Balancing Academics and Extracurricular Activities
- Yumi K.
- Oct 12, 2024
- 2 min read
Students are getting busier with formative/summative assessments and alongside that, there are also a lot of clubs and afterschool activities that are starting to happen. Since we, as students, have so much to juggle each day whether it’s academics, clubs, or anything outside of school, the question arises:
How are we supposed to balance academics and extracurricular activities when we have so much on our plate?
TIP 1: Academics is 1st priority!
Joining a variety of different clubs is important, as those help you grow as a person and learn valuable skills. However, despite how important these clubs are, academics should always come first. This means that your first responsibility should be aiming for good grades. And if you build a strong foundation there, you can start to build up with extracurriculars and make it stand out in college applications.
TIP 2: Quality over quantity!
Although it might be tempting to join every club that catches your eye, it’s important to be slightly picky when it comes to choosing them. It’ll be harder to manage your time effectively when you have so many clubs and meetings to actively participate in, including ones that you’re not so passionate about. So I’d recommend joining 3-4 clubs at most, in order to focus and put your very best in each club.
TIP 3: Importance of Organization!
Stick to a schedule! Make use of all the digital tools that are available on the internet. This includes downloading schedule apps or to-do list apps that help you stay organized.
One thing I do that really helps me stay organized is to create two separate calendars. One that is solely for the purpose of my academics (e.g. deadlines for summatives, etc.) and one for my personal life. In this case, however, you can even create three including one for your extracurriculars to really maximize your efficiency!
To sum it up, maintaining a good balance between academics and extracurriculars is very crucial in ensuring that students aren’t overwhelmed by either. The whole point of extracurricular activities is for students to explore and foster their passions and talents that they can build on. In this case, if academics were to represent a Christmas tree resembling the base, the extracurriculars would in turn represent the ornaments that would decorate and be a plus to the tree. This is just one fun way to get a better understanding of both academics and extracurriculars and how we can establish a good balance between both of them!
