Senior year is here and college is right around the corner! You'd better start lining up those SAT dates as applications are about to open.
With all the hubbub, it can be hard to keep focused.
Parties, friends, TV and sport are all distractions which can keep you from those all-important books.
Here's five ways I kept focused during my senior year and managed to get myself over the line.
1.
Put aside all distractions until summer.
Remember, you've got months of summer and four years during college to get started on that hours-long video game.
During my senior year, the video game I particularly wanted to play came out in January.
However, I remained focused by restraining myself from buying that video game.
Whilst it's great to keep balanced with a healthy mix of work and play, I knew that buying that video game would lead to a tough addiction to break.
Throughout the year I kept myself going by remembering that as soon as the bell went on the last day of school, I could purchase that video game and play it to my heart's content! 2.
Get your materials in check! Use colored pens to make opening your exercise book a pleasure.
Buy a smooth gel pen to make writing a breeze.
A good tradesman never blames his tools, but good tools can't hurt! I did a little experiment of my own and found that when I used gel pens, I was much happier about opening up my exercise book and using them.
Writing was a breeze, and I didn't get hand cramps from gripping the pen too hard.
3.
Connect with others going through the same thing.
Support from others often helps.
I find that studying in a group helped me to retain memory more effectively, as I was learning with others.
However, group study doesn't work if there's no study involved - remember to keep your sessions on-topic! If you can't join a study group, try connecting with others online - if not to study, just for moral support.
I found that joining an online forum to discuss studying for the SATs motivated me more to succeed.
I think that this was because the official average for the SATs is somewhere within the 500-600 scaled score range for each section.
This gave me the idea that 650 is above average, and therefore good enough to get into the top school of my choice.
However, connecting with others on the internet reminded me that a 650 is not a sure-fire score for Ivy League acceptance.
Although it is possible, I aimed higher to increase my chances! 4.
Remove the technology when it's not needed.
Technology holds many wonders for us to explore, but when solving simultaneous equations, the television doesn't help.
I found that when I had my computer turned on, I wouldn't study, even if I was doing 'pen and paper' work next to it.
This is because the computer is too much of a distraction - I would check my emails every five seconds.
Back then, Facebook wasn't a feature of my online life (it didn't exist) but if it had been, I'm sure the temptation would have overwhelmed my urge to study.
5.
Pick a job and do it! When there's a mountain of assignments to complete, pick one and do it.
Don't waste time considering which one to do - pick one (preferably the assignment due the soonest) and get to work! If there's a long list of tasks to complete, write the list down and go through the list step by step.
Remember, the list won't get smaller if you sit there staring at it.
Good luck with your senior year, and have fun writing those college applications.
It's an experience you'll never forget!