Manage your Time
- I cannot stress this enough. Have a set schedule after your school day to balance out your work with your play. If you effectively and efficiently schedule out your time, then you will easily find yourself ahead in most of your classes. Spend an hour on homework, then balance it out with 10-15 minutes of something you enjoy doing! Procrastination isn't epic in the slightest.
Schedules are super helpful, and not just for writing down assignments and tests.
- You can also use a schedule to make sure that you're making time for enjoyable activities while still getting everything done in your day (and still leaving time for sleep!). Take advantage of the resources you have to make a plan that works for you.
Get Ahead (if possible)
- Most of your teachers will assign your assignments ahead of time. Do your best to finish those as soon as possible. Execute these assignments correctly and quickly so you have extra time to work on your other classes, to study, or even to have a break. If you do your assignments early, then you will find yourself less stressed. TLDR: Don't procrastinate.
Grind
- Though this is somewhat open-ended, I have found it extremely valuable to just power through and finish my homework/assignments to my best ability and be able to turn them in on time. The less you put in the effort to grind, the farther you will fall behind, and stress will ensue.
Time management
- This is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. If it seems that every teacher is determined to keep you up all night, you might be spending too much time on your assignments. When the teacher says that a worksheet can be finished in a class period, they expect you to be able to finish the worksheet. That means the amount of effort that should be put into the worksheet is only the amount of effort that can be used up in a class period- no more, no less. Don't waste your time with a simple quiz if you have a unit test the next day! Budget your time wisely...
DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!!
- Procrastination is the killer of success. The more you procrastinate, the less time you have to complete your work and the more stress you will have. The more stress you have, the less motivation you will have to complete the work diligently. The more you procrastinate, the more of a disservice you are doing for yourself. You basically are cheating yourself out of a solid educational foundation by procrastinating and are slowly killing yourself with distress (bad stress).
- The workload, honestly, isn't awful since I learned how to manage my time.
Use a P
lanner
- I don't know how many times my planner has saved me from forgetting assignment details, exam dates, and due dates. It's really not hard to plan things out (even a to-do list works), so save yourself some stress and just jot it down.
Prioritization
- If you find yourself putting off a smaller assignment to get done a larger assignment worth more, then that's justifiable. HOWEVER, you need to recognize the difference between procrastination (not wanting to do it and delaying it) and prioritization (arranging things in accordance with importance).
Take Care of Yourself
- You NEED to set some time aside every day to do something. This can be tiny or designating a portion of time out of your day to make yourself laugh, happy, and/or even de-stress. In my freshman and sophomore year I wasn't doing that for myself, and it was transparent in my happiness.
Make time for the things you love
- I personally struggle with a lot of guilt when I choose to do things that aren't school, so scheduling time to spend on things I love, like Minecraft or Furby customizing, really helped me get over that. Putting aside time to do things you love just like you would do for schoolwork is just a really healthy way to teach yourself personal responsibility
I have time for friends and my hobbies!
- These goes along with my other one about time management, but it's slightly different. I expected that I wouldn't have a social life at all - however that is a common joke among Renaissance students. Good news is, I still have time to do what I want and keep myself happy, even on top of all the homework and school. That's something important and positive to keep in mind as the year goes on.

Renaissance High School

"5 Things I Wish I Knew"

Thinking Skills

Social Skills

Self-Management Skills

Research Skills

Communication Skills