Planning, getting things done early and scheduling activities in advance are not common skills of most high school students today. But throughout the past four years of my high school experience, getting –– and staying –– ahead in school and in extracurricular activities like The Lion’s Tale has undoubtedly made me more productive and a better communicator. This work ethic is also preparing me for future endeavors, especially as our lives only become more complicated after high school.

Since CESJDS has such a fast-paced academic environment with a rigorous curriculum, accomplishing work early is critical. Since freshman year, I’ve strived to take difficult classes, immersed myself in a wide range of extracurricular clubs and activities and managed to carve out some time to chill –– and not because I possess some elite superpower. Rather, I attribute that juggling act to completing assignments as they’re assigned, instead of pushing them off. With a lot of school work and responsibilities as a Lion’s Tale editor, that work ethic has come in handy.

Take the situation of a junior as an example. From the landmark history research essay to the Arab-Israeli conflict resolution paper, every junior has their hands full with school and college preparation work. Many friends of mine will tell you they did just fine during junior year by completing assignments right before they were due, but what they won’t tell you is that while they were able to finish every assignment, the process they endured was miserable. No student should go days without sleeping a full night or eating proper meals simply because they waited until the last minute (or second) to turn in an important essay, project or presentation.

While some view procrastination as a way of evenly dividing their workload and de-stressing, doing so only creates greater challenges, especially in the tense junior year atmosphere when work is incessantly assigned. Truthfully, procrastination only inhibits students from being fully productive and putting their best foot forward, even if it gets the job done in the short-term.

To help avoid work overloads and end-of-semester breakdowns, the path of least resistance is simply to complete every assignment the day or day after it is assigned, particularly smaller ones.

Looking back on my high school career, my advice is to turn this time into an opportunity to strengthen just a few important life skills that will undoubtedly help you later on as you move on to a more difficult chapter of your life.