School will be back in session in a few short weeks and will bring with it homework, exams, sports, and fun with friends. For many of you, summer vacation will be over and it is going to get busy!

When life gets busy, it is really easy to procrastinate. Going out with friends or playing sports is more fun than writing that biology report. I was the student who socialized during spare, cheered on the sidelines at sports games, went out for pizza and then stayed up until 2:00 am to finish that report on time. This was a really fun way to spend my high school days but led to alot of stress because it seemed like there wasn’t enough time in the day to fit it all in!

The reality was that I had zero time-management skills and very little discipline. Discipline? Management?  Those are scary words. However it is those same two words that will hopefully allow you to spend more time with your friends, more time sleeping and less time worrying.

For example, time-management in high school can be as easy as dedicating one hour after school or during your spare to finish your homework. For instance, that five-paragraph essay that is assigned the second day of classes and is not due until three weeks later? Instead of leaving it until the night before, try and tackle one paragraph a day. Work hard on each paragraph ,and stop when you have completed it then move on to your next task or relax and know that you have done a good job. Five days later ,you will have five paragraphs and plenty of time to edit with two weeks to spare and there won’t be an eight-hour marathon session the night before the paper is due. You will get more sleep, not to mention you will have plenty of stress-free time to hang out with friends, play sports, practice music, or do whatever you find fun.

It will take discipline to stick to this routine. Discipline, in this sense, is not really about restriction, but more about applying yourself so that you have freedom. There will be times when you want to come home and sleep, watch television or go on Facebook. There will also be times when the routine you have established gets messed up. It will take discipline not to procrastinate, but that same discipline will allow you to have more time to do the things you love. Plus, the time you spend after finishing your task will be guilt-free because you know that you have worked hard and accomplished what needed to be done. Another bonus is that Mom and Dad won’t be on your case all the time to finish your homework either!

If you are a perpetual procrastinator like I was, try this strategy out; it takes practice and there will still be times when things get left to the last minute. After all, life is not perfect. That said, with practice, it does get easier, and the benefit of living a balanced lifestyle and implementing these habits of time-management and discipline now will really benefit you in the long run.