STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE

Being a good student doesn't mean you have to drop all social activities and dive into your books. It's possible to have a healthy social life while earning good grades. Balance is the key. Here’s how you can go about doing so:

1. Decide for yourself at the start of the term that you won't let schoolwork sweep you away. It's important to have this resolve as a foundation.

2. Plot out your weekly schedule on a grid. Chances are, you'll have small gaps between classes during the week, and longer stretches of free time on the weekends. If you can manage to fit bits of schoolwork in these gaps that will leave effectively leave the weekend free and at your convenience.

3. Set aside at least one large chunk of time each week for free time - maybe all of Saturday, for instance.

4. Make sure that every time you find yourself in one of those between-class gaps, you use the time efficiently: Read a few pages, run some quick errands, spell-check your paper.

5. Keep in mind the law of diminishing returns. Past a certain point, studying harder will yield little. You're better off using that time to hang out with friends. Protect both your free time and your school time religiously. If you start to infringe on either, it's a long, slippery slope downward.

6. Encourage your friends to follow a similar plan, so you can co-ordinate your free time with theirs.

7. Whenever possible, find social activities that take you off campus and away from your schoolwork.

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