My Corner: Strike the right balance
Avishi Virwal
Are you done with your homework? At least cycle for an hour to make some difference! Are you ready for your coaching session? Sitting all day at that desk has made you lethargic!
Almost all students come across such phrases at some or the other time. They are required to attend school for 6-7 hours, come home and complete their homework, attend tuition and then do self-study.
Moreover, through all this, they need to wait patiently to go downstairs to play with their friends or practise other domains such as music.
A student’s life is indeed an arduous one, filled with both thorns and flowers at every turn.
Keeping the famous proverb, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” in mind, one must remember to not end up neglecting vital parts of life.
What’s more is that it involves peer and parental pressure and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, reducing kids to nothing but a bunch of humanoid robots, running hither and thither, not knowing the right direction.
The best examples of this are competitive exams, in particular those for admission to the IITs.
With the sudden surge of Artificial Intelligence, everyone wishes to explore fields in technology. However, the acceptance rate being 2.5% and even as low as 0.5% in some cases, IITs are nearly impossible to get into.
The preparation itself comes with an immense workload, leaving teenagers highly stressed.
That said, one must start learning how to balance life — schoolwork and extracurricular activities from a young age. Students receive a lot of advice regarding the above but are unable to apply it effectively.
One must learn to come up with tricks that help in coping with the load. The number one priority should be to have proper management of time.
It is a good practice to come up with a schedule according to one’s needs and maintain it with consistency. Then again, just studying all day does not make sense either.
For instance, leading a sedentary life from the start causes one to end up lethargic and sometimes diagnosed with unfriendly medical conditions if not sorted in time.
Hence, some sort of a get-away is required for unwinding and destressing.
That’s where hobbies come in. Having a hobby helps in renewing energy levels by providing pleasure and tranquillity. From dancing and singing to sketching and painting, anything can be the one for you!
Incorporating yoga and meditation techniques can also help relieve stress and sharpen the mind.
If practised regularly, it can do wonders for your body and mental health. After all, in today’s fast-paced world, having robust physical and mental health can increase your chances of making it and leading a joyous and serene life.
Above all, it is of utmost salience to make realistic commitments. For instance, you cannot expect yourself to get enough grammar practice the night before the exam!
Likewise, you won’t be able to finish four chapters of history in just two hours. Hence they need a proper schedule which goes according to your pace.
It’s a good habit to keep challenging yourself with a healthy number of goals.
At the end of the day, there’s no hard-and-fast rule to go about life, but trying out new things will surely help you discover what’s best for you.
Therefore, balancing your schoolwork and extra-curricular activities is not that tough, but just requires a bit of hard work and unwavering determination from our end.
The writer is student of Class IX, Sanskriti School, Pune (Wagholi campus)
