Top 5 Ways to Ease Senior-itis
March 4, 2010 | VReitano
Ease your lackluster Senior-itis feelings!
I was originally going to name this post “Top 10 Ways to Stop Senior-itis,” but you and I both know that THAT’S not even a possibility!! Senior-itis is a condition that afflicts seniors in all walks of life (from elementary school to high school to college) at about spring break and doesn’t really end until the day they walk across the stage to receive their diploma. If you’re a senior in college, you’ve probably had this since LAST spring break (at least I know I have) so check out some tips on how to ease the pains of senior-itis.
Senior-itis always hits me around this time in my senior years: it happened in high school and it’s happening now, however, this time around it’s worse than before. I know why it’s worse; I’m already working and am anxious to begin my real life. I’m anxious to start working and growing into the person I will become instead of a college student. That title, I’m over it. WAY WAY WAY over it. All of my friends who have recently graduated laugh at me because I have a countdown to graduation on my computer, phone and bathroom mirror and they think I’ll regret being out of college once I’m out, but while I might miss my friends I most definitely will not miss going to classes, writing papers and dealing with professors.
However, it’s important to remember that I still have 70-something days left and need to finish strong: I worked hard to do well throughout college, it’s not worth it to give up now. And I’m sure you’ve worked hard throughout college, so I don’t think YOU should give it up either! Try these 5 tips to keep your GPA strong right until the very end, and perhaps you’ll even get some great recommendations out of it as well.
1. Plan Ahead: Every week (usually on Mondays because that’s when I start my week in my Agenda) I sit down and write down all the things I have “to-do” for the week. Post-it makes a great weekly form for this. They also have a month by month calendar that you can fill in with post-its and your own special events, due-dates and other need to know information. By putting everything into writing each week you will stay organized AND motivated.
2. Digitally organize your assignments: Some programs, like Things on the Mac, help you to organize your assignments based on due dates. The program, a part of the GTD lifestyle (which I detailed in this post), organizes documents, emails and other computer files by due date instead on the calendar system. It also sends you a reminder, based on your preferences.
3. Refer to the Syllabus: Check and re-check your syllabus to make sure you do the reading. That’s an old rule of thumb right? Well as a senior-itis twist, try writing the reading for the week on a post-it (I love post-its, like A LOT!) and then check it off as you do each section. This way you can bring your reading to the gym, or just on-the-go and still make sure that you are actually doing ALL the readings.
4. Plan time for you: It’s important to get your work done, but planning scheduled breaks are also important. If you want to go out, give yourself a time limit or assignment limit. Here’s how that works: you can “promise” yourself that for every item you cross off your to-do list, you get 10 minutes of TV, or magazine reading, or going out with friends. Whatever your “bonus” is, make sure it’s something motivating, otherwise it won’t work.
5. Job Hunting is a To-Do, too!: Job hunting as a senior in college, is a vital part of your last semester. So, plan ahead for this as well. I used to feel bad when I spent too much time job hunting, but then I realized that was kind of my unofficial sixth class and that if I really wanted to get a job after graduation, it was a necessity. So I just added it into my week and am GETTING IT DONE!
Those are my top 5, but here’s some tips from the wonderful world wide Web:
Collegeboard.com’s Tips for High School Seniors
Suite101’s Tips for College Seniors
