Extracurriculars

[DaaeDore]

Do you take extracurricular activities? If you do, how do you manage your time so that you do well in school as well? I take cello, piano, and ballet, and am in two orchestras (regularly) outside of school. Since my grades have slipped a bit recently, I would appreciate any tips on effective time management (without giving anything up). Thank you!

[pumkinns]

WOW.. first of all, nice going with the extras there. you'll definitely get CAS hours for them. well, if you want to manage time make a schedule of your weekly routine. first prioritize your school, and home work times. and then look for the time where you can spare EXTRA hours, to be able to take part in activities, honestly they seem quite a handful and during your Exams you wont have the same time for them as you had in the beginning.

i'm sure fitting them all up in a week is going to be tough for you, so why not try getting these lessons on a week on week off schedule.

for example:

this week you can have ballet and cello, and one orchestra. the next week you'll take up piano and orchestra. try to see if that fits somewhere, and if you still have extra time you can fill them up with any option you want

[katibear]

Yeah, I'm in six extracurriculars and I know exactly what you're talking about. I just do the assignments the day they're given, mostly. Or do the assignments that are due first and leave longer term stuff till the weekend or another day. And for longer term projects, I do a little at a time so it's not one huge thing at the end. Good luck!

[zakrzi]

I play volleyball every Monday and during the league I have matches also on Tuesdays and they are so exhausting that usually after coming back to home I cannot think about anything. Moreover, I am trying to find time to learn Spanish as it is my second passion, this is very hard and I have problmes with it nowadays...

You asked about tips to manage the time. Every person can have different but for me something similar to "motivation" is just telling myself that it is a duty and this with whole ib will help mi in the future, blablabla and other staff so that finally I take homework to hands and just do it

[elmar]

I do a few here and there. I'm in a few leadership positions, but only 3 or 4. Things have slowed down now that it's nearly graduation and the seniors who run most of the clubs are already planning their college lives. Which is perfect for me, for my exams are coming up!

Regardless, I carry a weekly schedule of all active hours (7am - 12am) with me at all times. You could find it if you type in "Brown University time management" on Google. It would lead you to a myriad of time tables where you just print and write out what you need to do. Mostly, I fill in school with a coloured highlighter and plug in any important things (math test, English IOP, club meeting, volunteer, etc.) and then fill out any homework I need to do the day of.

[Guest Red XII]

I didn't do too many different extracurriculars, but I had a major leadership role on a competitive team (I basically ran the entire organization) for both my junior and senior years, so I didn't sleep a whole lot those years. It wasn't all that difficult to manage, though. When it was, I simply gave up sleeping.

[Sandwich]

There is no perfect version of time management that doesn't require either

A) major major stress

B) giving something up

I did a few months of version (A) during IB2 and then re-evaluated what was important to me. Frankly, without excellent grades, I wasn't going to get into Uni. I'd already finished off my CAS hours ages before, although I still had to finish off 18 months for Duke of Edinburgh's. So I went for B.

Prior to IB I did loads of stuff outside of school, and by the end of IB I was just too shattered. Literally! Wake up at 6:45, school until 5pm, get home at 7pm, eat & chill, homework until 10pm and then 10-11:30 I'd exercise. Shower and be in bed for around midnight, then 6:45 again! I found it really hard going. Fact is, you don't go to school to be a crazed work-horse. Yes you go to learn, but also to enjoy yourself, have new experiences and so on. I got to the point where I wouldn't go out in the evening because I had lessons, then extra lessons after school and by the time I got home all I wanted was sleep, preferably for at least a week. The enjoyment goes out of the activities you do do and they become a chore, and you're too exhausted to learn properly.

If you really want the IB grades and extra-curriculars are wearing you down, the only choice is really to axe an extra-curricular or make it so that your attendance is more sporadic than before. Unless you can invent a time machine, there are no other options. It'll really help you out, for sure! The time I gained was used for more sleep and actually that made me feel so much better that I didn't give a crap about choir or music lessons or language lessons or even working in the charity shop ('cause I cut some things totally and other things slightly) and just needed rest ;____;

On the other hand, you're American, so perhaps IB grades aren't so essential. Either way, step 1 is to assess your priorities: both now and also in the long run. Long run priorities tend to be different, but the ones you'll love yourself for in a few years time!

[dessskris]

Yes I do. I take a lot of Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs). Or maybe too many ones.

In Semester 1, I took Choir (Tuesday & Friday), Drama (Wednesday) and Dance (Thursday). I also had CAS Sport (Tennis) (compulsory) on Wednesday before Drama.

As you can see there, I was busy everyday except on Monday.

In Quarter 3, I dropped Drama and Dance. I only took Choir (Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday). I also had CAS Sport (Badminton) (compulsory) on Wednesday before Choir.

As you can see there, I was busy everyday except on Monday and Thursday.

Now in Quarter 4, I don't know if CCAs will still go on but I want to drop Choir... or at least I hope Choir would just be once or twice a week instead of thrice.

