It’s 9:13 A.M. and you’re sitting in your 2nd hour. The sun is shining through the windows, and you’re dozing off, counting down the minutes until class is over. Your teacher comes over to your desk and hands you a new assignment. You groan as you fantasize about summer finally arriving.
Students are becoming less motivated to put effort into their schoolwork these last few weeks of school, but there are simple tips and tricks to keep students going.
“I think a lot of students, by this point in the third trimester, are either like, ‘Well I’m passing so I’m going to pass, or I’m falling so I’m going to fail,’” math teacher Rosemary Sidwell said.
As students are approaching the final weeks of school, it is important to continue paying attention and participating in class, just as you would in the beginning of the school year. But procrastination can lead to pressure with all the piled-up schoolwork you put off for yourself to do later.
“If they aren’t doing the work leading up to the final, they won’t know how to do what is on the final,” Sidwell said.
Many students concur that it is not as easy to stay focused during the last few weeks of school. You may be growing bored of the material, or you could be too worn out and you just don’t have the energy to do things anymore. The weather is getting warmer, and students would rather be spending time doing other things than being stuck in their bedroom doing homework. However, there are multiple things that you can do to stay less overwhelmed and discouraged.
One thing students can do is to make homework more enjoyable for themselves so that they are motivated to do it and can make sure they are not falling behind on work. Instead of doing homework indoors, try something new. Being in a good environment, like the outdoors, can effectively boost your motivation and enhance brain development.
According to the Natural Library of Medicine, studying outside can reduce your stress levels and decrease anxiety. Taking in Vitamin D from the sun outdoors is great for increasing calcium absorption. It can also reduce cancer cells, but make sure you aren’t outside too long or else you could be dealing with severe sun damage.
Along with homework, it is important to not overwork yourself. Try to do only a few assignments, instead of doing them all at once. If you have multiple missing assignments that you need to catch up on, start by just trying to finish two each day. Before you know it, you will be getting all your assignments completed in a much less stressful way.
A tip you can try is, when completing assignments, do your hardest assignment first. It is easier in the long run to not procrastinate and hold off on your most difficult assignment. By doing this you won’t be feeling the need to try and complete a difficult task when you are already not in the mood.
One of the simplest things to stay productive and fully complete your assignment is to use a timer. Pick out what task you are going to complete and set a timer for 7 minutes. See how much work you can finish: don’t stop working until the timer goes off. By doing this, it makes difficult tasks much easier. When doing things in increments, trying to accomplish a task will seem much less stressful. Some students have specific things that they do to stay organized with their work.
“I make to-do lists,” freshman Maggie Scarvarda said, who is taking an AP class and has a 4.2 GPA.
Being organized is the most important thing you can do when trying to juggle things like missing work. It is so crucial that you keep everything neatly arranged. By creating a to-do list or writing in a planner, it helps you prioritize your tasks precisely. You will efficiently be more successful.
When creating a to-do list, it helps you acknowledge all your tasks and you can divide your larger tasks into smaller chunks. By dividing a large task it will help motivate you. Ticking off each small chunk will help increase your confidence when you make a long-term assignment into smaller bits. Make a list of all the tasks that you need to complete and list their deadlines. This will help your time management skills, and it will be much more helpful because you will have all your assignments in front of you.
Scavarda has been held to a high standard of having good grades since elementary school. Now these standards are healthy habits.
“My parents encourage me to get good grades,” Scavarda said, “and I also want good grades for my future.”
Time is winding down until finals and with that comes a lot of studying to do. Now is the perfect time to start. It is so important to make sure that you are getting all the credits you need to make sure that you are not stuck in summer school or the same grade. You don’t want to be the friend that is left behind so use that as a motive to try and get better grades.
Another tip to try is creating flashcards over the terms you learned in a specific class. Go over old notes taken in class and try to rewrite them. Writing things down improves memory. Those topics will be fresh in your mind,and you won’t have as much trouble trying to remember something you learned in March.
One of the most helpful things you can do is complete your study guide. Teachers will most likely be giving you a study guide and it is very useful if you go through and finish it all. Rewriting all the questions and answers to the study is very beneficial considering those are going to be all the subject matters discussed on the exam. Be sure that you are not stressing yourself out by waiting until the day before your exam to start studying.
Most people would like to be successful in life and now is the time to start. Learning useful skills that you need in the future can lead to your success. Catch on to good habits and let go of the bad. Remember always that failure is a sign of success so don’t feel discouraged. Don’t wait around for the right time because the right time is now.
“I stay motivated by thinking about the effect it will have on me in the future,” Scavarda said.