Hello! As a happy Tuesday post, naturally I’m going to talk about school. Hooray. Okay, but seriously, for any of you readers out there who are full time students PLUS athletes, I think this post will be very helpful. Actually, I think this post will have good tips for anyone looking to be more productive, set up in a nice DO and DON’T list plus more thoughts below!
DO- Put priority on your education. Please, if you really have to choose, your education is so much more important than athletics!
DON’T- Miss too many assignments. Your grades will seriously suffer if you never turn in any work, no matter how brilliant you are. If you’re behind, it’s okay to skip practice once in a while to catch up! Especially in high school, your coaches will understand, because if you fail your classes, you won’t be able to participate in your sport anyway.
DO- Take pride in good performance. You work hard to earn good grades and good athletic results (be it scores, points, etc), so enjoy the rewards you’ve rightfully earned!
DON’T- Beat yourself up about mistakes. You’re only human. Mistakes happen. The best thing you can do is to shake it off and move on. Mistakes are excellent learning opportunities, though, so try to learn!
As an example, I’m a swimmer, and this past season I missed my event! It was at a big invitational, and because I didn’t swim my individual event, technically I wasn’t allowed to swim in my relays! I was devastated- I never once thought that I would ever miss my event, and IÂ felt awful for letting my team down in the relays. Thankfully, other girls had been missing their events at this meet too, and the officials let everyone swim. Even though I swam in the rest of the meet, I still remember how crushed I was when I thought I had let my team down, and I know that I’ll pay much more attention in future meets!
More thoughts…
-Having an after school activity really cuts down on procrastination. It’s true that the task will take up as much time as you have, so if you have a small time frame, your task will be done quickly.
-Set deadlines for yourself. This goes with the thought above, because you will need to stick to your deadlines to complete your tasks.
-Use a planner. And use it often! Write down your schedules, all your assignments, other tasks, and whatever else you need to keep on top of things; then, look at it a couple times a day to keep yourself on track!
-It’s so great doing an after school sport or other activity. Sports really do lower your stress and help you stay focused overall. Even if you’re not a sporty person, join a club you like such as Drama, Art, Band, Choir, etc. to do something fun, social, and mentally relaxing! Having something other than schoolwork to focus on gives you a much-needed break from all the school stress.
-Doing activities makes you a well-rounded person, which helps you to learn more and get out into the world. Opportunities expand as you do! Plus, it’s always fun to be involved with something you love!
It is challenging juggling academics and athletics, but it truly is worth the effort! I hope that today’s post has given you ideas and tips that you can apply to your life!
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