Creating a balance in our life, whether it be for work or school, can be very helpful to reduce stress and reach a higher quality of work.
Although many of us are not necessarily organized, being able to find a balance in the tasks at hand can make life quite a bit easier. For instance: finding harmony between our stressors and things we find calming.
As a student, life can become especially stressful. Trying to juggle academics, a social life, changing hormones and social media can be a lot to handle.
Procrastinating, which a majority of us do, only worsens the stress. Spending too much time on social media or choosing to spend time with friends over doing work will only lead to feeling guilty and being tight for time at the last minute when assignments are due.
Putting ourselves under too much pressure is extremely unhealthy. Trading distractions for schoolwork when we have free time will give us the opportunity to prepare for classes beforehand, ease the pressure of deadlines and open up spare time to focus on our passions and hobbies.
Without academic balance, we can end up working late into the night and losing sleep.
Rest is important for staying focused and obtaining the energy to finish assignments. Preparing a schedule to complete work during open blocks can also help keep a healthy sleep regiment.
Once we have completed our schoolwork and earned our free time, our first thought might be to pick up our device and browse through social media. As I have stated in the past, it is not hard to lose track of time when on the phone.
Something we could be doing instead of eating up time on our devices is enjoying our hobbies. Spending time outside playing sports, going on a walk or perhaps staying inside; reading a book or doing art can benefit us more than losing time on a device.
Of course, it is okay to go on our phones once in a while for fun, but we should keep in mind that an excess of technology just consumes our time. We do not feel as fulfilled after browsing through an app or watching videos for hours as we would if we were to improve a skill, finish a project or advance in a book.
However, as we may well know, living a balanced lifestyle is incredibly difficult.
It is not easy to shut down distractions and say no. We like to procrastinate, but we have to remember that life can be a lot easier if we just get our work done. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment when we have completed a task.
Rewarding ourselves with our favourite television show or something we enjoy can help motivate us to finish our work.
Managing our time to have half an hour of work then 10 minutes of break time can help us stay focused as well.
We should not let the pressure get the best of us. Even finding time to do a little bit of homework at a time can ease the stress.
We should remember we are only human and procrastination comes naturally; it is not something we should dwell on or feel guilty about.
Macy How is a grade 10 student at Brooks Secondary School.
