By Tom Kowalski
NFL Continuing Education Consultant
August is a difficult month to figure out. While still a time for fun in the sun, it is an anxious time for students who count down the days until school will begin. Anxiety is quite the normal feeling for students of all ages who are blind to the challenges that the new school year will bring. Factors such as a new school, challenging courses, and an unfamiliar routine are enough to fray the nerves of even the best of students.
As summer winds down, here are some strategies that students can employ to better prepare themselves for the upcoming school year:
- Begin to Change Your Summer Routine: Does your sleep schedule include staying up late and sleeping in every morning? If so, in order to get ready for the school year, students ought to start acclimating to the upcoming change by working to sleep closer to the hours they will sleep during the school year.
- Make August Your Month to Read: Hopefully students choose to read all summer, but if you have yet to pick up a book, August is the time to do it. Many schools have required summer reading programs that assume students have read the book by the time classes begin. If you know the books that will be required for your class, it is also not a bad idea to get an early start by reading them over the summer.
- Set Your Goals for the School Year: What do you want to accomplish this year? Understand that you are in control of your goals. Is there a certain grade point average that you would like to achieve? Club or organization that you have always wanted to join? Do you want to start at your position in your sport? Take some time in August to decide what you want to accomplish and then go after it.
- Write Down Your Goals: All successful people are intensely goal-orientated. The best way to achieve your goal is to constantly remind yourself what you really want. Write down your goals in a notebook. Record them somewhere on your smart phone. Look at them often. School offers a lot of distractions to what you may really want to achieve —always keep the future in clear view.
- Buy Your Planner Now: If you write down your goals but fail to execute, you have done nothing but make a wish list. Successful students plan their days, weeks, and months around the goals that they have written down. A lot is expected of students — classes, homework, tests, quizzes, extra-curricular activities, family commitments, spending time with friends, work — an almost impossible list to keep straight in one’s head. Begin using your planner today and check it often. If you are using an electronic planner, use the alarm feature — it reminds you to move on to your next task.
- Evaluate Your Progress: Students who are chasing goals should evaluate their progress. The classroom is like a game. Score low on one quiz, the goal-orientated student needs to figure out how to earn enough points on the next exam to negate the poor performance. There is always more than one way to achieve a goal. Evaluate your progress on your goals monthly to make sure that you are staying on track.
Simply said, successful people set goals and chase them relentlessly. While you enjoy the lazy last days of summer vacation, give some thought to your dreams — what you want to accomplish and what will make you happy. Then set out to make it happen.