Get Back to School on the Right Foot! - Page 3

5. Turn off the TV: The average American watches almost 20 hours of TV a week. In that chunk of time, you could complete your history paper, read a couple of chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird, study Spanish vocab, and still have time left over to catch Gossip Girl. No one’s telling you to give it up entirely, but unless you’re planning on a career as a Jerry Springer guest, homework should come first. Divide your day into four categories, says Carol Carter, author of Majoring in High School: school, extracurricular/fun (like sports practice), work (babysitting, anyone?), and family/friends. You don’t need a perfect balance of all four, but doing a breakdown will show if you’re neglecting an important area.
6. Try something different: Adults pay hundreds of dollars for gym memberships (should have joined the track team), leadership conferences (woulda covered that in student council), and weekend classes (could have signed up for yearbook photographer). Discover new interests by getting a taste of as much stuff as possible. When that end-of-the-school-year bell rings, you’re probably not gonna be thinking, "I wish I’d spent more nights home zoning in front of the tube."