Skills To Build Before Back-To-School

Now that it's August, summer is drawing to a close, and the brand new school year is slowly approaching. While there's no need for students to stress about their incoming courseload and extracurriculars just yet, there are certainly some simple ways students can prepare themselves for the new year!

Hard skills, such as graphic design skills or proficiency in another language, are certainly useful both for academics, college applications, and careers. However, soft skills are just as important and arguably more versatile! Here are some important soft skills (and tips for each!) that students can build now that will help them start the school year strong:

Time Management

While every individual student has a different time management system that works for them (check out our blog article "Tools for Better Time Management"), what is consistently important is learning how to prioritize. Not everything on your to-do list is equal, and figuring out which task is of higher priority is the first step to effective time management.

Which task is urgent? Which task is important? Answering these can help students organize their time effectively. A task that is both important and urgent should of course be done first—but a task that is important but not urgent can be done later. An urgent but unimportant task can be delegated, and a non-urgent and unimportant task should be taken out of prioritization entirely.

Below are some more tips for better time management:

• Make a to-do list.

• Tell your goals to a friend or family member for accountability.

• Get rid of potential distractions.

• Give yourself a (controlled) break.

Organization

Keeping documents, to-do lists, schedules, and more organized is a great habit to build now, because it gives your student a framework to then use immediately once the school year starts. (Check out our blog article "How to Stay Productive Over the Summer" for more!) It also helps curtail the stress of trying to remember tasks and schedules or devoting time to searching for information you already have.

Also, organization and cleanliness are not synonymous, but there is definitely overlap. This extends to your work environment as well! If your student usually does their homework on a desk or a kitchen counter, for example, a habit of keeping that area relatively tidy and organized can do wonders for your student's mental load and ability to focus.

Below are some more tips for organization:

• Make a schedule and stick to it.

• Keep clutter to a minimum.

• Sort your documents and emails in folders for easy search and access.

Reflection and Self-Evaluation

It's always important for students to pause and self-evaluate where they stand, and what they think of their experiences. Say they're taking a new class or trying a new club—which activities in particular had them excited for more? At the core of it, why did they like these activities? Which activities instead had them internally dreading the thought of attending another meeting, and why did they fail to crucially keep their interest?

Sometimes, certain activities just don’t resonate with you, and that’s perfectly fair. However, it's important to evaluate and get at these specifics. These will help students not only discover more about what exactly it is that they enjoy, but also how they operate and think as a person, and what they want their academic and career path to be.

Below are some more tips for self-evaluation:

• Look for activities that incorporate specific aspects that you did enjoy from your previous activities.

• Don't be afraid to pivot away and pursue new things if you feel very hesitant to continue a field of interest (especially for ninth and tenth graders).

If you want to learn more about high school coaching and how we at ILUMIN can tailor a specific plan for your student, feel free to set up a free consultation with us!