You know the feeling: it’s 10 pm on a Monday, your math homework isn’t done and you have two chapters of history notes waiting for you. Stress in high school is extremely overwhelming but it doesn’t have to control your life and mental health.
You might feel like you have no time because of all of the extracurriculars your doing, balancing everything feels nearly impossible. The psychologist at Tamalpais High School, Elizabeth Bartling, had a few recommendations for balance. “You can look at Canvas and pick what needs to be done first, what needs to be done second, and so on and budget out your time to make that happen.” Bartling advised. “It just seems too insurmountable of a task when they look at Canvas and think, ‘oh my gosh, there’s so many assignments to do I am never going to get this done.’” Breaking a long To-Do list of assignments down into smaller, manageable parts can improve your feeling of stress and anxiety greatly, as Bartling said. When you log into canvas and see a long list of assignments, it’s really easy to feel overwhelmed and shut down before even starting.
While it’s helpful to hear from professionals, it is also helpful to see how our peers manage their work. Brooklyn Hatch is a junior who recently just committed to UC Davis to play D1 lacrosse. When asked about a tool that helps her study, she answered, “I have this app called Brick, and basically I scan my phone with it and it shuts my phone off, and then it can tell me how many hours of homework I did.” Brick temporarily blocks distracting apps and notifications. Brick is both a physical device you can buy from the website and the Apple Store, and an app you download that will prevent notifications from distracting you. This device and app has helped Hatch keep her high GPA while also being very successful in sports. Hatch shared a piece of advice for anyone going through the recruiting process on how to balance the two.“Go to tutorials a lot…and take advantage of Fridays and the weekends.”
Ellie McEvilley, a junior on varsity tennis and varsity lacrosse here at Tam, let us in on a few things that have proved to work well for her. “I never stay up past 11 pm,” McEvilley shared, “I also try to work on big projects in little parts.” For McEvilley, balancing school with sports means she needs to be intentional about managing time. By setting a rule for herself to never go to sleep later than 11 pm, she is then able to focus in her classes and focus during her practices. With her approach to breaking up big assignments into little parts, she avoids cramming at the last minute and not getting enough sleep the next day. By cramming late at night and rushing, when you’re tired, you aren’t doing the work the best you can and you won’t be rested for the next day.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital studies show that sleep deprivation affects three main things: mood, cognitive ability, and academic performance. You’re more likely to feel stressed and irritated when you’re sleep deprived because it’s harder to regulate your emotions when you’re tired. On top of that, it also affects your cognitive ability, affecting your capacity to concentrate well in class, remember what you studied, or think critically. Both of these issues lead to academic performance, with research showing that tired teens often have a lower rate of academic success.
But managing stress is not about creating a strict, must-follow routine, it’s about finding small changes that personally work for you. Whether it’s breaking it down into smaller parts, using an app, or setting certain times to go to sleep, small adjustments lead to greater and more successful results.