Assess Your Situation

Success! You finished your last homework assignment! It's finally time for bed. You look over at your clock to assess the number of hours you'll be sleeping...and it's six in the morning. An all-nighter? AGAIN?

You’ll have to sleep during first period. Your teacher won’t notice. All he/she does is drone on half the class, anyway.

I know that you’re tired, and that some classes can be boring. But I also know that they’re essential to your graduation, and to better prepare you for your future. So how are you going to balance your health and your education? Equally important, how are you going to maintain your happiness level?

What it boils down to is—Oh no! Not this awful phrase!—how you’re managing your time. Deep down in our hearts, we know this truly is the key to make things a lot easier on ourselves.

I’ve spent innumerable days lounging around the house, surfing Facebook, and ultimately complaining about my homework load without doing anything about it. Had I just (please excuse the sexist phrase) taken it like a man, I could have done a page of math, answered biology questions, and completed half of an essay. Instead, I condemned myself to both negativity and inactivity. And that’s just not the way to go.

As an IB (International Baccalaureate) student, I’m all too familiar with the stress that relentlessly pours down on a teen’s shoulders. I’m aware that seemingly 90% of us would rather do something leisurely than scholarly.

The only cure for that, my friends, is to immerse yourself in both. And that means getting the latter done quickly to leave ample time for the first.

It makes more sense to get your homework done in two focused hours than in eight, yes, eight, hours of procrastination that are clouded by guilt of not doing anything productive.

I whole-heartedly believe that it is the first step toward a happier lifestyle, because you’ll eliminate the stress of leaving things until the last possible minute .

So take a magnifying glass and point it inward. Do you do things the day they’re assigned, as soon as you get home? Or do you really start a high-intensity project at nine P.M., desperately trying to bring home an average grade?

More often than not, you’re going to fall under the second category.

I urge you guys to try to procrastinate a little less, because it’s completely beneficial- no bad side effects. Getting your homework done quickly won’t clog up your arteries or cause nausea. It’ll open up your social calendar and your time to relax, which can only lead to a central feeling of peace and ease.