Next year (IB2), I don't want to take any CCA except for CAS Sport that is compulsory. But if there are new interesting CCAs I would consider joining one for only a quarter

All those CCAs gave me CAS hours. I have so much more than 150 hours already that's why I don't want any more CCAs. They took a lot of time of mine and I had to give something up (usually TV, games and some sleep i.e. I sleep less than I normally do) because I usually get home at 5.30 PM or 5 PM if I have CCAs, which means I have less time to do my HW so once I get home I need to start doing my HW ASAP. but I can't since procrastination is always appealing and it's hard for me to get off IBS. I am not good at time management and it really sucks when I end up not finishing my HW.

I regret taking Drama, wasn't really worth it. was a waste of time I would say.

The CCAs will look good when I apply to uni but they disturbed my academic performance, really. I am not improving over the year (though I maintain my grades) and I hope I'd improve a lot next year if I take no CCA.

[Guest kenshi64]

Well, If we're simply talking of stuff, outside school and not CAS related, I enjoy gyming watching TV, guess i waste a lot of time being in year 2 haha!

[Procrastination]

I definetely enjoy my extracurricular activities because I like being part in what I really like, not because I'm going to get some CAS hours or something similar. I have to warn you, extracurricular activities has a negative correlation with good grades even though they both give you an EXTRA when it comes to university acceptance.

First of all you have to prioritize school work and good grades before anything else, that's the most important thing even though you might enjoy doing your extracurricular activities or you need to earn more CAS hours. Maybe try doing all of your school work the day that's given to you and perhpaps ypu'll have more time that you really enjoy such as the Orchestra.

As it comes for me I have certain extracurricular activities, some which are a pain in the ass when it comes to time administration but I still like them. Warning: The following task has been really an enriching experience but GOOD, how much school work has it cost me.

- I am the secretary general of my school's model of United Nations, since I was a little kid I've been involved in MUN'S and I love them with all of my heart, I've earned approximately 10 prizes, most of them are best delegate or 1st outstanding delegate. However, lately... I've been assuming my role as a secretary general more steadily and let me tell you is HARD HARD HARD work. First of all you have to improvise in things you're not close to and you have to be like the president for all the committees, whatch out if everything little thing is going well including guides, handbooks, placards, money administration, press prizes, etc... GOD THIS IS TIRING.

- I play volleyball weakly as an extracurricular activity.

- I swim to!

- I have french classes every saturday as this subject is not included in my school, basically I only take Spanish and English.

- I also play golf.

- I LOVE DESPERATELY PHOTOGRAPHY. God I love this, it is one of my favourite extracurricular activities besides MUN. If you want to see some of the photos I've taken go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivancamilomartin/.

And those are basically all of my extracurricular activities I guess.

[Emmi]

Instead of focusing in on many activities I decided early on to focus on just a few activities. This way I don't feel overworked and I can enjoy my activities more by being able to donate more time to them. While some people I know are trying to balance four clubs and two sports and volunteer work I just do a few things and feel so much less stressed.

My extracurriculars are:

~Martial arts: I've been doing this for three years and I love it; I'd never give it up.

~Volunteer work: I've been volunteering at a local aquarium for the past two years and I really like it, especially since the animals we have here are really cool. I do this once a week during the summer and once every other week in the school year.

~Spanish Honor Society: I'm not super involved in this club but I still go to it, even though we don't meet very often

~Sleeping: my passion

And this isn't a current extracurricular but I plan on taking German lessons because I don't want to continue learning through my school (my teacher is quite terrible!)

I used to have a job, but for various reasons I quit. I liked it at first, but as the months went on I grew to dislike it, and in combination with many other things there I decided it wasn't worth losing my sanity and quit.

[Brian Hunt]

I play (American)football which takes a lot of time. Practice is 6 hours a day until school begins where it is then 4 hours after school. I also do a lot of weight lifting (with and without the football team), there is a lot of preparation for the sport year round. On top of that I participate in theatre, I take vocal lessons, piano lessons, a non-school choir, mathletes, and a service club. Most of these I use for CAS, but I don't really need to.

[DaaeDore]

I play (American)football which takes a lot of time. Practice is 6 hours a day until school begins where it is then 4 hours after school. I also do a lot of weight lifting (with and without the football team), there is a lot of preparation for the sport year round. On top of that I participate in theatre, I take vocal lessons, piano lessons, a non-school choir, mathletes, and a service club. Most of these I use for CAS, but I don't really need to.

Haha yeah, I guess an advantage is that you get hundreds of hours for things like CAS!

[sarahlouise]

My extracurriculars are currently (during winter):

- Swimming, 2hrs each session: Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings before school.

- Soccer: Training after school on Wednesdays, Match on Saturday morning.

- Piano, 1hr lesson: Thursday afternoons, + practice almost daily.

- Debating: Some Thursday evenings.

- French tutoring: 1hr sometimes Mondays, sometimes Saturday afternoons.

During summer I then have another swimming session on Tuesday mornings, and instead of soccer I do tennis, which is 2 times a week and then matches on Saturday mornings.

I also will be starting English tutoring, on top of all this.