How I Juggle 5 Extracurriculars and Still Have Time for Rank 1

It’s not as impressive as it sounds.

One of the easiest ways to drive yourself insane in VCE is to overfill your plate.
Overcommit to too many extracurriculars while having to balance your six subjects,
waste valuable time doing extra work, and end up falling behind on everything.

Well at least that’s what they tell you in school. But I’m here to prove otherwise. Even
with accelerating Specialist Maths and Algorithmics 3/4 in year 11, I still find time to be
part of bands, council advisory committees, public speaking clubs, and many more
activities while acing assessments and topping the ranks. It’s honestly not as hard as it
sounds, all you need is some refactoring of your mind.

In the senior years of high school, the stress and individuality of VCE often leaves
students isolated and lonely, leaving them to scroll mindlessly on their phones to get
the dopamine rush they crave. Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts make time
pass by quickly, making students feel as though they do not have much time left, when
in reality it was simply wasted. I experienced this regularly, and most of my friends do
too.

Extracurriculars solve this problem. They provide a source of regular dopamine from
real, meaningful connection with a community, whether it be leadership, music, sports,
or just a hobby. They don’t take out time from your studies, instead they remove the
need for a supplementary, unhealthy dopamine source. In this sense they might even
save you time in the long run, as they occur at regular, set times whereas scrolling is
indefinite.

My deputy principal often proclaims that the less you do, the more you’ll find an
opportunity to stretch it out to fill the time, and while students don’t like taking advice
from teachers, I have found that to be true in recent years. The more stuff you give
yourself to do, the more you’ll find efficient ways to do it effectively which ultimately
improves your productivity.

But of course, as always, the most important thing is being organised. If you can create
a to-do list and weekly/monthly planner, whether it be online or on paper, it helps a lot
to get everything down so your mind is clear and you can focus on what’s immediate
and most important/urgent.

To summarise, doing many extracurriculars isn’t something only for the most highflying,
but something anyone can do that might even be helpful in the long run for both skills
and productivity. Keep yourself busy and surrounded with things you love, and you’ll
never have an unhappy day. Don’t go overboard with it though!