- That’s how many hours are in a week. Everyone needs to learn how to best use these hours to do what they want. High school students often need to balance sports, work, and homework in their day-to-day lives. If you consider the addition of family, friends, and sleep, you can see how quickly these hours run out.
Without everything else, school can still be overwhelming. Most kids have classes that they don’t like, whether it’s the teacher, classmates, or the course material. This can lead to feelings of laziness and a lack of motivation, with time spent doing nothing. A solution to this can be focusing on the positive aspects of school. Focusing on the few classes you don’t like could cause you to forget about the ones you like. Think about the things you enjoy, like times with friends or games in PE. Changing your attitude can go a long way with grades and overall enjoyment.
“Interactions with others at school usually pass my day as well as just looking at some school work and getting them done, so when I get home, most of my homework is finished,” says Dylan Ho, a senior at Rochester High School.
Getting homework done efficiently is the key to managing your time overall and not becoming overwhelmed. A homework plan is one way you can work through everything and be efficient. Take time to understand your assignments beforehand, so you get a good idea of how much time you need to complete them. By doing this, you can also get help if necessary, before it’s 2 hours prior to the due date.
Colleen O’Shea, M.D, from Nemours TeenHealth says, “You’ll do best if you can find a place to get away from distractions, like a bedroom or study.”
Constant distractions in your workspace will make you extremely inefficient. This especially applies to your phone, so you should be wary of how accessible it is. You should also be comfortable. Just being uncomfortable can be a distraction, so it’s important if you need to get a lot of work done. Tiredness can affect your productivity as well, so being well rested will ensure you are working at maximum efficiency.
Having a job can be a good addition to a high schooler’s life. You can learn many life skills this way, and earn extra cash. You can learn how to work and communicate with all kinds of people, and be introduced to perspectives outside your school bubble. These skills are important for your entire life.
“Yes, it has caused me some stress at some points. Watching some kid try and jump off a wall into a shallow pool and fall over and almost hit their head will give anybody a heart attack,” says David Johnson, a high school student and lifeguard at the local YMCA.
If your job is stressing you out, an important step is finding out where it comes from. If it is from the amount of time used during your week, you might need to employ better time management methods or cut back on your hours. If you are stressed out by the work you do or the people you work with, you should have a conversation with your manager or find another job.
“Teens who work more than 20 hours a week have a lower grade point average than those who work 10 hours or less a week, “ says Gina Klein, a parent from KC Parent Magazine with much experience in this area.
This is very important to consider when planning your schedule. If you struggle in school already, your hours should top out around 10 per week. If it is necessary for you to work 20+ hours a week, you should use as many homework and time management strategies as you can, and even cut back on some sports or extracurricular activities. Overall, it is important to mix the things you like doing with the things you need to do, while not overloading your plate.
