Organisation, participation, confidence and autonomy are things you *do*. Well-being (*welbevinden*) is how you *are*. It is the ground those four skills grow in.[^1] If it is shaky, the skills are harder, and no planner will fix that.
Quick check
Think about the last two weeks.
- Do I mostly feel okay at school, even if I’m not thrilled?
- Do I have at least one person at school I can talk to?
- Am I sleeping reasonably, eating, and moving around a bit?
- Do I feel I belong in my class, at least somewhere?
- Do I have times I enjoy, in or out of school?
If several of these are «no», read on. It does not mean something is wrong with you. It means it is worth paying attention to.
Why this is part of learning
Planning, focusing and switching between tasks use a set of brain skills called executive functions. They get worse when you are stressed, short of sleep, lonely or not moving much, and they can be trained and improved.[^2] So when you are «so disorganised lately», the cause may be tiredness or stress, not laziness.
Four areas to look at
Researchers describe well-being at school in four parts.[^3] Here is each one, with something you can do.
- Your conditions at school (timetable, workload, place to study)
– Notice what is too much. Can you move a deadline, or ask for a plan?
– Find a quiet spot for work: library, empty classroom, home corner. - Your relationships (teachers, friends, class)
– Choose one person to say hello to or work with this week.
– Find one adult you can ask a question without feeling silly. - Your growth and meaning (chances to learn, to be heard, to be good at something)
– Say what you enjoy or want to be good at. Ask for a small chance to do it.
– Remember that your opinion counts when your school asks for feedback. - Your health (spirit, body and mind)
– Protect your sleep: screens off earlier, same wake-up time most days.
– Move for ten minutes. Walk, stretch, anything.
– Eat something before a long school day.
A simple weekly check-in
Once a week, take two minutes and write a number from 1 to 5 for each: *sleep, mood, energy, friends, schoolwork*. You are not judging yourself. You are looking for patterns. If the same one is low for two weeks, change one small thing or tell someone. The self-check in the RTTI app (app.rtti.no) does a similar job for all the OPSA skills and well-being.
When to ask for help
Ask for help if you feel down or anxious most days, if you are being left out or bullied, if you cannot sleep for a long time, or if schoolwork feels impossible. Choose someone you trust: your mentor, a teacher, the school nurse or counsellor, a parent or another adult. You do not need to explain it perfectly. «I’m not doing great and I don’t know why» is enough to start.
This page is not a test and it cannot tell whether something is seriously wrong. It is a prompt to notice, then to talk.
This week
Do the two-minute check-in once, and choose one small change for the lowest score.
[^1]: The self-check in the RTTI app (app.rtti.no) follows the idea of DocentPlus’s OMZA-selfie, which also covers executive functions and well-being alongside the four skills. Sources for the original OMZA approach: DocentPlus, *Breng met OMZA de sociaal-emotionele ontwikkeling & welbevinden van je leerlingen in kaart*, https://docentplus.nl/breng-met-omza-de-sociaal-emotionele-ontwikkeling-welbevinden-van-je-leerlingen-in-kaart/ and *E-learning formatief evalueren met OMZA*, https://docentplus.nl/trainingen/e-learning-formatief-evalueren-met-omza/
[^2]: Diamond (2013) notes that «stress, lack of sleep, loneliness, or lack of exercise each impair EFs», and that executive functions can be trained and improved with practice. Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. *Annual Review of Psychology, 64*, 135-168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
[^3]: The four areas are *having* (school conditions), *loving* (social relationships), *being* (means for self-fulfilment) and *health*, from Konu and Rimpelä’s school well-being model, which builds on Allardt’s concept of having, loving and being. Konu, A., & Rimpelä, M. (2002). Well-being in schools: A conceptual model. *Health Promotion International, 17*(1), 79-87. Self-determination theory adds that when the needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness are met, motivation and mental health are better; when they are not, motivation and well-being suffer (Ryan & Deci, 2000, *American Psychologist, 55*(1), 68-78).