8 Tips to Get Ready for School in the Fall

#1: Stay Safe

If you decide to or must go back to in-person school in the coming school year, it is essential to stay safe to keep you and your community safe. To do so, this means wearing a mask, washing your hands often, social distancing, cleaning/disinfecting surfaces you will touch, and strictly following the protocol. When you decide not to follow these safety procedures, you are putting others at risk.

#2: Don't Neglect Your Health

Other than protecting yourself from the virus, it is crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Once you practice these good habits and get into a routine with it,

Physical Health

It's a no brainer that eating healthy is very important. Eating healthy can reduce cancer risk, prevent heart health and stroke, and create strong bones and teeth. However, most people do not realize that it can improve your memory, improve your mood, and benefit your neurological functions.

You must have heard this a million times but DRINK WATER. Believe it or not, more than 75% of people are chronically dehydrated. Like food, it helps maximize physical performance and brain function. To calculate the amount of water you should drink a day, you take half your body weight and drink that amount in ounces of water.

Exercise, exercise, exercise. We get it, you get it, we all understand that working out is essential. Of course, there are immediate and long term benefits to it, nevertheless benefits. Exercise is a crucial element to the overall health, and you should do it regularly. It does not matter what type of physical activity, or what, where, how you do it, do what works for you.

Mental Health

Most people, especially the older generation, do not realize how important mental health is. Always have someone to talk to, whether it be a friend or a trusted adult. If you need help, ask for it, it will not always just come to you. Be optimistic, it may seem hard, but it will save you from a lot of unfortunate situations. Remember this year will be hard for everyone, so it's okay not to feel okay sometimes. Try to find a stress-relieving outlet, whether that's doing something creative or talking to someone to help you get past the hard times.

#3: Distractions

Now that there isn't an adult that can supervise your behavior, be sure to eliminate distractions that can disrupt your learning. These distractions include your phone, other tabs open, or other gadgets that can take your attention away from your focus. Instead, turn airplane mode on, close unrelated tabs, and remove the knick-knacks that get in your way.

#4: Stay Organized!

It is essential to stay organized - organized in all aspects.

Study Space

Keep your study space clean and neat. Your study space is not just limited to your room. Try working in a new location every once in a while. Although you might not be able to go to a coffee shop or library right now to study, going to a park or even just working at your kitchen table can be a good option. Sometimes a change of scenery is beneficial. As long it helps you concentrate or work for you, you do you. Make sure that this study space has little distractions and is comfortable for an optimal study session.

Keep everything in a designated place. For every subject, keep a binder or folder to store your classwork. Now that most everything has gone virtual, making sure that your digital folders and class notes are in order if you are working on the computer.

#5: Limit your screen time

Now more than ever, screen time must be limited. As schools have transitioned to virtual, your screen time will spike dramatically. It is a known fact that too much screen time will harm your eyes. Since school will make up 8 hours of your time, so you should be careful and take breaks throughout the day to relieve the tension in your eyes.

#6: Work on Your Time Management Skills.

Get a planner! Although it may seem tedious at first, using a planner to mark homework, extracurricular activities, social commitments, and more are beneficial. It helps you remember all your tasks, jobs, and events, but it can also help you break your time into chunks to get work done more efficiently.

Many great planners are available. It does not have to be costly; in fact, you can get one at the dollar store or even use free digital options. Find what works out for you; some artists find that bullet journaling is helpful; others find that a simple to-do list is better.

Prioritize things if you find that studying for your test is more critical than hanging out with your friends, study for that test.

Refer to this chart, judge by urgency and importance. If you find that things are equally as important and urgent, there are many solutions. Referring to the earlier example, if studying for the test and meeting your friends is equally as critical and vital, maybe ask your friends to join a study group with you. They might be willing to help and learn with you. Say that the test is on Friday and the meeting with your friends is on Thursday. You can also try breaking up your homework or study time into chunks and do it little by little, and studying at least 30 minutes every day starting on Tuesday so you will be ready in time.

Use your time wisely. This practice goes for everything. During school hours, there is a lot of time to get things done in school hours. Sometimes teachers end early or have time in between that can be used to get work done. Using this time to browse social media or talk with friends maybe isn't the best idea. Instead, try looking over the homework that the teacher just passed out. If you have any questions, it is the perfect time to ask since the content is fresh in both your teacher and your mind. If everything is clear, get as much homework as you can get done. Doing so will save a lot of time later to do what you like. Talking to your teacher is another way to strengthen that relationship you have with them, which is helpful later down the road when you need recommendation letters.

#7: Become goal-oriented

Many of us have learned about creating goals in school, but do not realize how effective it is. Goals give us a roadmap to follow. They guide our focus and help motivate us to perform better. There are many other benefits psychologically, but you get the point, and you should try it.

There are many different methods in setting goals; three popular ones are SMART, HARD, and WOOP. SMART implies that the goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. HARD stands for heartfelt, animated, required, and difficult while WOOP stands for wish, outcome, obstacle, and plan. While you do not have to use these particular methods, all the words that make up the three acronyms are something that you should consider while creating a goal. Be sure to set long and short term goals!

#8: Get into a routine

Routines will help you mentally; you will get used to concentrating at the same time every day. When you get into a routine you are more productive and get more things done because your body is used to this schedule. Plan your day out. Depending on the tasks you have at hand, see how much time you are putting on the assignments, the workload, and other factors that may play a part in organizing your schedule. To do so, you should start by creating a list of things to do. Based on the importance of the job, assign it to the time you are most alert and free of distractions. Do be sure to set aside time to have fun and relax; this is also beneficial to help alleviate stress and focus better on what is at hand. Try to stick with your schedule. If you are running a bit late from initially planned, it is okay to make changes and postpone some of your activities. Of course, this suggestion does not work out for everyone, so try it and adjust your schedule to fit your needs.

Sometimes, when you have big tests or events it can be hard to keep your routine on the less important things, like extracurriculars or assignments due in weeks. However, even spending 10 minutes is helpful in making progress, even if it’s slow.

#9: Extracurricular

Search for extracurricular or clubs you may want to join is an excellent way to show passion in college apps. Be sure that these extracurriculars are something you enjoy doing. Finding an interest to pursue is a great way to have fun and take a break from school. Moreover, extracurricular activities benefit the student's academic performance and help students develop essential life skills such as teamwork, analytical thinking, leadership, and more. It is also an excellent social opportunity and a way to find a new niche or new friends. Check out our academic center, where we have/will have a lot of extracurricular advice and opportunities.

However, despite all the "rules," we have set for you, be sure to live out your high school fantasy. Be the main character in your story. Don't be the confidante, love interest, or comedic relief. What we mean is that you should focus on what makes you happy and what makes you better as a person. It doesn't matter what other people think, and as cliche, as it is, be yourself. With that said, live your teenage years to the fullest and strive for higher heights.