As the wave of tests and homeworks starts to steadily steam in, time management is a crucial building block to uphold the refuge that will withstand the trials of the year.

With grades and class expectations changing from class to class, students at HHS have had varying degrees of difficulty with time management. Finding a place to destress and stay grounded takes on different forms for different people.

Junior Avery Chen said that while school brings a significant amount of stress into her life, it doesn’t directly affect her time management.

“Time management has been pretty good recently,” Chen said. “I think I’m more motivated than I was during quarantine, but there are still some bad habits that have carried over.

Finding destressors to tone down the tensions from school has been a current priority in her life, and activities such as TV shows or talking to friends are quite helpful, Chen said. The junior said when her mindset needs uplifting, she turns to friends or family to provide positivity. In the junior’s life, garnishing an otherwise busy life with moments of relaxation is both a reward and an incentive. 

“I try to schedule fun things like watching Survivor every Wednesday or baking to incentivize myself to finish work early,” Chen said. “I’ve also tried to spend more time talking to friends than I did before quarantine.”

Meanwhile, senior Lakshya Srivatsava said that he feels lucky to not be held back by stress. Instead of school being at the forefront of his mind, it is a background thought. Srivatsava said when he does feel stress creeping into his life, he spends time with his dog. 

“I’m lucky that I don’t really have issues with mental health,” Srivatsava said. “Yes, sometimes I get stressed and unhappy, but it’s never a constant thing so I just power through it most of the time.”

 However, the transition out of quarantine has brought with it a change in lifestyle for Srivatsava. In quarantine, the senior said there was nowhere to go to escape school work, so rather than motivating himself to be productive, he found that the sheer exposure to the work was enough for him to eventually get it done.

Currently, Srivatsava’s schedule is more constraining than before, and he said he works hard for the sake of his future self. 

“My main motivation right now is the thought that my workload will be a lot lighter in the second semester of senior year, and I’ll be able to have time to do all the things I want to do then,” Srivatsava said. 

Finishing work quickly is now a priority for Srivatsava because he said if he does not complete work when it is assigned, it may never get done. 

When grief from time management difficulty arises, Chen and Srivatsava said they find relaxation through the support of friends, family or pets. 

Time management is a skill not easily mastered, junior Andria Xu said, but when done well, she found that her mental health blossomed. 

“When I feel productive and use my time wisely, I feel better about myself and thus have better mental health,” Xu said. “When I get things done, I also feel more carefree and less burdened.”

However, with or without good time management, Xu said her true encouragement is secured in loved ones. 

“My friends are a huge support for me when I’m stressed,” Xu said. “They’re always willing to lend an ear and give advice when I need it. I’ll always be super thankful to all of them for staying by my side and for the support they’ve given me.”