So, hi.
I’m a current junior, soon to be a senior, and I’ve really been struggling with work ethic. It’s not hard to see, as I’m writing this post instead of preparing for final exams tomorrow and the day after. I actually haven’t started… I’ve gotten into the habit of collapsing on my bed and going on the internet until dinner time, hurriedly doing the minimum homework possible, and going to sleep between 12 and 2 am. I used to be the kid spending hours on homework and studying every day, going to sleep between 9 & 11, and then this yr happened. Lots of clubs, some leadership, a sport, volunteering, APs, etc etc etc. My willpower/ability to handle stress kind of died I guess idek haha
Does anyone have any advice for getting back on track?
I do have all As right now, but I haven’t been paying attention in class as much as normal (messed-up sleep schedule…), so my As aren’t as “safe” as I’d like & I don’t remember a lot of the content on my math exam tomorrow. This has never happened to me before- I normally retain the content well & need only minimal review. Has anyone experienced this kind of unwillingness to do anything? I’m scared of possibly getting my first B, and yet I can’t make myself move to study.
My course load next year is kind of heavy, so I know I need to work through this before then. Thanks!
Turn off your electronics until your exams are done.
You can’t make any rational decisions when you’re sleep deprived. Finish out the school year, get caught up, and then make a list of planned activities for next year. Based on your experience this year, what can you cut and still be happy/achieve your goals? Setting limits on internet surfing would probably be #1. Limiting ECs to a manageable schedule (including sports and volunteering) would be #2 - total should not exceed 2-3 hours per day. #3 evaluate your academic schedule - you don’t need to take every AP that you can cram into your schedule just because it’s possible.
Hey Liesel. I completely understand. I was a straight A student for my first 3 semesters of high school. (I’m A Sophomore now) Anyway, I let some girl affect me so much and my grades started to fall. So now I’m not a full on straight A student. Ever since, I’ve been hating school, showing up late, not paying, not trying, not studying. I simply dont care bc I realized that I don’t want to learn pointless stuff like chemistry or precalculus. Just no! Im burnt out just the same that I didn’t even study for any of my finals. Anyway, so I’m just going to take the CHSPE in a few days so I can legally leave high school and go to college. With this test, I’m granted an equivalent to a diploma. Like I know Im still an honors student but again I don’t care. I just feel burnt out, like I’m wasting my life. If you live in CA, you should definitely check it out. THE WHOLE THING, not what some uneducated fools think
@KYDEGU : don’t drop out as a sophomore because of a girl.
If you don’t have the proper classes it will be harder to get into a college, especially one with good financial aid, and the kind of jobs you’d have without a high school diploma are low pay, zero interest - so if you think you have it hard now because of pre-calculus try being 22 and seeing you’re in a backbreaking pointless job that doesn’t allow you to move out of your parents ’ basement, all because you couldn’t get over a breakup with a girl at age 16.
Stay in school, find friends and clubs and things to do every day.
THIS WAS LITERALLY ME. I feel like I’m reading a summary of the past 2 months of my life.
And it wasn’t as simple as ‘handing away electronics’ because my school uses laptops as part of the curriculum, so I needed my laptop if I wanted to access study materials/resources. It was really weird for me because just like you, I’m a straight-A student, lots of volunteering, lots of leadership, lots of APs. I’d never had an issue like this before, so I just didn’t really know what to do. The night before my math exam I almost had a panic attack because I literally could NOT bring myself to study. It wasn’t even that I was engaging in “typical” procrastinating behavior like Netflix or texting or Twitter. I was just sitting there, staring into space, doing absolutely nothing. Somehow I pulled through and managed to keep my A (somehow… I’m convinced my teacher went easy when grading my exam lol).
Some of my classmates were experiencing something similar, though I suspect not to the same degree as I was. They all called it early-onset senioritis.
Anyway, now that I’ve had about 2 weeks of summer to recuperate, I’m convinced it was just a burned-out junior feeling, as you call it. I’m cured of it now, mostly. I still can’t bring myself to volunteer as often as I’d like to, but I’m slowly getting back into the whole “student” mode by working on college apps.
I know it’s summer now, but if anyone’s still going through something similar/wants to prevent something similar, here are my suggestions:
A regular sleep schedule is very important. I know it’s summer, but at least TRY to have one.
Go outside (to the park or something). Remind yourself that there’s a whole world out there, beyond you and your school and your studies. Take a journal with you. It may help to write down what you’re feeling/what your future goals are. Sometimes that “burned-out” feeling happens because you feel like everything you’re doing is for nothing. Remind yourself of the goals you’ve set out to achieve.
Eat well, stay hydrated, and stay active. You’ll have so much more mental energy from a healthy lifestyle.
Take some time to get back into your own personal hobbies, or try exploring some new hobbies.
Spend some time with friends/family. Do something fun. Make new memories. Enjoy.
Personally, I think the whole “burned-out” feeling happened because I wasn’t giving myself enough breaks. There just wasn’t any balance in my life. Not to go all Rihanna, but everything was just work work work work work.
Once school starts back up, it’s important to keep the balance between working and personal health. Take breaks from studying to do something for yourself. Bubble baths, or whatever you’re into.
Anyway, that’s just my two cents. I know your exams are over by now; hope you did well?
@goldnotes - Thank you so much for your reply- it was really helpful!
My school also incorporates technology into many things- most teachers use Canvas for turning in assignments, e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. uses Google Drive, and the underclassmen at our school are even given chromebooks. My grade is getting chromebooks next year too, meaning technology will be further entangled with my education. It’s impossible to get away from, so the most I could do during the year was leave my laptop and phone locked inside my school locker overnight so that I could study! Desperate measures… The consequence was that I couldn’t do assignments that required internet or find study resources online, like you mentioned. I’m still unsure of how I’ll deal with this next year.
I have realized that I need to make new habits to replace my old, procrastination-ridden ones. It helps that I’m now back to 9.5 hours of sleep a night rather than 5 or 6, though. I actually feel alive haha.
Exams did go well! I thought I’d failed math, but turns out I scored a 95. Think I’ve used up my good luck for the next month! Thank you again for your empathy and suggestions.