These are my top two tips to help you stay calm throughout your IB journey:
1. Doing CAS
I took both the IBDP and the LOMCE (Spanish national high school program), so I had double the workload for two years. Since I didn’t have much free time, CAS was my way to unwind. Photo-shoots with my friends turned into “Creativity.” Helping out in the soup kitchens of the Missionaries of Mother Theresa of Calcutta chapter in my city kept me socializing with people. Going on MUN (Model United Nations) trips with my school helped me have fun while learning about global issues. I suggest you make the most out of CAS by filling it with activities you can enjoy, that way you kill two birds with one stone!
2. Practicing Self-Care
Prioritizing good sleeping and eating habits significantly helped me stay calm. By forcing myself to sleep 6-8 hours every night, I wound up doing projects earlier and stopped procrastinating as much. This resulted in very few all-nighters and improved grades. My lights-out was, at the very latest, midnight.
Fun fact: when you sleep, your body cleans toxins that build up in your brain throughout the day. Maintaining a good sleep schedule is important for your health. If you’re healthy, your levels of stress will decrease and you’ll be able to be calm more easily!
• Nell’s tips on how to balance academic work and free time here
• Kathlyn’s tips on how to maintain your social life during IB here