Going back to school comes with mixed feelings—excitement about seeing friends and starting new classes can become muddled with the looming dread of seemingly endless work and burnout. Having spent three years in high school, I’ve seen firsthand how back-to-school stress can negatively affect students’ mental health.
To protect our mental well-being, it is important to find coping mechanisms before we fall too deep into a rut of demotivation and procrastination. Developing and practicing healthy habits at the beginning of the school year can also help prevent burnout and intense stress as the year goes on. Below are some of my tips for setting yourself up for success this school year.
Manage Your Time
One of the biggest factors in increased stress is how busy students’ schedules become once the school year starts. We go from moderately busy summer schedules filled with family responsibilities and teenage summer activities to an overload of schoolwork and homework for six to eight classes. When you pile on personal obligations, social activities, enrichment programs, sports, and everything else teenagers might be involved in, it becomes clear just how jarring the shift from summer to the school year can be. Finding ways to manage your time is essential for balancing all of these different pursuits.
Time management looks different for everyone, and it is important to find the method that works best for you. Some ideas include having a color-coded calendar where each color corresponds to a different activity or subject, or using a physical planner to write out important events and deadlines. My personal favorite technique is using a to-do list because I’ve found that the sense of accomplishment I get from crossing items off gives me motivation to keep working.
Another popular approach to completing homework is time-blocking, where you work for a set amount of time—usually about 20 or 30 minutes—and then take a five-minute break. You repeat the process until your work is complete. This method gives your brain intermittent breaks and can help prevent you from getting distracted after working for too long. As much as we may want to push through and get our work done quickly, it is important to listen to our brains and bodies and recognize when we need a break.
Protect Your Physical Health
Oftentimes, in an attempt to complete all of our responsibilities, we put our physical health on the back burner in favor of finishing work. However, it is important to be mindful of our bodies’ needs. Make sure to get enough sleep and eat balanced meals. Maintaining a routine can also help with this; set a regular bedtime and mealtime and try to stick with it throughout the year. A routine can help you feel more in control of your time and keep your energy up. And, of course, stay hydrated! Even the simple act of regularly drinking water throughout the day, especially before and after exercise, helps support a healthy body.
Another way you can protect your health is by getting regular exercise each week. Playing a sport, going to the gym, or even just taking a walk every few days can support both physical and mental well-being. Sources such as St. Mary’s Health Care System and UCLA Health note that exercise can help reduce stress and support mental health. Furthermore, it can help keep you energized and improve your quality of sleep.
Reach Out For Help
Sometimes, we can become overwhelmed by our workload to the point where we need additional support. It is important to recognize when that is the case and find a trusted adult to talk to. This could be a teacher, a guidance counselor, a relative, or another adult you trust.
If a friend or trusted adult is not available, there are other ways to access mental health support through warmlines and crisis hotlines. Warmlines provide emotional support for things like anxiety, depression, substance use, or feelings of isolation. They are often staffed by peers with similar experiences and can be a valuable resource when you just need to talk to someone. Crisis lines are available for those experiencing an immediate mental health crisis or thoughts of suicide. The California Department of Public Health has published a list of crisis hotlines and resources, including information about language options and hours of operation.
As stressful and overwhelming as returning to school can be, always remember that there are resources and habits that can help you adjust. Using some of the practices above can make the transition from summer to school easier and help keep you from burning out too quickly.
