Balancing school and the gym

[j5flip]

Hey guys! Ok, so its getting to the point where school is a total struggle. Its not that I have trouble with any of the subjects, its the fact that I have so much homework and can't get to bed a decent time anymore. Does anybody else have this problem? I wanted to do homeschooling, but my mom is totally against it. But I feel that it would help a bunch. If you have any tips on what to do, I would appreciate it!

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

Work on homework during school! Class periods where you don't do much or lunch both work. My sophomore year I did pre-cal every day during lunch so I wouldn't have to do it at 8:45 when I got home from gym.

 

[tumble&turn]

It's all about balance. Remember if you really want to do well in both school and gymnastics you will find a way to make it work.
Here's what I do.

Any free time I have I use to get a bit of homework done. An extra 10 mins here and there really adds up and makes a difference.
I catch the bus, so I use this time to read through any of my notes and with a bit of practice I'm even able to write on the bus (although writing my Japanese homework on the bus is a little hard, so I leave that for home).

I always have some homework packed in the car so if I get to the gym early, I can get some more done even if it's only 10 or so minutes.

If you finish your work early in class then start your homework in class.

Try and get to school a bit early so you can do some work before class starts.

You could also use some of your lunchtime to do homework, you don't have to do this everyday but maybe one or two lunchtimes a week eg. every Wednesday you could go to the library and do homework, that way it becomes a routine and your friends just except that that's what you do on Wednesdays.

Also you and your parents could talk to your teachers about balancing school with gymnastics to see if they could give you extensions or a bit less work. Maybe you could go to less P.E. (sport) lessons and use those lessons to get your homework done as you're already doing lots of exercise with gymnastics.

Don't worry we've all gone through times when we've found it difficult to balance school and gymnastics but as long as you put the effort in you will find a way to make it all work for you.

Good luck

 

[BlairBob]

Ask your coaches if you can bring your homework to gym. We've had gymnastics work on their homework missing anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour+, then warmup and join their group.

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

I, like many other gymnasts, share this problem with you. I work on homework all the time. Between classes, on the way to/from gym, in the morning at school the day its due (for extreme cases), at gym when doing splits, during lunch, during our snack break at gym, while eating dinner, you name it.
I wouldn't do homeschooling, school is where you can be "normal", not intensely working out, its your place to relax and not be training

 

[stxrdusty]

I've just adapted to having little sleep. 4 hours a night is pretty average if not less. I work on homework during class, at lunch, and while eating meals. I've also found that going to sleep soon after I get home from practice and waking up super early in the morning to do all my homework helps because I'm not as tired when I try to do my work.

 

[Gymnastics1234]

Well I don't have this problem yet, but
I will as soon as school starts cause I'm about to start high school and have a ton of homework. I recommend that you have a daily planner, or just use any phone or laptop, and start scheduling at the beginning of the week if you have any long term projects for example. And also do them any spare you have. Hope this helped

 

[Gymnastics1234]

Like the times ^^

 

[RisingGymnast]

My freshman year was really hard balancing everything I did. A lot of our girls did homework at the gym.
Personally, I was the person who never slept. I went insane that year a little. I got to do everything I wanted though (all the sports and activities).

Sophomore year has been increasingly easier. Lighter loads of homework. But I do have a planner as someone mentioned and would plan out when I would do homework. Sometimes I would take it to the gym. Other times I stayed up. We also have an advisory period and I did some then. Either the day before (helpful) or the day of (stressful).

I find that the library is awesome for lunch/homework/studying. So whenever you have a ton of work, library is awesome. Try to use the free time in class wisely. Don't play on your phone, do your work. It helps so much.

 

[All Chalked Up]

Most of this year I took the "never sleep" route, getting 1-5 hours a night. I did get all of my homework done, but 100% DO NOT RECOMMEND. Most of the time my homework wasn't done as well as it could have been, my gymnastics suffered, and I walked around like a zombie.

Once I got my act together (re: my parents got a call home because I fell asleep far too often, so I had to smarten up), my marks went up, my gymnastics improved immensely, and I got healthier.

Do your homework/reading during your free time: recess, lunch, free periods, break at gym, the drive to gym, read in the bathtub, laminate flashcards pre-exams and review in the shower, in the morning/afternoon on the bus and before classes. I even used to do homework I knew I would have trouble with in classes I found easy and knew it would take me less time to complete homework, so I could go to bed earlier.