Tips and Tricks on How to Balance School Work and Extra Curricular Activities (ECA)

You love to have fun in school but studies, too, weigh heavy on your mind. You don't have to completely sacrifice one for the other.

It's just that you should know how to strike the right balance between studies and extra-curricular activities (ECA).

You should be able to perform to the best of your ability in studies and yet enjoy day-to-day life.

Here are some tips:

1) Be regular: One of the first and things to be done is to be regular with your studies. This would mean going over what is done at school, either on a daily basis or over the weekend.

2) Study in spurts: Studying in short spurts is always a good way to ensure you maintain your concentration level and complete whatever needs to be done. This would mean studying in small segments of 45-minutes to one hour, taking a short break of five to 10 minutes and then getting back to studies. If you want to enjoy studies and want to ensure that maximum learning is happening, then studying for long hours continuously at a stretch is never a good idea.
Instead, study for small durations and mix it up with other activities.

3) Balance is the key to life: Balance is required in everything. Studies alone will never get you anywhere. What is also important is having a well-developed personality and an engagement in different activities which enhance one's skills.

4) Never indulge in one activity at the cost of studies: It is easy to get carried away with a wish list of different activities you may want to do. However, studies are the primary responsibility of a student and it would not be prudent to engage in any extra-curricular or fun activity at the cost of studies. Everything has its own importance, so it is important that you focus on other things, but also revisit your lessons from time to time.

5) Follow a schedule: Developing a schedule and working according to it right from the first day of the new academic year can help keep you upto-date with academics. This would also give you more time to spend in the other things you enjoy.

6) Prioritise: Try and develop an understanding of what is good and what is not good, what is essential and what is not. Then work accordingly. It is important to have such a framework in mind while going about your school or personal work.

7) Spend time with family and friends: Recreation is important as well. Going out with friends and spending time with family is important and should be done in a structured and systematic manner without compromising with your studies.

8) Take help: If you find it hard to juggle all responsibilities on your own, then asking others for assistance is a good way to start. Reach out to parents, friends for help.

Samir Parikh, the author is a psychiatrist, and chief, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Max Healthcare

Source: HT Education