Dear Fellow High Schoolers,
As a senior, I’ve learned a few tricks that helped me get good grades and avoid burnout. With the end of the semester coming up, I thought I’d share some of what I learned.
Get enough sleep and eat nutritious meals!
The amount of sleep and food you get determines how much energy you have and how you feel. Ensuring you get enough of both is extremely important to a productive day. School, extracurriculars, and jobs can get in the way of this a lot of the time.
However, I get that this isn’t always achievable. I do marching band and I have a pretty irregular sleep schedule because of the late nights that I spend at practice and getting up early(even before the sun is up) on competition days.
Sometimes, because of my busy schedule, I have to rush meals(which consist a majority of the time of Kraft Mac n Cheese and leftovers). When I do have the time, I try to eat better and get more sleep. It’s all about trying to work with your life and what you’re doing.
Do the homework!
A lot of my grades are for homework, and most of them are completion grades. Don’t miss out on extra points if you can help it. Making sure you do the work increases your chances of understanding the material.
Plus, doing homework allows you to figure out where you’re struggling so you can ask for help. If you’re forgetful like me, write down your homework when you first hear about it and keep that list wherever you’ll be able to see it the most.
Sometimes, I put a sticky note on my phone or use the notes app on my phone. I even write a list on the side of my hand when I really don’t want to forget. Look, even if you have homework that you forgot about or only half-completed because you didn’t understand, it’s better to turn it in then or later than to not turn it in at all. Even if you do get less points, that’s ok. It happens to the best of us.
Ask for help.
I know that asking for help related to any subject can seem scary sometimes. It’s still scary for me sometimes. I especially struggle when asking for help in math.
But, asking for help is one of the best ways to get a better understanding. In my experience, the people you need to ask for help from want to help you. If you’re uncomfortable talking to someone in person, an email is a great way to get the answers you need.
Don’t procrastinate.
Easier said than done. A lot of the times when I’m struggling with procrastination on an assignment, I have no motivation or energy.
When this happens, I do three different things I like to try. First of all, I like to do an award-based system. For example, if I do 10-20 minutes of an assignment, I take a 5-10-minute break(getting a snack or watching YouTube). Another thing that I like to do is set myself a fake deadline.
If I have a big essay or project due, I like to set my fake deadline a few days ahead of the actual deadline. I usually stop procrastinating when I get dangerously close to a deadline. Lastly, I like to break up big assignments over multiple days.
For instance, I need to read the rest of my AP Lang book. I would break up the reading over multiple days, so I have to read less each day. It makes it less overwhelming and stressful, so I can get it done.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Kiplinger
