A common struggle for high school students is figuring out how to efficiently manage their time. Students can easily get caught up in trying to balance responsibilities and time to relax. To help maintain an effective schedule and decide how to best manage your time, here are a few tips to help stay on track: 

   1. Be aware of your workload

   Simply overthinking about all of the tasks and responsibilities that must be completed within your day can become overwhelming. To avoid this, list out and visualize everything that needs to be done by planning a daily agenda. This way, finding out what you need to dedicate time to will become simpler. 

   Online resources are tools that can help organize your schedule. Junior Jana Lam explained that “You can just open up a Google Docs or a spreadsheet and write down all of your upcoming assignments. It acts like an agenda if you don’t have any books or paper to write things down on.” 

   These methods don’t require a computer or the purchase of any software. You can plan your whole day using just your phone. Creating a written list can help you plan your day to day events, and can even make time for non-school activities.

   2. Pace yourself

   Students may end up having lots of work to complete at one point in their day. When faced with bigger tasks, try distributing your work across a longer period of time. That way, you spend more time on easier workloads instead of experiencing an overwhelming amount all at once. 

   Sophomore Jegg Yoon believes that without good time distribution, “you [can] easily burn out and you won’t have any energy left for the rest of the day.” To avoid losing motivation, it is better to spread out your assignments throughout the day.

   3. Prioritize your wellbeing 

   There should always be time set aside for prioritizing wellness. Whether it be taking breaks or engaging in enjoyable hobbies, improving your mood and wellbeing makes working much more approachable and rewarding. 

   “It is so important to make sure you have the time to be happy in your life. Taking care of yourself is just as important as your education,” West Ranch counselor Mrs. Reynoso emphasized. “It also makes all of your hard work seem that much more worth it!”

   Time management is incredibly important! Tips such as these can help improve both your work ethic and increase the amount of personal time you have. Cats, make sure you use these tips so you can have more time to enjoy your time at West Ranch!