The Balancing Act- Dance, School and Life... Oh My!

Posted by Kim Shope on Nov 09, 2017

Organize, Prioritize, Maximize, Synchronize and Immortalize!

I remember how difficult and stressful it was balancing academics and dance with friends, family, meals, sleep and other hobbies!

Obviously they are all important, but it works best if you have a plan! Try my super helpful tips to organize your life and see how it will help minimize stress, chaos and heartache.

Organize, Prioritize, Maximize, Synchronize and Immortalize! Use this as a guide to create an organized life. Try it for one month to make sure you develop the habits listed below. Be sure to celebrate your successes and try not to be too hard on yourself if you miss a day. Just get back on track as soon as possible.

Try my super helpful tips to organize your life and see how it will help minimize stress, chaos and heartache.

Organize:

GET A PLANNER! You can find online planners, apps or hard copy planner notebooks. It doesn’t really matter. Figure out which one you will USE and get one!

Write down your weekly wake-time, school hours, dance class hours, bed time, etc.
Add special calendar events and any special days off you have from school or dance.
Add school deadlines like reports, test, projects, rehearsals, performances, family activities, etc.
IMPORTANT! Look for times when you have a break and nothing scheduled to be productive.

Prioritize:

USE YOUR PLANNER! Look at it first thing in the morning, and review the upcoming week for extra activities or deadlines that are not part of your every day routine.

Pick the most important tasks and work on them first if you have a long block of time free.
If you only have a few minutes free, choose a small task you can complete quickly.
Set the timer on your device so you don’t have to keep looking at the time before your next activity.
Update your calendar to reflect whether your task is “need to start, in progress, or complete”!

Maximize:

USE YOUR FREE TIME WISELY! Utilize your completely free time to be productive and make sure you are giving each task your FULL CONCENTRATION! If you are great at Multi-Tasking, try doing physical and mental tasks at the same time.

Try to finish your tasks so you can have guilt free “YOU TIME”. You will feel so proud and accomplished when you have completed your To Do List!

Each day when you have a break, try to find time to finish a small task or assignment. This could be in the car or just before a school or dance class during the few minutes when the teacher is getting ready.
You can also organize reports or papers, review academic material or dance choreography IN YOUR HEAD while you shower, brush your teeth, eat, etc.
Stretch while you are reading or doing homework!
Consider waking up a half hour early to prepare for your day. Use this time for assignments due in the next week, not for today’s homework as that should have been completed the day before!
If your school allows, ask to receive PE credit for your dancing hours. This will give you extra time for homework and studying.

Synchronize:

FOR PARENTS! This aspect of the plan, makes the online or calendar apps more appealing. Synching everyone’s calendars can help alleviate over scheduling and schedule mishaps.

Make sure both dancer and parents synchronize and share their calendars! Parents can help, but it should be the dancer’s responsibility keep the calendar updated.
Parents can keep an eye on your dancer’s schedule, tasks, and completed assignments via the shared calendar.
Try not to nag, but help them utilize their time wisely by suggesting that they do something productive when they are idle.
CELEBRATE! Applaud and congratulate them on their new organization and time management skills! Help them see the tangible benefits to being organized.
TRY IT YOURSELF! Setting a great example will inspire your children to develop life long skills that will help them be more productive and less stressed throughout their life!

IMMORTALIZE!

Once you have developed the awesome habit of organization, STICK WITH IT! Keep it up and it will benefit you forever! Congratulate yourself on your accomplishment!

Good Luck!

Miss Kim