Time management can help you have a healthy balance of both.

By Vishruth Bhargava

December 17, 2024

High school is tough, and many students find themselves stressing and sacrificing their mental health in the name of good grades. In fact, some students report that when they feel overworked and decide to take it easy on the schoolwork and studying, their grade starts to drop, which makes them stress even more. All this seems to be a vicious cycle, so what can stop it?

 

Time is key to a better balance. One student says that because of the amount of time they spend on school work and studying, they are unable to really pursue hobbies and interests that make them happy, thus ruining their mood. Because of this common occurrence, time management is one way to improve your mental health while still getting your work done, and there are some methods to manage your time well that I find work well.

 

• Set a to-do list to picture how much you have to do for the day and how long you have to finish it. I recently started to use this method and it has worked wonders for me, especially if you are one to overestimate how much work you have.

• Limit distraction during work. Excessive distractions during work are usually not mentally rewarding and they just extend the amount of time you need to get work done. If working time extends then the amount of downtime you have shrinks, therefore diminishing your mood and mental health. I did this a lot and found myself with little time to do the things I wanted, until I realized that my phone was a big issue to my productivity.

• Try not to procrastinate. Procrastination is a big problem with me and, reportedly, with many of my peers. Procrastination is logically redundant because you have to do that work eventually anyway, so why wait? The human brain prioritizes happiness now over more lasting happiness later, according to Solvingprocrastination.com. This is why many people, including myself, procrastinate a lot. Despite this human nature, I recently cut back on procrastination due to something I realized that was dragging my mood. When a person procrastinates, the fun they have in the moment is ruined by the looming feeling that they have work to do, and they feel bad the whole day, but if they do work first and then play, they feel accomplishment after finishing their work, and they can enjoy their hobbies without that looming feeling of unfinished work dragging them down.

 

Increasing productivity when working is an important part of having more downtime, but what you do with downtime is equally as important to maximizing your mental state and your mood.

 

Stressful activities and dangerous activities can lower your mental state even further which is why it is important to choose activities that are soothing, fun, or exciting.

 

Some things that Psychology Today recommends that can calm you down are:

 

• Taking a hot bath or shower

• Painting or coloring

• Listening to your favorite song

• Play a game you enjoy like Monopoly or UNO

• Or doing any other things that bring you joy

 

Like all things in life, balance is key when dealing with improving your mental health.

 

Finding the right balance for yourself can be the difference between a happy high school experience and burnout, so find a balance to maximize academic success and the happiness in your everyday life.

 

Please speak to your counselor if you have any more issues with your mental health or if you have any more questions.

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