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Finding Balance Between Academics and Extracurricular Activities

Published Date

Duc Le

by Duc Le

2nd Year Student in International Management

Have you ever found yourself being overwhelmed with school work and extracurricular activities (clubs, sports, etc.)? We all have something to do at school to keep ourselves busy and involved. Nonetheless, sometimes we are having trouble finding the right balance between academics and social life. The imbalance could lead to counter-performances in either academics or extracurricular activities; if we cannot find a way to manage the pressure, it will slowly turn into stress.

Here are some tips that will hopefully make your life easier:

  1. Create a detailed timetable and stick with it: The first tip to deal with anything in life is, you must be well organized. In order to stay on track with all your assignments, deadlines, and commitments for clubs, you need a timetable. Plan everything ahead of time and when it needs to be done. Prioritize academic work, for instance, assignments, midterms, finals, etc., and fit your activities in the free time slot whenever you are available.
  2. Always be mindful that academics come first: Always keep in mind that the primary reason why you are coming to university is to learn. Activities are crucial as they make you stand out from others; however, keeping your grades high and attending classes is more important as you will need to apply all that new knowledge after you graduate.
  3. Set a goal and work hard for it: Before studying or doing activities, always set a goal that you want to achieve and promise to work hard towards it. In academics, aim for high grades in classes. In extracurricular activities, aim for a leadership position and get the most out of it by dedicating several hours to it.
  4. Give yourself a break: We all want to get straight A’s and it is great to have that mindset. Nevertheless, that will not always be the case. Do not stress yourself out if you do not get what you were aiming for. Sometimes, you will fall short, so stay on track and give yourself a break from all the school work, activities. A long period sitting in front of your computer doing an assignment or a task will not help. Stand up, move around, listen to music or watch a movie to reduce stress are going to boost your concentration level and productivity.