How to Combat Senioritis

Senior year is the best and worst year of high school. It's the best because… it's the last!! You are just a few months away from the rest of your life, and it should feel like such a relief. However, in some ways it's the worst too. You have so much work and you are so burnt out, you're just counting down the days to graduation at this point. In fact, this is so common that there's a term: senioritis. Senioritis is when your motivation drops close to nothing in your last year of school. It usually doesn't hit until March, when you finally get your college acceptances so you stop caring about your grades, attendance, and classes. Most seniors get it, but there are ways to prevent it from throwing you off course! If you're going through it right now, don't worry too much, you are near the end and there are ways to get yourself back on track for your final semester of high school! Keep the agenda…seriously. I know someone has probably told you at some point in life to purchase a tangible agenda or calendar organizer and actually use it… but this is vital to your success! It helps you keep track of your homework and keeps your goals and life on the right track too. You can write anything you need to get done in it; using it often can begin to give you satisfaction too. Just highlighting my completed tasks makes me feel so good and so motivated—I want to complete even more! You can even use your agenda to journal thoughts about your day. There is an unlimited amount of things for you to write about. You can use it as a diary, a story book, or even a poetry journal. Writing about your day during your downtime is a great way to reflect, and really see your growth over the next few months. I personally do weekly reflections, and it helps me set goals for the next week and beyond. Stay organized with the Fantastical app. Students save 20%!* Reward yourself! Rewarding yourself is also a great way to stay motivated and on top of your assignments. If there's a pair of shoes or concert tickets that you've been wanting for a long time, use your grades as an excuse to buy them! If you get an A on your next exam, then spoil yourself a little. You deserve it! Create a career goal. If you don't have a career goal in mind to motivate you in school, that might be the cause of your Senioritis. Having a goal to reach after your education is complete is a great way to keep yourself motivated and help you focus on your grades. You can use career surveys to help you personalize interests and goals! The best way to pick a career that excites you is to pick a major that strikes your interest. This can really help motivate you to do your best now, so you can be very successful later! For example, I found a major that I love so much. I always keep in mind that with every assignment I finish, I'm one step closer to accomplishing my goals. Confide in your teachers. By now, you hopefully have a favorite teacher or mentor—someone you can count on to help you out when you need it. High school teachers know that Senioritis is a thing, so if you talk to them they will understand. They can even help you talk to your other teachers about your grades and work. If you don't have a teacher you can trust, that's ok. You can send an email to your teachers to ask for help for personal reasons, and most of the time they will understand, since they know that senior year is tough. Get enough sleep. This is something that may be obvious, but you don't make it a habit; go to sleep at a reasonable time to wake up early and on time. I know you want to stay up watching Netflix all night, but that won't do you any good in the long run. You want to stay motivated and awake to complete your work, not sleep in class, and lose valuable class time. With all of this being said, you can combat your Senioritis. We only have a couple of months to go, so let's try our hardest. Find a weekly event to look forward to keep you motivated. Look back at your week and find ways to improve! To all the seniors in the United States: I wish you an amazing close to your senior year. We are all in this together! *As an affiliate partner of Flexibits, Fastweb may be compensated when you click the link in this article and/or take other qualifying actions.