Answering the top FAQs for high school students

Number 1:

I have too many exams coming up simultaneously. How would I know which one should I focus on the most?

I'm pretty sure that almost everyone reading this must have been in this situation a lot many times. Personally, I go through this almost every year because most of my exams take place in the months of September to Mid-November. No one is superhuman here so being one hundred percent prepared and giving your best in each and every exam is nearly impossible. That's where the art of compromise and smart studying comes in. What I usually do is that I divide my exams on the basis of the level of difficulty, time for preparation, and their respective importance. Some exams require a higher level of study and practice so I start preparing for them at the get-go. The last two to three days before the exam are always reserved for revisions. One important thing to note is that whenever you feel overwhelmed, it's always advised to make a timetable. I usually start planning my timetable from two or three weeks before till the exam date so that I can proceed in an organized manner and have a clear idea of how much work and time I need to allot to one exam. For the easier ones, I only do revisions one week prior to the date of the examination so that I can focus the rest of my time on the more important ones.

Number 2:

I prefer self-studying, but the new trend among my peers is group study. Should I stick with my method or try out something new?

I'm not going to sit here and compare self-study and group study. Both of them are equally beneficial and solely depend on what kind of person you are. At the start of the year, my parents tried to encourage me to group study but I was a bit reluctant at first because I prefer self-study anytime. However, as I tried it I realized that the method that works best for me is that if a topic is completely new then I first study it alone. After that, if people want to, then I join meetings and calls and discuss the topic further with them. This not only helps me clarify my doubts but by clarifying their doubts it makes me feel a tad bit more confident about my capabilities and saves me from revising it again.

Number 3:

Is it too risky to try out new extracurriculars in high school?

Absolutely not! High school is that particular time in your life when you choose what kind of a person you want to be, and unless you try out different things, you may never know what would have been. Obviously, extracurriculars take up a lot of your time. But if you're in your first year or maybe even second year of high school, you still have that freedom to forget about your studies for a little while. Only when you try out new things do you realize what you're good at and actually want to keep doing; maybe not as a career but definitely as a hobby. Once you recognize what that particular activity is, you've got to dive deeper because, for college applications and resumes, the depth of your interest matters much, much more than the variety of interests that you show. So don't alienate yourselves from extracurriculars completely; keep studies the top priority, but always make sure to focus on cultivating your interests too because that's going to help you enormously in the coming future.

Number 4:

How do I get out of my productivity slump?

Aaah, productivity slumps...you've got to hate them! Just yesterday a friend of mine messaged me that he felt completely useless because he didn't do anything productive the entire day. This is going to sound very cliché, but it's true. One of the main reasons behind productivity slumps is not lack of motivation, but rather, lack of sleep, so make sure you get proper rest. A power nap or two after school is according to me the best medicine. But what I do whenever I'm stuck in a productivity slump is that, instead of wasting my time checking out PewDiePie's newest video, I use that time to complete all my written homework (especially in social studies because that literally requires no logic) I usually listen to music whenever writing notes because that also keeps me entertained as well as sort of distracted from the boring task at hand. But say if I have an important test the next day, however, have no motivation whatsoever to study, I usually use my own version of the Pomodoro technique which involves finishing a certain topic in a certain amount of time. It kind of tricks my brain into thinking that rather than studying for one hour, I only studied for twenty minutes three times. Believe me, it works ;)

Number 5:

How can I find my social fit?

Probably one of the hardest things to do in high school is to find out where you belong. In ninth grade, my class had changed completely and was filled with strangers that I had never met, only heard of. Now, some of these strangers are my best friends without whom I cannot imagine my life today. Initially, I was part of a very intellectual group that was filled to the brim with geniuses. However, as that group drifted apart, so did I. Next I was welcomed into a group of socialites but soon I realized that what they deemed as important, I classified as a waste of time. Now thankfully, I'm part of a group that has a genius in it, two or three hard-working socialites, and an extrovert; all different people but exactly my type of people. Safe to say, I found my balance. That's what finding a social fit is all about. You need to keep meeting new people, exploring new perspectives, and making yourself vulnerable to finally decide where you want to be. And most of the time, the answer is just staring into your eyes; so don't search too hard.

Number 6:

How do I deal with FOMO in high school?

A lot many times high schoolers are faced with this life-changing decision of either going to the mall with their friends or staying back home and studying...this is where long-term planning helps. Actress and producer Priyanka Chopra once said, "You need to be greedy for your ambitions." I could not agree more with that. Being greedy means putting yourself and your future first, regardless of anyone or anything. Going to the mall might help to level up your social rep for a week or two, but that's where it ends. On the other hand, staying back home and studying or doing something more productive is going to help you for a lifetime; it's going to help you to create your lifetime. I'm not saying that being devoted to your studies and not attending any social gatherings is the way here, but at this stage, you need to prioritize one over the other - this is your life-changing decision. And any time you feel left out, just remind yourself how good it would feel when one day all of them are working under you; it helps ;)

Number 7:

Considering the large amount of homework and projects we get in high school, what is the best way to manage it all along with studies?

High school can get overwhelming, so management is a trick that we must all learn. I agree with the fact that we get too much useless homework such as sitting at home and copy-pasting notes because of which we cannot focus on dedicating our time to understanding the subject #stophomework

But unfortunately, our hands are tied, and to get good grades, we need to do our homework. For me, studying and homework are two different things - studying means understanding the concept and practicing it whereas homework means just passing your time and doing things out of fear. So what I usually do is I complete my homework in either the free periods, the library period, or the periods in which I feel like going off to sleep (usually history :P) I try to finish most of my homework in the school itself so that I have time left for studying at home. Also, I've noticed that if you're consistent then the teacher usually has a soft spot for you and lets you slide once or twice when you haven't finished it before the deadline. In the case that I have some homework left to complete at home, I usually do it only after I finish my studies because once again; priorities matter.

Just to clarify, I'm NOT talking about the math sums or the science worksheets that we get as homework because they actually help in developing our concepts further. What I'm talking about are the question and answers that we have to write from the textbook in the notebook just for those notebook marks.

Dear reader, I'm not claiming to be some high school expert that knows everything about how the system works; heck I know almost nothing - it's my first year! But this is just a summary of my first-hand experiences and a small set of questions that I myself have asked others and seen(or heard?) others ask many times. Every person is different; I'm not trying to offer anyone one-size-fits-all advice, these are just some suggestions that really, really helped me make a difference and I sincerely hope that it helps you too. So if you want to, then do inculcate them in your life, and if you have any more questions; put them in the comments below!