Organization

Coming into Junior year with all of the horror stories I've heard of the workload and pressure, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to manage my activities. In previous years the pressure was easily bearable, because I didn't have much work to do, but this year will be different. Since the summer I've been thinking of what I need to do to conquer junior year, and so far my plans have been working out.

Organization was one of my top priorities. In subbie year and in middle school I remember being forced to write in my planner and I hated it. What was the point of writing down one assignment due the next day, when I barely got any homework anyways? Did they really believe I couldn't remember the few things I needed to do? That's why I resented and never used my planner afterwards. I trusted my memory enough, but now I'm not so confident. There are so many things I want and need to do, both long-term and short-term this year, that it seems ludicrous to keep it all bottled up in my brain. So, I have written down long-term goals on my phone, my computer, on paper, etc. that I can always check back on and remind myself of. Additionally, every day at home before I do my homework, I write down whatever I need to do for the day so it is all laid out in front of me. This eases the pressure on my mind, and allows me to focus on the task at hand, knowing that if I get too embroiled in my calc homework, I won't forget about something else that I have to do. It has been super helpful in allowing me to stay calm and relieve whatever unneeded pressure has been building up inside of me because I normally think I have a lot more homework than I actually have.

Another thing I've been forcing myself to do has been to become better at time management. This helps me stop procrastinating, as if I schedule myself to finish some homework on one day, but I don't do it until the next day, I will know that I am behind. However, as I'm sure we all can relate to, usually when we are procrastinating we are fully aware of it. This is why my main focus has not only been to recognize it, but to urge myself to do work early. Writing my tasks down in lists is one way to facilitate this, because I every time I look at it it reminds me how much work I need to get done on that day. This is how I have continued to urge myself on, and whenever I start to slump, I always remember that it is junior year, the most important year of high school, and this is when I am not allowed to procrastinate.

I'm still worried for the rest of the year though. So far, so good, but I've heard that it will get much worse by the end of first semester, and that second semester is a real struggle. I'm already ready for summer break...