Turns Out… Doing the Work Works by Diane

Turns Out… Doing the Work Works by Diane - February 2026 Scholarship Essay

The clock struck 11:45 AM, my study hall began, and while others chatted about non-sense, played games, and went on their phones I pulled out my laptop and decided right there that I wasn’t going to fall behind anymore. The small habit I started doing that made a big difference in my academic success was not letting myself procrastinate any more. I used to wait until the very last minute to start on my work and I realized I needed to change my ways once I started to lose sleep over it. Back then, I would use my study halls to just chill and relax but now I make sure I get all of my work completed before I let myself have free time. This routine may seem small to others but it matters a lot to me so I won’t fall behind.

The first thing I do when I get to study hall is take out my laptop and open up my Canvas dashboard. After that, I start by completing the lengthy assignments, which is usually any virtual biology labs, to get them out the way early then I will continue on with the lighter assignments. I stop myself from getting distracted by just not engaging in conversations or playing around during study hall. Me making sure every single assignment done before I do anything entertaining shows that I’m extremely serious about getting my work done on time. I had to change my “I’ll just do it later” mindset in order to become the person who never stresses out about due dates.

Turning my study hall into a real work period really helped out my stress levels. I no longer had to stay up late on Sundays to beat the 11:59 PM deadline. Finishing my work early has me feeling energized throughout the day knowing that I have no work on my back. Doing my work on time gave me more time to focus on hobbies, study, volunteer, and even manage a job. It honestly feels like I hacked the school day to finally get my life back, since I'm actually getting ahead instead of just barely surviving the week.

This habit really taught me that discipline isn’t about doing something huge, it’s just about making the right choice when you’d rather be doing something else. It definitely boosted my confidence because now I actually feel like I'm in control of my life instead of my teachers being in control of me. Seeing my "To-Do" list completely empty gives me so much more motivation to keep going because I know how good it feels to be free. I’ve realized that these small habits matter way more than trying to make some big dramatic change overnight because it's the little things you do every day that actually stick. I’m definitely going to keep this up in college because the workload is only gonna get heavier and more difficult, but I know if I can master my schedule now, I’ll be able to handle whatever comes next without losing my mind.