During the school year, as students, it often seems our lives revolve around high school. We play sports, we sing in choir, we study for standardized tests, we participate in clubs, we do homework every night, we play a musical instrument—the list goes on and on. How could there possibly be time for relaxation? In fact, what does “relaxation” even mean? More importantly, why would I do it when I have a huge Spanish test tomorrow? Let’s go over a few reasons why it is essential to take some “me-time” if you plan on having a positive high school experience.
“Me-time” is when you are doing an activity that makes you feel any positive emotion; it is when you are completely separated from anything that stresses you out. So, in my opinion, going for a walk while listening to a lecture explaining the Declaration of Independence doesn’t count as relaxation if you’re listening only because you have to study for your U.S. History quiz on Tuesday. If the activity is not something that is evoking positive emotions, it probably isn’t “me-time.” I relax by going for hikes, drawing, baking, and reading. How do you relax? It is important to find these things out about yourself so that you know how to get out of future encounters with stress faster.
Making time for yourself is easier said than done. With all the homework, extracurricular activities, sports, and possibly jobs, how can you make room in your schedule to relax? The answer is to find little breaks in your schedule and become extremely efficient. If you get to class early, start your math homework. You could get to class early four times out of eight classes at least. That’s fifteen minutes. Get to your bus early; if you really try, you could have upwards of twenty minutes to work. Now we are at 35 minutes. By this time, you’ll have your math homework done, and you probably could have started your biology homework! We didn’t even get to doing work on the bus, either. You get my point, though. Now, when you get home you have almost 40 minutes to relax and do something you truly enjoy. Master the art of using every minute in the day wisely. This strategy will benefit you throughout life in general.
Relaxation is great because you get to take a break. However, there is an equal, if not greater, benefit at hand: you will become better at what you do if you take breaks. Think about it. When we are working our tails off on an English paper all night long, towards the end of the paper our writing will start to sound worse and we may even drift from the focus of the essay. My suggestion is to take short breaks. After thirty minutes of writing, take a ten-minute break. Not only will this make your writing better, but you will probably be able to catch mistakes in the writing you just did ten minutes ago. Being able to look at something with fresh eyes is a major benefit of taking a bit of time away from your work.
Take time to consider what activities allow you to relax and find ways to fit those activities into your weekly schedule. You, and your English teacher, will be much happier.