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There is no doubt that the International Baccalaureate is a time-consuming program. Some may even say the IB is the most challenging time of their life; but aren’t our high school years supposed to be our best years? What happened to enjoying our last two years; the pride of being a junior as well as the excitement one feels as a senior. Why do we walk the halls with bags under our eyes, and our whole bodies sulking from the weight of our textbooks? Why do our conversations revolve around our never-ending list of assignments and resentment towards the IB for not having mercy? Many of you are probably wondering, How does one manage the IB while keeping a social life? After ample research, along with an interview with Zacharia Jabba, an AISJ alumnus and a self-proclaimed Socialite, I have found some of the best tips and tricks to maintain a social life in the IB. Jabba gave two main tips: managing your time, and building strong connections with your teachers.
Jabba emphasised creating a schedule that includes both workdays and rest days. If you don’t give yourself rest days, in time, you will crash. Creating a schedule will provide you with structure and help you learn about time management – a skill needed for life. The John Hopkins university writes a beneficial article on how to manage a school life balance School Life Balance. While managing your time seems self-explanatory, how does having a connection to your teachers affect your management of the IB and social life? Well, having strong relationships with teachers creates a much more comfortable environment to ask for help when needed. Not only is this useful for extensions, but a teacher you are closer with is more likely to make you feel accountable for incomplete work or falling behind in class.
The IB is a tough two years that will put all students to the test of their abilities, not only in content but in work-life balance management. It is essential that we start learning these skills now when we are about to go into the real world, where we will enter real workspaces. The work-life balance has been proven to be a crucial aspect of a healthy work environment, and chronic stress is, in actuality, one of the most frequent health issues in the workplace. This is why we cannot stress enough the importance of keeping a balance between leisure and work.
