Here’s How to Finish the School Year Strong

Summer is on the horizon and if you’re like me, you can’t wait to spend your break swimming at the beach, sleeping past 7 am, and not having to stress about school. In these last weeks of school, it can be hard to stay focused. Your mind may constantly be going to all the fun you’re going to have this summer and that’s completely normal. Excitement for summer is real and unavoidable, but here are a few tips that can help you finish your school year strong.

Find Some Motivation

Your end-of-school-year performance is going to depend entirely on how motivated you are to finish everything strong. Whether you are motivated by your grades or teachers to do well is entirely up to you. You just need to find something that will keep you going.

If you need some help gathering some ideas, write down the reasons you work hard. Remind yourself that it's not worth it to throw all your hard work away, just because it’s the end of the year.

Set Goals

Setting goals is a great way to hold yourself accountable. They don’t have to be big goals, just things that will make sure you don’t start slacking off. You can do something like, ‘Get one of my grades up’ or ‘have more meetings with my teachers’.

Having goals will help you see what you need to do and motivate you to do it. It’s the little things that will make sure you’re doing your best.

Make School Fun

The end of school can be really stressful, but if you do your best to make it fun, your experience can be a lot more pleasant and productive. Sit down and identify some things that will make your finish better. You can make a new playlist, organize your backpack or locker, or talk to new people. When school is fun, it’s easier to keep yourself engaged and when you’re engaged, you can do well.

Change Your Attitude

A lot of times, performance is based on someone’s attitude and approach. For these last few weeks, try to approach school with a bit more optimism and enthusiasm. Think of all the reasons you like school, whether it’s because of your classes or friends, and whenever you’re feeling down, remember those.

Now, you don’t have to approach everything in a super positive light but avoid pessimism. It’ll make it a lot easier to push through those last few weeks.

Stay Organized

When everything at school seems to be happening at once, it’s really easy to get disorganized. The next time you have a moment free, take some time to get organized. Grab your backpack and go through it.

Throw away wrappers and old papers, and move around some folders and books. Take a look at your schedule and make sure there are no conflicts. If you don’t already have one, this is a great opportunity to start keeping a calendar.

You can also take some time to mentally clear your brain. Even if you have a lot of things going on, doing something like meditating for 10 minutes can be really useful. When you’re your best, organized self, life will be a lot clearer.

Switch It Up

So, you’ve gone through months of school with the same old routine and it’s starting to get a little boring. Let’s switch it up! Adding a bit of spice to your everyday life can make it 10x more interesting.

Try to make your experience something new for you. Go talk to the History teacher or check out a new graphic novel from the library. There’s no reason why school has to be the same all throughout the year. Having something new can push you to want to come back and make you excited about going to school.

Those days till summer are ticking down, so take your last weeks in school and enjoy them. There is no reason to throw away all of your hard work just because you’ve almost made it to the finish line. Keep putting in the extra effort and you will see those results in the end.

You’ve got this. Together, we can finish the year stronger than we started!