College should be the time of your life but the closer you get to graduating the harder it is to focus. Most people use the term senioritis but during this time period you’ll probably experience the senior slump as well. Senioritis is wanting to be done with college and graduate, whereas the senior slump is where you become lazy and start neglecting your responsibilities as a student, such as: turning in work, showing up to class, studying for test, etc. Here are five ways to avoid the senior slump:
1. Check your assignments weekly.
We often get overwhelmed with projects and assignments in college because we don’t remember when they’re due. Checking your planner or syllabus on Sundays to see everything that you will have to turn in for the week allows you to see where you need to manage your time and what days you can sleep in.
2. Stop pulling all-nighters.
Let’s be honest, we’re not freshmen anymore and long gone are the days for pulling all-nighters for tests and projects. If it’s not final week then go to bed! Instead of staying up all night take 45 minutes or 1 hour breaks. So for every 2 hours that you’re awake, give your brain a rest. Studies show that the lack of sleep that comes with cramming often contributes to poor performance and lack of creativity.
3. Pre-plan your skip days.
Your goal for the semester should be perfect attendance to all your classes, but life happens. Each university and professor has their own rules for missing class and you should take those seriously. Once you get to know your professor’s way of running the course and you look to see when tests are to be taken and projects are to be turned in then decide what days to miss. College often resorts to skipping one class to prepare for another which could be the case or you could just have a long week. Pre-planning your skip days gives you something to look forward to, but also it keeps you from failing the course or having too many points deducted because you don’t lose count.
4. Do well on your midterms.
For most people the senior slump will happen right around midterms, which is when you actually need to focus the most. Midterms can be the make or break for the rest of the semester because they can decide which direction you’ll be headed. Push to do well on your midterm so that you don’t have to make an “A” on everything the rest of the semester just to barely pull out a “C” in the class.
5. Live a little.
For most traditional college students once they enter their senior year they start saying, “I’m too old for that,” which may be true for some things but not everything. Once in a while live like your 18 again and you’re going out for the first time in your college town. Seniors get so wrapped up in graduating and finishing college that they forget they’re still young and that they’re whole life is ahead of them.
HCXO!
Life isn’t picture perfect and things don’t go as planned, but do your best to finish out your senior year strong. Trust me, all that hard work is going to be well worth it. Don’t let the senior slump pull you down, push through.
-HCxo