of high school. For sophomores and upperclassmen, if you wrecked your GPA, this year is your chance to fix it.
Don’t Waste Your Weekends
While we might’ve spent our summer weekends sleeping till one p.m. or later, when school starts your weekends are the only things you’ll be looking forward to. Take the time during your weekends to work or relax, not just sleep and eat. School is back and for those who adjust too late, this transition won’t be fun.
Rest up. Pack up. And wake up, because the dreaded time consumer we call school begins now.
