How's life?

I don't know about you (no, I'm not feeling 22) but springtime from January-March is always THE busiest time of the year. Everything happens to culminate during these months- exams, auditions, tests, applications, and what not. And it doesn't help that your teachers pile on more homework and essays and final exams and science fair. As for me, I've been struggling with all this homework (including this blog which I'm writing at 12:48 am right now), an essay due, and a couple of tests. But thank the science fair lord that science fair is over now. Yes, it was interesting and I learned a lot about arches, but it took a lot of time. To deal with all of this work and not crumble under stress, you must learn how to manage your time management. Here are some basic tips to help you survive the cruel spring months:

• Prioritize what you need to get done. Ask yourself questions like: When is this due? How long will it take me to complete? As for me, I complete the most urgent things (aka it's due tomorrow I can't procrastinate anymore) that take the longest time first. Complete short and easy assignments between long assignments as breaks.
• Organize yourself. When you have time, organize all binders, folders, books, backpacks, pencil boxes, lockers, and any other place where you happen to cram junk in. 
• Write yourself a schedule. Plan out how you will spend your afternoon, distributing the required time for each assignment or task. Don't spend too much time on one assignment and make sure you do not forget anything. Also, try to stick with one schedule. For example, if I play piano, do homework, and eat dinner every day, I would stick to one schedule with an allotted time for each task.
• Time yourself. Make sure you stick to your schedule by timing yourself. Don't use your timer to pressure yourself into finishing an assignment quicker, but take note of how much time you've used for an assignment. If you have a similar assignment due the next day, learn from the previous day to allot the correct amount of time for each assignment.
  
• Work on self-discipline. I know it sounds crazy and irrational and you're probably thinking that I'm not your mom and I shouldn't be treating you as a little kid, but self-discipline is very important. The average middle-aged person spends 3.2 hours a day on social media. Not counting Youtube, TV, and all the excess time wasted at dinner. I know it's hard to stay away from Facebook and Instagram, but just think that once you're finished with all your homework, you can Facebook and Instagram all you want or get some extra sleep. (I'd go with the latter, but that's just me). 
• Don't procrastinate. This is pretty hard to avoid but don't put off your homework until the last minute. The last thing you want is to be cramming it the morning of or studying for a test the lunch before your class starts. Gain peace of mind by trying to complete your assignments a day or two before the deadline. Also, you tend to remember more information (as for a test) if you sleep on it, not figuratively.
• Write deadlines. The other last thing you want is to miss a deadline and pay a late fee or $20 for postage. This also goes with organizing yourself- make a journal or write on a whiteboard all the deadlines for applications for summer programs, high school, and college. This helps you remember and be prepared for deadlines that seem to come too quickly.

So how's your life going this spring? Are you busy like me, or relaxing? Post a comment below- I would love to hear how your lives are. I hope these tips help :)

Best,

Liv