During senior year of high school in the midst of trying to find a balance between the piling schoolwork and extracurriculars, college applications and the insecurities that come with evaluating yourself and your contributions, and senioritis, it’s easy to lose motivation and burn-out. In this guide to maintaining motivation, we’ll review the strategies of Meiya Weeks, a current high school senior, who is facing these struggles altogether.
Divide your time wisely, into a realistic schedule for yourself
“You have to set time to do every task and assignment, going with the flow is the number one way to get distracted and waste time.” Meiya emphasizes the importance of creating a realistic schedule for academic and extracurricular tasks, but also for social time with friends and family.
Develop a routine
“Simply setting the schedule and following it for a day won’t make a difference in the long run, you have to stay consistent.” She highlights how important it is to stick with the schedule despite distractions. Make the schedule work for you, not the other way around.
Link schedules with a friend!
“I’m always at a cafe drinking coffee and doing work with a friend. The fact that there’s someone with me working so hard is both inspiring and motivating.” She shares her experience with sharing work environments with her close friends, stating how it helped her complete her tasks without becoming overwhelmed because of the moral support.
Celebrate the small wins
“It’s so easy to lose motivation and fall behind during this time of year. Even getting out of bed in the morning or finishing the assignments due that night just in time are accomplishments to be celebrated.” She says it’s important to be kind to yourself and relish in the small achievements you’ve made even if you fell behind during the day.
Discipline
“I’ve gone on and on about how to lose motivation, but we both know students this day and age inevitably will. Discipline is what’s more important and what we can fall back on.” Despite the loss of motivation, she emphasizes the importance of discipline. Of completing tasks despite not wanting to do anything other than rotting in your bed.
This experience shared by a fellow classmate creates a solid foundation upon which we can build another year full of practical accomplishments and fun experiences.