Keeping your mental health in good shape is very important for a student. This age is the peak of mental health disorders. These disorders can include things like anxiety or depression. Students' lives are often filled with situations that can potentially hinder their mental health which in turn can decrease how well they are doing in school and life outside of school. One of the worst things that can also happen is burnout, which can ultimately lead to months of just not working at all because you constantly feel exhausted. The amount of workload and stress leaves you completely deprived and unable to work.

 

One of the best ways that I found to keep me going is to learn when it's time to relax, and when it's time to work. Too much relaxation can lead to not enough work done but too much stress can lead to like said before, burnout and other mental health disorders. Setting a good schedule of when you do all of your homework but also giving yourself time to relax is a good way of having less stress in your life. There are many examples of how you can implement this in your life. I've heard of getting all your work done before 9 so that you have time to relax before going to bed but this would be a little more difficult if you have to wake up earlier. One more thing you have to keep in mind is your sleep schedule. Sleep is very overlooked among teens but it's honestly one of the most important things you have to do to keep yourself healthy. Keeping that in mind my recommendation would be to work on most of your homework from 5-8 pm or 6-9 pm. Your schedule changes from day to day because sometimes every teacher gives you homework that day but on some days teachers don't give any at all. I like to give myself at least 3 hours but of course, it changes for me as well. In those 3 hours, I try to implement the Pomodoro method which is basically studying for an amount of time, then resting for an amount of time. For me, this can look like 45 minutes of studying time followed by a 5-15 minute break. For others, this can look different but that's the main idea of this tactic. 

 

This is just a starting point to help handle everything step by step. The main idea of this is to just control your daily lives and try to get in a rhythm where you can be in control. Getting enough sleep and having a solid schedule will help you ground yourself for the school year. Now obviously we are all humans and can get off course just because of laziness or something unexpected happens, but it's important to get back on track and have that solid foundation to help you.