As the school year’s end is in sight, it seems that people’s schedules become busier. And with spring time on the brink, it seems to be harder and harder to find motivation to get things done. Spring sports beginning, seniors finishing scholarships, working, and doing homework assignments get in the way of students having any time to enjoy te warm weather.

Some of the tricks I have used to try keep everything balanced are quite obvious. While talking about them is easy, actually going through with them is easy, actually going through with them is not as simple.

First one is a shocker: use your time in study hall. Again, this may seem obvious but any given day I could walk into a study hall and see a solid ten percent of students napping, another five percent mindlessly surfing the internet.

The second idea is to procrastinate wisely. We get preached to enough about not procrastinating, but the truth is, it happens. Let’s say I have a big paper due Friday and I always work till ten on Thursday nights. On Wednesday night I’ve barely made a dent in the paper. My first thought is, “Oh, I’ll do it tomorrow.” Bad idea. I realized I’ve waited plenty long to write this paper. I just have to suck it up and get it done.

Final tip is to prioritize. The sad fact is that some classes are more important than others. If doing an assignment for period one would mean the difference between a B and a B+, get that one done. The assignment fer period six where you have 98% can wait.

Following these simple hints, it can be easier to enjoy your spring while meeting all end-of-year expectations for school.