Senioritis…what is it?

Senioritis is a commonly used term amongst students who are experiencing a lack of motivation to do their school work. Seniors in high school and college tend to experience this in the second semester of their final year. Those who struggle with senioritis tend to have a mindset where they are almost done with school and they don’t need to try as hard anymore. Attending classes starts to feel extremely difficult and school work feels like it becomes optional. Battling this lack of motivation can become challenging and grades can start to slip. Seniors in high school may already be committed to a college and feel as though there is no point in trying in their high school classes anymore. Seniors in college can start to see school as pointless as they are going into the real world soon, rather than studying and attending classes.

Many seniors at JCHS have said that they are experiencing senioritis, especially as we transition into the second semester. They have said that they are lacking motivation to turn their work in on time and it is a struggle for them to get to school every day. 

How to overcome this struggle

Senioritis is often affiliated with procrastination, a habit that is not easy to break. When students lack motivation they will put off their work until the last second. This work starts to build up and becomes too much for them to complete. Ways to overcome this could be keeping a clear organized schedule, a clean mindset, setting goals, and discipline. By organizing a schedule, a student can feel more put together and can create a routine that doesn’t allow them to fall behind on assignments. By writing out what they have to do and creating rewards for finishing their tasks, a student can become organized and focused. Keeping a clean mindset is extremely important as a student. Focusing on one thing at a time and staying calm, even when under pressure from everyday life can help to work better.

Senior year students can find themselves overwhelmed with the amount of work that they have, leading to a messy mind and a constant cycle of procrastination. When dealing with a lack of motivation, setting goals for yourself can help to gain that small push to get everything done. These goals could be small such as rewards for completing each task. They can also be figuring out what you want to do in the future. Envisioning yourself living your dream life in ten years can push you to complete the small tasks that seem useless at the time. Making a moodboard of what you want your life to look like can motivate a person to make it happen.

Lastly, learning discipline is extremely important as we grow up and enter the workforce. Being able to fight off the thoughts in your mind that allow you to be lazy and excuse yourself from work that needs to be done. Discipline is extremely difficult and not always perfect, but it is something that helps to resist the cycle of habits that lead to senioritis. Although you can’t fully prevent senioritis from happening, there are many different tactics to push through it and overall have a great school year.