A common misconception about extracurriculars is that having extra activities will interfere with the amount of school work you get done. However, I have noticed that the more involved I am with sports or extracurriculars, the better I seem to perform.

During this year’s soccer season, I was concerned about whether I would be able to balance soccer with getting all my schoolwork done, and still be able to maintain straight A’s in all my courses with study time. However, when soccer season finally arrived, I found that I actually performed better in school as I felt that I needed to kick things into overdrive in order to succeed. Because of practice every day after school, I had less time to do work. The lack of time motivated me to work twice as hard, and led me to stop procrastinating, simply because I didn’t have the time to.  

However, after the soccer season ended, I had nothing to do. With all the extra time, I felt less pressured to work, and found myself procrastinating more and more. I instantly discovered that I was feeling more stressed because of this, since I was pushing off my homework until late into the night. The lack of activity did not lead into more efficient work time and work completion, which is why  I am participating sports for every season of the upcoming year, to ensure that my work ethic is maintained throughout the entire school year.

Science seems to support my decision. Erin Massoni at Cod EDU states that extracurricular activities do, in fact, help students perform better. Massoni includes that students’ futures can be determined in these few years. Massoni further explains that a student’s career and worth ethic can be developed by having extracurricular activities, which motivate students.

Extra activities do help students perform well in their academic lives, as long as the student is motivated to succeed in both their extracurriculars and their education. The misconception may be hard to understand until you are put into the situation. Originally, I never understood how more activities would improve or maintain my grades, but after being limited on time, I found that it actually does help. However, take my experience with a grain of salt: don’t get crazy on the amount of activities, as too many will not leave you with enough time, regardless of how fast you work.