Learning sleeps and snores in libraries, but wisdom is everywhere, wide awake, on tiptoe.
--Josh Billings
5 Tips to Balance the Teen Life
by Chloe
Balancing sports, school, friends and homework can get stressful. Especially when you throw in after school sports practice, studying, chores and texting all your friends. I know, I'm living it everyday. Or as the saying goes - ‘been there, done that.’
You eventually find your balance. I liken it to stacking my school books on top of my basketball, while vaccuming my room and texting my friends. Everything is tottering, but I'm able to keep everything in balance...most of the time.
Sometimes it just all comes tumbling down and I just want to hide in my closet and cry.
Here are five tips you can use to help stabilize your tower of responsibility.
1) Get a calendar, if you don't already have one. List all of the events that are coming up. Basketball games, sleepovers, spelling competitions, dance lessons and school events. Planning it all out will help you keep track of it and help reduce the stress of remembering it. This is a simple idea, but very powerful.
2) Pack all of your stuff in your bag(s) the night before. In the morning when you're rushing around, you can easily grab them and go. This saves you from having to wear a pair of jeans you pulled out of the dirty clothes hamper and it reduces the chance that you'll forget your homework or practice clothes. Do it every night before you sit down and watch TV or get on the computer. If you wait to do this until bedtime, you won't have time to get anything washed or convince your mom to run you to the store to buy your best friend a birthday gift.
3) Get off the TV and stop instant messaging all the time. Take time to get started on your homework -- don't wait to start until the night before it's due or you'll always be cramming. Break down big projects into smaller bites and then transfer your tasks to your calendar. Study a little every night, then relax and enjoy the rest of your evening.
4) Have a friend over and help each other study. Sometimes misery loves company and suddenly studying isn't so miserable anymore. Just make sure you pick a friend that will actually help you and not distract you from getting your work done. When you're finished studying, reward yourselves by doing each others nails. Guys, you might want to think up some other reward : -)
5) If you try all of the tips above and you're still feeling overwhelmed, you're probably trying to do too much. Figure out what you're doing that you could stop doing. I doubt your mom will let you stop doing your chores and your teachers won't let you stop doing your homework. Maybe you could pick one TV show to watch each night and then turn the TV off -- or-- don't have a sleepover every single weekend, so you have time to get prepared for the upcoming week.
Let me know how this works for you.