National No-Excuse day is next Monday. The day, founded by the Canadian organization SCENE, is geared to remind people to take time for themselves and forget about their worries for a bit. But that’s not always the case and isn’t always an easy task for students like Junior Tanay Acharya who takes seven weighted classes along with being on the tennis team, Quizbowl, Science Olympiad, Math Club, debate and possibly other clubs just for fun. He said this year will be tough because of the transition to full in-person learning.

Acharya said, “Especially last year, it was hybrid, so you had a lot more time to do your stuff. It wasn’t as stressful compared to this year.”

Acharya is not alone. Sophomore Katie Rizzuto is currently taking French 3, AP European History, Honors Chemistry, AP Literature, Choir (Allegro), math tutoring SSRT, Algebra II, Intro to Culinary Arts first semester, and Intro to Entrepreneurship second semester during this school year.

Rizzuto said, “This is my first real year of high school where I go in person everyday, which has been an adjustment, but the workload is the same, just a bit more compressed timewise. It’s sometimes stressful but for now I’m on top of my work.”

She also works as a server for Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream. She participates in DECA, TedX, and Linguistics club already and plans on joining Silverhounds and Planetarium Club as the year continues. She also works in the Carmel Cafe in the mornings. 

As Rizzuto works, in school and out, she said she must have some ways to keep up with all this work. 

“Balancing the workload from school and the extracurricular has proved challenging so far, but I think I can manage it with proper time management,” she stated. 

Rizzuto said she is trying her best to manage her time properly and take breaks regularly to handle stress. 

“I write down every assignment in my planner, and I keep a calendar in my phone and the planner also. It’s got dates and times of tests, clubs, and anything else I need to remember. I wake up early roughly two days a week. One day I work in the cafe and the other I have driving lessons with my instructor to get my permit,” Rizzuto said. “I have a club or work after school three-four times a week, and that can last anywhere from 5;30-9 depending on the activity. After that I go home and relax for a bit before I eat dinner with my family and start on homework after, ending anywhere between 10-2.

Psychology teacher Sandy Gardener, provided some tips on how to handle stress and the workload for school.

Gardener said, “Mindset is a big part of that, they must look at stress as a good thing. If it’s too much stress it’s not good, but a little bit of stress is what keeps us motivated to a certain degree.”

She also said how a positive mindset compared to a negative mindset can affect students working.

“Mindset plays a really big role in how people approach work,” Gardener said, “how they think about work, how they think about careers in the future, and things like that.”