How To Tackle Academic Stress

As a junior in high school, I understand the challenges of juggling academics and extracurricular activities, especially as the prospect of college looms larger in our minds. Prioritizing mental health and being mindful of it is crucial for effectively managing these demands. Ignoring it can lead to constant overwhelm, causing stress and burnout. While balancing work and life can be challenging, it’s essential to be aware of our workload and experiences.

To provide some context, let’s look at the time students spend on various activities. On average, students dedicate 3-7 hours per week to studying for assessments, completing homework, or working on projects. During their sports seasons, student athletes spend 10-15 hours per week on training and games. However, these hours can vary depending on the student’s classes and sport. Typically, the school day ends at 3:15 pm or 4:00 pm, or even later for student athletes. This leaves limited time for dinner, rest, work, or other extracurricular activities. So, how do we manage our time effectively and maintain a healthy workload?

Strategies for effectively managing time and maintaining a healthy workload

While these strategies may not be universally applicable, they provide general guidance.

Create a To-Do List

A to-do list helps you organize tasks, keeping you aware of your responsibilities and preventing you from feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work.

Create a Planner – Physical or Online

A planner acts as an extension of a to-do list, enabling you to list daily tasks and allocate specific time slots for each. This structured approach fosters organization and discipline.

Plan Ahead

Consider planning ahead by a day or two. This proactive approach helps you to anticipate tasks and allocate sufficient time for their completion.

Identify and Eliminate Distractions

Recognizing and eliminating distractions is essential for maintaining focus and productivity. To motivate yourself to complete tasks, consider using incentives or reward systems, such as gamified focus techniques.

The following applications help combat doom scrolling, and some even incorporate gamified elements to reduce scrolling time: Playsee, Headway, StopScroll, NoScroll, and Blinkist. Other applications that assist in managing screen time include Opal and ScreenZen.

Prioritize tasks that are more significant or challenging over those that are minor and inconsequential.

Decide whether it’s more effective to eliminate more demanding and time-consuming tasks or to complete shorter and less important ones, or if the opposite approach suits you better.

Recognizing Early Signs of Burnout and Taking a Break

Experiencing a lack of motivation is a natural occurrence, especially for students who may be prone to burnout, particularly when faced with increased responsibilities. However, identifying early signs of burnout and taking a break is crucial. Firstly, it is essential to acknowledge the symptoms or aspects of burnout.

• Lack of motivation

• Inability to control distractions

• Excessive sleeping or napping

• Diminished interest in academics or grades, despite their continued importance

• Diminished self-esteem or signs of decreased satisfaction, which may manifest in thoughts, outbursts, or social isolation

• Feelings of being burdened or burdened by tasks

• Recognizing the appearance of burnout is crucial, but it is equally important to identify its contributing factors. These factors can be categorized into three groups:

• Academic Environment

• Excessive workload or stress, stemming from college, assessments, or projects

• Personality Traits

• Students with neurodiversity, such as ADHD or depression, may be more susceptible to burnout

• Perfectionism or overachievement

• Lifestyle Factors

• Lack of physical exercise

• Bullying

• Lack of external support

• Insufficient sleep

It’s crucial to consider these factors before addressing burnout. Recognizing these signs early can give you more time for self-care and help you prioritize it while maintaining a healthy work pace.

Learn How to Request Assistance

Finally, it is crucial to recognize that seeking assistance is a sign of strength, not weakness. Everyone should develop the ability to request help and recognize when it is appropriate to take a break before it becomes detrimental. Regular mental health check-ins can be beneficial even when they aren’t immediately necessary. Moreover, researching available community resources, such as those provided by schools, churches, or other programs, can be invaluable. Having a support system, whether it’s friends, family, or a support group, offers a safe space to express concerns and receive emotional support. It is crucial to have resources readily available, irrespective of the severity of the issue. However, in more severe cases, reaching out to a mental health hotline, such as Teen Line, or utilizing the crisis support resources listed in the “resources" section of this blog can be incredibly helpful.

Conclusion:

From this post, it is important to take away the following key points:

First and foremost, it’s essential to be mindful of your workload, including the number of tasks you have, the time they take to complete, and their impact on your mental well-being.

Second, based on this information, develop effective strategies to manage your time and workload. This can be accomplished through various methods, such as using planners, creating to-do lists, minimizing distractions, and implementing incentives.

Third, be vigilant in recognizing the signs of burnout and actively work to prevent it from worsening.

Lastly, never hesitate to seek help when needed. Reach out to any available resources and explore the mental health support options provided in the  resources section of this blog.