As a current high school senior, I’ve witnessed and experienced what many have referred to as senioritis. Assignments I’ve found easy have become insurmountable tasks, my mood during the school day has dwindled down, and my bed, blankets, and pillows are looking more attractive than ever. Now, although the life of leisure, carelessness, and bedrotting is the more enticing course of action, I also realize that I need to lock in or else I’ll be cooked. As a means of publicly declaring so that I might be held accountable, and so that readers may also learn some strategies, I present: David’s 101 Guide on How to Not Be Cooked Senior Year.
1. Getting Good Sleep
If there is one thing that can make the easy tasks easy again, it’s getting a good night’s slump. According to John Hopkins Medicine, teens need to be securing nine to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep every night. As of currently, your boy is getting roughly six. That’s around 60% of what is recommended. To achieve this goal of nine hours per night, I should be going to bed at 9:00 PM. As I’m sleep deprived while I write this article, that number sounds absolutely ridiculous to me.
2. Locking in During the School Day
There are so many times that I’ve gone to school, finished my day, and gone home thinking, “Wow, I really got none of my work done today”. What usually happens next is me listing off all the things I need to get done and either staying up all night or not getting it done. But recently, I had a bewildering realization: I’ll hardly ever have homework if I get my work done in class. In fact, there were days where I experimented with this. Incredibly enough, I only had around thirty minutes of homework that night. By using my school time efficiently, I can make room in my schedule for stress-free leisure and other important tasks.
3. Getting Off That Dang Phone
I’ll be honest. I really love BlockBlast, guys. I play it all day, everyday. There are so many times where I’ll say, “One more game”, and then play five more. In a single school day, I played BlockBlast for three consecutive class periods (Teachers, this is totally just a lie as I’m never on my phone in class). But aside from playing a silly mobile game, doom scrolling is ruining my life. It has gotten to the point where I take turns on Instagram and TikTok because, I guess, one app wasn’t enough for me. If there is one habit that could absolutely turn things around, it would be getting off my ding-dang phone. I’ll have more motivation to do my homework, I’ll get to bed at a better time, and my brain won’t turn to mush from doom scrolling meaningless content for hours on end.
4. Organizing My Priorities
With homework, a job, clubs, sports, college, and scholarships to get figured out, there is a long list of things that I need to do. But the thing is, although some things are due the next day, there are many of these priorities that are due in weeks or months. But trying to keep track of everything in my head is going to make me go insane, and I’ll also end up missing a couple of things. To fix this, I’m going to start physically organizing my priorities on a day-to-day basis. Now, a planner is a little too boujee for me, but I think a daily checklist and a calendar will do the trick. By organizing my priorities, I’ll be able to get things done in a timely manner, and I’ll realize how underwhelming things are if I take them one day at a time.
P.S. I also love the satisfaction of checking off a completed task on a to-do list.
5. Plan My Fun
Just like with priorities, being disorganized with indulgent activities will lead to unproductiveness. I could be stressed out, busy, and in-need of locking in, but if I hear about a function or time out with my friends, I’ll flip my schedule upside-down to spend time with them. By planning out my fun, whether it’s time out with friends, a hobby, or activity, I’ll be able to plan my productive time around it which makes sure I get everything done while still having the relief I need from working.
Overall, senior year is a tough time for many people. It’s the time where many things come to an end, and it can leave you unwilling to pursue the new things on the horizon. But by organizing, using your time wisely, and by having fun in the process, senior year can be a time to thrive rather than just hold on. Whether it’s the last first day, or your final semester, I hope my tips may help other seniors as they’ll (hopefully) help me.
We had some professionals (me) create a survey chart so that readers can see whether or not they are cooked. You can view and survey yourself down below.
