Seniors v. Senioritis

For seniors, the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than ever as graduation is less than a month away. That strange sun thing in the sky has returned and is clearing students’ minds of responsibilities. But school isn’t over; those responsibilities still weigh down the afternoons spent procrastinating. Here are some tips on how to overcome Senioritis:

• Focus on the present. Yes, eventually you will graduate and you will be off to do things you care more about. But for now you are stuck here until the end of the year. For some people it’s fun, and then there are the people who have full schedules. Either way, the teachers expect no lack of effort on the students’ part. Keep your mind worrying about what’s due soon and what you need to accomplish to graduate, and then once summer hits, shift your mindset to the future.

• Prioritize. You won’t get anything done if you try to do it all at once. There will be assignments due in a week, assignments due next month, and assignments due tomorrow, but they all need to get done at some point. Most of the time, the thing that should take priority is the assignment due tomorrow but there are a lot of big projects senior year that take more time. Don’t let them collect dust either.

• Make lists. It’s helpful to write out everything that you need to do so that you don’t accidentally forget something important. With so many expectations and assignments floating around, it can help to put them all in one place. Plus, it feels great to be able to cross things off.

• Get good sleep. Different people need different amounts of sleep, but the general consesus among sleep experts is that students need nine or more hours each night. It won’t always happen, but don’t let go of any night that you can afford to sleep that much. Procrastinating and finishing homework last minute in the late hours of the night makes the stress worse in days to come, but sometimes it’s necessary. Just don’t let it become the norm.

• Don’t let downtime become all the time. It’s important in the midst of senior stress to take breaks and have leisure time, but it will feel a lot better if you’ve gotten something done first.

• Act like you care. It’s no secret that classes seem less interesting when summer is whispering sweet nothings in your ears. The trick is to act like you care even when you don’t, because you’ll soak in more knowledge that way. And if you actually do care, embrace it.

• Remember that time will keep moving forward. There’s nothing you can do to keep time from slowing down. That statement alone may cause existential crises for many, but it’s not always a bad thing. At this time of year, it can be the most comforting thing. Trust the fact that no matter what, you will get through this. No matter what, time will take you to your destination, wherever that may be. But if you slack off this late in the game, that destination might not be so pretty.

June 11th is so close, just follow these tips and don’t forget to take a breath in between.

Photo Credit: Sean Tellvik

Eric MicMichael expresses how senioritis is a constant struggle that many seniors face during this time of year.