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Have you ever felt you’re racing against time to maintain academic excellence while pursuing your hobbies? Well, there are many thinking along the same lines. For decades, kids have been asked to prioritize academics because it is considered to be synonymous with success and growth. But times are changing now. People are realizing the importance of holistic development. We at Sapphire International School, one of the top CBSE schools in Noida, have always advocated well-rounded growth for children because we believe success isn’t confined to the four walls of a classroom. Growth, in true terms, happens only when it is holistic.

After all, there is life beyond academics, too, and kids must develop healthy life skills to win in life. Growth happens when kids balance academics and extracurricular activities aligned with their passions and interests. Hence, we encourage students to balance extracurricular activities and academics to ensure their overall development doesn’t remain lacking in any way. To make it easier, we recommend following the below-mentioned tips:

• Prioritize with Purpose

At Sapphire International School, we firmly believe that every student can maintain a healthy balance between studies and extracurricular activities if the right priorities are set from the beginning. So kids, before you prioritize any activity/task, we recommend asking a few questions to yourself – what are your academic aspirations, what passions do you want to explore outside of the classroom, what difference will it make if you start balancing your academics and extracurricular activities, etc.

The more you go into self-introspection mode, the easier it will become to prioritize activities. It will eventually pave the way for greater balance without making you feel overwhelmed or burnout.

• Master Time Management

This one precious skill can make it easier to strike a sustainable balance between your academics and extracurricular activities. You can begin keeping track of the time you spend on different activities in a diary/tool and creating a schedule ranked on the degree of importance or prioritization. Younger kids can make a diary exclusively for time management and gradually transition to leveraging time management tools (if needed).

If you’re new to this, we recommend creating a to-do list, manual time schedule, and time tracking to understand what needs to be done at what time. It will save you from impulse decisions, which mostly lead to time wastage.

Here, we at Sapphire International School would like to encourage our students to remain flexible and adaptable with respect to their schedule to accommodate necessary changes without stressing out.

• Set Realistic Expectations

We understand that all our budding geniuses are pretty much ambitious. Probably, this is why most kids emanate the ‘get it all’ attitude. However, we would like to caution our pupils here that while having high expectations from oneself is praiseworthy, the expectations should be realistic. Balancing extracurricular activities and academics doesn’t mean always being ‘perfect’ in both areas.

At our school, we teach our students that there will be times when one aspect will take precedence over the other, but it will be temporary. So, instead of indulging in guilt over disproportionate attention to one aspect, start looking at the bigger picture. Strive for excellence in all areas, but be comfortable with making temporary adjustments according to different life situations. For example, if your final examinations are approaching, it is OK to give more time and attention to academics than extracurricular activities. You can make up for it once the exams are over.

• Reflect and Refine

Life is unpredictable, so you cannot expect to follow a rigidly balanced routine and stick to it. If you want to maintain a healthy balance sustainably, make it a habit to routinely reflect on your set priorities, time schedule, etc., and make appropriate changes based on present situations. However, if you feel the current workload is leaving you stressed and exhausted, it’s time to change the routine.

While reflecting and refining your priorities, time schedule, etc., ensure you keep enough time for self-care. Good sleep, proper diet, meditation, yoga, and other self-care practices should be a part of the schedule as they will make it easier to stick to your goals more dedicatedly. But keep in mind – balance is the key here!

Conclusion

We all talk about maintaining a healthy balance between academics and extracurricular activities that kids love. However, the fact is that most lack a defined roadmap to create the needed balance. Hence, to help all kids achieve a harmonious balance, we’ve highlighted some practical and easy-to-follow tips in this blog post today that can make things easier for you.

We at Sapphire International School, positioned among the top CBSE schools in Noida, believe achieving a balance is not impossible if thoughtful planning and dedication are involved. So, children, if you’re trying to balance your studies and passion, make sure you implement the tips shared in this blog post consistently, and you’ll definitely see positive results.