<p>This Junior year has really been an eye-opener for me, and I was wondering if anyone has found good strategies and methods for keeping on top and staying focused. </p>
<p>This year, I was involved in a ton of things (sports, music, DECA, etc.) and had pretty limited time to do hw for my 3 APs. (reflected by my 3.9 GPA)</p>
<p>Next year, things are only going to be more difficult, as I was elected DECA State President, picked as Team Captain for my school team, will be Assistant Principal Cello, President (and Founder) of two clubs, and will be taking 5 APs. (Physics, Psyche, Stat, Comp, and Independent Study Econ)</p>
<p>I got around 5-6 hours of sleep a night (I had zero period Chamber Ensemble), but what really messed me up is that I could only catch up with at most 8/day on the weekend.</p>
<p>What has worked for you guys? I've tried so many things to combat fatigue - experimenting with different length naps, coffee, vitamin water, random 10 minute exercising to break from homework, etc.</p>
<p>I got A- in all three of my APs…dropped 2 weeks before end of semester because of DECA and SAT (hate how I had all A’s until those last two weeks)</p>
<p>Know your limits man. You must be very intelligent and very respected by your peers (I mean, hasn’t ANY of your opponents in those elections tried to point out that you’re overexerted and may not have the proper amount of time to devote to the club?). That said, you’re still human.</p>
<p>Junior year was toughest for me, and I just barely got through. I wasn’t able to work for a lot of my goals - I just let them sit and hope that the experience/knowledge I received in the past will pull me through. You’ll have to exercise A LOT of time management. Find out what you love to do, and see if there are any activities that are for resume padding only. I’m not telling you to chunk those out the window, but it’ll reduce a lot of stress. Also, if you have really good teachers in AP classes, just read a little on weekends to prepare for class the next week. You’ll soak in what your teacher says a lot better if you have a clue about what she’s talking about.</p>
<p>But I completely understand what you mean by falling asleep on the book. I actaully read a magazine that said even 6 minutes of sleep can enhance memory and of course attentiveness. Don’t be afraid to take a short nap if you feel your head bobbing back and forth on your history textbook. You can even take a short 30 minute nap when you first get back from school.</p>
<p>Play the game. Know your teachers and what they like. Cater to that (participate in class a lot, ask questions afterwards to suggest you’re really interested, do whatever that gets the teacher’s attention), and if any grades are subjectively graded, you can hope that there’s some advantage hidden there. And even so, some teachers allow late work to be turned in because they know how busy you are (Just don’t fall back too far behind - never a week behind oh wow that was horrible this year). They’re understanding people most of the time.</p>
<p>And try to borrow textbooks from next year’s teachers and just read them over a little. Capture the main points. I’ve done this in science classes, and it really lightened the load.</p>
<p>To get on top, try a Virtual School and utilize less hours of sleep. There are expensive gadgets that will help you with powernaps, similar to how Thomas Edison did his power naps.</p>
<p>I would recommend a factory-direct shipment of energy drinks, a really fast laptop, connections, and lots of time studying. Try to nail 14 AP tests in one year using this method.</p>
<p>And 14 AP Tests in one year??? Wow if you’ve done that please let me in on more of your secrets. And I thought those Koreans were crazy doing 7 self-study…</p>
<p>Other than that, I appreciate all the tips! I’ll definitely give 'em all a shot. Thanks! </p>
<p>I have a friend who is really into the idea of breaking up your sleep schedule. Spending 8 hours of sleep all at once is just overkill according to her. Instead, she’ll sleep two hours at a time, with lots of homework in between. I don’t think she does this anymore though.</p>
<p>One of my friends destroyed his internal sleep clock and made it so that he would be wide awake at any time of day yet whenever he wanted to he was able to put his head down and sleep for 6 hours then wake up refreshed. The uberman sleep schedule would probably be better, but with an actual life it would be really hard to keep.</p>
<p>Does anyone knwo what these sleep schedules would be like for your health or if you are weightlifting? Doesn’t your body grow and brain develop during you sleep?</p>
<p>I want to do one of these because I do not feel I have enough time during the day but I am not sure how my body would react and whether it would be good for me at all.</p>
<p>Yeah I read on those sleep schedules and it’s only recommended (well, not even recommended…I’m not sure what word to use) for those above 18.</p>
<p>It’d also be hard to work with that kind of sleep with school and all…and especially since you want to be tip top shape and your brain to function well, I think it’d be best to save experimenting for later years (after college)</p>
<p>I’ve been waiting forever to gloat. >.< Stupid overachieving tendencies haven’t let senioritis hit yet. It’s pretty bad.</p>
<p>As for the actual question – some people just need more sleep than others in order to function. I’d hold your sleeping needs as something that’s constant (~7 hours?) and just learn to work faster / more efficiently.</p>
<p>Well my buddies have told me that I’m pretty efficient and manage my time well (I can usually finish my homework much faster - something that might take them 3 hours I could probably do in an hour and 45 minutes with about the same quality, however, my speediness is reflected in my so-so test scores…), but I feel like it’s not enough. This year I got around 5-6 hours on average, with about 7.5 as the most and 3 as the least. I also got into the habit of an 18 minute power nap right after school, which really helps me stay focused.</p>
<p>I actually find that the best way to stay on top is be motivated…
That being said.
I unintentionally did this Towards the beginning of the year, you can always let someone copy your homework then when the test comes… BOOM, you have a 94 and they have a 60… although then they just become bigger cheaters… The one kid I accidentally did this to(It was not my intension…) has gone downhill…he cheats on EVERYTHING. but I guess it was ultimately his decision to do what he did or does…
Then you can also refuse to give due dates to lazy students. I don’t do this…and it is sort of mean…
There is a whole bunch of dirty ways to put everyone down, and a whole bunch of ways to make yourself go up…
But if you want to go up in rank or whatnot… then it is your motivation that makes it happen not any tricks and stunts you pull.</p>