1) Keep Calm
1. Take deep breaths. Breathing deeply can relax your body and make you feel calmer.
2. Stay in bed as long as possible, going back-to-school is a process, and it’s okay if you don’t want to get up right away!
3. Get something healthy for breakfast – even if you don’t think you have time, it could be healthier than grabbing a sugary muffin from the cafeteria or another unhealthy breakfast option.
4. Think about what your favorite part of school was when you were younger.
5. Make a list of all the activities that will help you work on areas of study that are difficult for you. It will give you more confidence to tackle those subjects when they come up again this year!
2) Get Excited
The best way to ease back into your routine is by following a strict schedule. This will help you maintain a consistent sleep, food, and study schedule, as well as make getting started each day less daunting. Here are five things you can do before the first day of school.
-Figure out what time you need to get up every morning and aim for that specific time everyday. Your body naturally knows when it needs to go bed, wake up, etc., so this should be simple enough with some trial and error.
-Eat more breakfast than normal and pack healthy snacks like fruit or granola bars in your backpack in case hunger hits at odd hours of the day.
-Take a deep breath: even if you’re not feeling excited about going back to school, just remember that there’s nothing wrong with being anxious about something. Remembering how far you’ve come since kindergarten will definitely put things in perspective.
-Pick out some outfits ahead of time so you won’t waste any valuable minutes deciding what to wear on the first day. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to look good!
3) Maintain Focus
It's easy to become discouraged, over-extended and unmotivated during the back-to-school season. If you're finding yourself struggling this time of year, here are some tips that might help!
* Re-examine your goals. Make sure they're still aligned with your values and that they're not unattainable or setting you up for failure.
* Envision a step ahead by taking an hour a day for 20 minutes and try playing out different scenarios--what if I can't keep up? What if I can't stay on top of everything? What if my grades start slipping?
To combat these worries, make a plan that includes when and how you'll study as well as what will happen if you don't meet your goals. Identify what triggers temptations and distractions in your life (sitting at home all day, lack of sleep) so you can take preventative measures to avoid them in the future. Spend time around positive people who will support your success--those who believe in your abilities rather than see flaws or shortcomings in them. Put energy into relationships so there's someone there for encouragement when it feels like no one is listening or believes in you anymore.
4) Set Priorities
When your kids come home from school and complain about what homework they have, it can be hard not to want to help them with it. That would be a lot of fun, but would take away from what you need to do. Set priorities and stick with them. Here are 5 tips that will help you stay on track:
1) Put non-schoolwork stuff first.
2) Stick to your schedule for when you're going to work on homework.
3) If you get distracted, don't beat yourself up about it - just get back to work.
4) Keep distractions in one area of the house so you don't forget why you're working on homework and end up surfing Facebook or playing games instead.
5) Have a snack while working on homework so that if you get hungry, remind yourself how much time is left before dinner and how hungry everyone else is too! We hope these five tips will help you get organized so that you can spend more quality time with your family during the busy weeks ahead.
5) Take Time For Yourself
It's that time of year again, where as if by some natural occurrence, people all over the world start checking out social media feeds for updates on what their kids are up to. With every new post or photo showing another smiling, laughing kid at school catching up with friends and teachers or enjoying a hot lunch under fall trees, it can be hard not to envy this scene. Remember that before you get lost in thinking about how things should be for your own child and family: one person's picture perfect life is someone else's war zone. (Everyone has their own personal struggles.) All families have to find a balance and what works best for each of them - sometimes doing different things from one day to the next depending on how everyone is feeling that day or week. If you need some me-time, take care of yourself first. Sometimes that means going to bed early and just having a Netflix marathon alone in your room while the kids watch TV downstairs. Other times it means taking half an hour to do something fun like taking a bath or cooking something delicious for dinner instead of eating microwaveable food or going out for takeout because no one feels like cooking when they're exhausted after work. Some days will call for sending yourself flowers, other days will require hitting the gym even though you feel like an 80-year-old grandma who just finished marathoning back-to-back episodes of Dancing with the Stars (not that I know anything about any such thing).
Thanks for the feedback mate!