How to Balance School and Life: A Guide for Parents

how to balance school and life

Another School Year is About to Begin, How to Balance School and Life: A Guide for Parents

As parents, we do not often think of our children as having jobs, but they really do. The Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines a “job” as “a specific, duty, role, or function” (2017). In school and in other facets of their young lives we want our children to learn to be successful. As I have spent nearly 25 years of my life teaching and counseling children, teens, young adults and their families, I believe that success in life does result without a plan and hard work.

The following are some specifics that will lead to success for both you and your children as the new school year begins…

  • Keep an updated schedule

It is important to know what you need to get done, so that you and your child can monitor if it is getting done and to keep tasks on time. Sometimes, the balance between school and life is lacking because you do not have a clear picture of what you should be doing. Pencil in your tasks in your agenda early on. This is the time to download your calendar app if you haven’t already. Of course, it is important to know which tasks belong in your calendar and which ones aren’t important enough to warrant a mention.

  • Don’t procrastinate

Procrastinating is fun when you are doing what you prefer-until you actually have to do the task you kept pushing to the last minute. Regardless of how tempting it maybe to hold off until the last minute, it is best to do your tasks when they need to be done so that you can avoid the stress that comes at the eleventh hour.

  • Get enough sleep

Being well rested is a key ingredient in performing your tasks well. A good night’s sleep can never be overrated. Sometimes you might not sleep well, but always ensuring that getting enough sleep every night is a priority in your life.

  • Prioritize your work

So you have all these tasks that you need to do, but do you really have to do them today? It is important to prioritize your tasks in such a way that the most important and time sensitive asks are on top of your list and get done first. Pick and set out to complete the most important tasks that you need to complete every day. These tasks could be home or school related. After completing this, you are free to spend the rest of your time as you wish.

  • Avoid distractions

When you have a busy schedule that involves balancing school and home-life, you have to be careful not to get too distracted in your day to day life. Distractions interfere with the completion of your tasks, which means time allotted for certain tasks get taken up by others. The end result is that you will end up with some priority tasks which will creep into the next day and the cycle will continue endlessly.

  • Learn to say no

It is called school-life balance but it is not actually a perfect balance. Like the saying goes, you can have it all, but not all at once. At some point, something will have to take the back bench. Just because you get eight hours of sleep doesn’t mean everything else will be completed in the remaining waking hours. This means that sometimes you will have to say no to social events when your friends ask. Maybe when you are done with school, you can recover the lost time by going to as many birthday parties and sporting events as you can.

Do one thing at a time, do your best to complete it, then do the next thing on your list.

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D. Certified Developmental and Behavioral Specialist

For more information about the services available at the Support for Students Growth Center in Boca Raton, FL, visit our website at: https://www.supportforstudentsgrowthcenter.com

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