With the long-awaited winter break over and many winter break resolutions left incomplete, the advent of the new semester has hit hard. While it is definitely a struggle to get back in the swing from a period of much-needed relaxation, it definitely is possible!

Everyone is likely guilty of spending too much time on their phones. It’s such a handy thing to have by your side all the time, which makes it that much easier to pull it out and mindlessly scroll through various apps with no clear purpose in mind. While using your phone is something that shouldn’t be cut out altogether,learning to minimize screen time by putting it in another room while studying or getting homework done will only benefit you by improving your ability to focus and retain information.

Another prominent area of concern among high schoolers would be caffeine consumption. Once again, this is something most of us are guilty of. While there’s nothing wrong with a small morning pick-me-up in the form of a caffeinated drink, caffeine consumption tends to be something that occurs multiple times a day among kids, and this can lead to headaches and the inability to focus, as stated by the Mayo Clinic. We are prone to studying late at night and using coffee or some other caffeinated beverage to allow us to stay awake for longer, but this is only detrimental in the long run. If you can find it within you to limit your caffeine intake, you will definitely find yourself feeling more alert and headache-free!

Oftentimes, we’re so caught up in all of the things that we have to do that we don’t take time to pause and organize everything that has to be organized. Whether we realize it or not, being organized can definitely impact productivity. Without organization, things often tend to slip our minds (which often manifests itself in the form of missing/late assignments), and life makes us more stressed out. The feeling of having work organized in a clear, compact manner makes our busy week seem much more manageable, and there is always that added satisfaction of crossing out what we’ve already done!

Sleeping is the one universal thing that likely everyone in highschool struggles to come to terms with, as we all have different sleep schedules that are typically not the best for us in the long run. With 8 hours of school and additional requirements such as work, extracurriculars and sports, a student barely has time to get a full 8 hours of sleep daily, especially given that they have mounds of homework awaiting them each night upon coming home from the aforementioned activities. This being said, it’s beneficial if students try and make the most out of any sliver of free time they get on the weekdays by using it to do their homework and asking for extensions on assignments when needed, as sleep should always be prioritized above all. Phstyical and mental health is also greatly improved with increased sleep, as you feel more energized to tackle on the day. After all, it’s tremendously hard to function in class the next day when running on barely 3 hours of sleep, so why take the hassle in the first place?