Time is winding down at Riverview
Tips to end the school year on a productive note
Fifty-four more days until graduation. The high school clock is ticking. Deadlines are approaching.
Our futures are finally getting set in stone as we sit and watch the rest of our lives slowly fall into place.
It’s scary, right? It doesn’t have to be.
Thinking about summer jobs, final exams, and scholarship deadlines can be a burden on our already busy lives.
With the 2018-19 school year coming to a close, you might feel the temptation to kick back and do everything last minute or jump into high gear and burn out quickly. But not to fear fellow Riverview students. I’m going to give you some tips and tricks to end this school year on a happy and productive note.
First tip: Chunk it up. That’s how I tackled assignments and projects first semester — and writing these articles as well.
With any big, scary final project or assignment, break it up into tiny pieces. In other words, the first time you work on something you don’t want to work on, give it 15 minutes and then take a break. The next day, or even next hour, do another 15 minutes. Eventually, you’ll find you’re into the task and it’s almost done.
If you start early, you’ll find that the panic about the deadline approaching goes away. Never start working on any assignment or project with the final piece as your goal, always start to do 15 minutes’ worth of something.
Second tip: False deadlines. This works great for some people. My best friend is a little late for everything so she set her phone clock five minutes ahead, that’s pretty much the same as telling yourself something due in a week is due in five days.
Does your friend have something due around the same time? Set goals for each other. When you’ve got those extra few days when the rest of your classmates are rushing to get their projects done, say to yourself “I said I would have this done, and here it is.” Then pass it in early (maybe get a couple of bonus points) and have some fun. You deserve it.
Third tip: The ABC method. Write out your to-do list and either mark things A (crucial), B (less important), or C (I should get this done).
Right away, get all your Cs out of the way. If they’re not that important than you can easily do them when you don’t have As waiting to get done. The goal of a to-do list is to get everything done, this list method will help you at least get some things done.
The goal of this list is to clear out all your A-tasks, then if you’ve got time, move on to the Bs. Though it’s not a great way to plan your entire life (you don’t want all your Cs to pile up and turn into a big flaming pile of As). It’s a great way to prioritize the tasks you need to get to ASAP.
If you manage to get all that done, maybe check out a couple of the things going on at Riverview.
The “Music of Riverview” show is coming up and that’s always an awesome show — as I’ve said before, our school is so full of talent.
On another note, the 2019 European trip students just got back and I’m sure they’re full of awesome stories about their adventures across the ocean.
Plus, the art students have a pretty awesome show coming up at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design in downtown Sydney, so check that out as soon as it opens.