As the new year begins, high school students enter their second semester of the school year. This time period, from early January till the end of the academic year, is often regarded as a stressful and exhausting time for high school students, especially upperclassmen. It can be challenging for students to manage these expectations, whilst also balancing extracurriculars and leisure time. With this in mind, it is important for students to have a plan, including study methods and habits that can help them succeed during this time of the year.
One of the main reasons why the second semester feels more demanding is the steady increase in academic pressure as the school year progresses. By the time the second semester begins, many students are already exhausted from months of academic demand from the first semester. Upperclassmen experience the most stress due to the increased workload from their AP classes and graduation requirements. Some teachers adapt to students’ behavior post-break, knowing that they may feel overwhelmed from the sudden workload after a long period of lesiure.
“I think teachers know you a little bit more, and when we’re looking at your [semester one] habits, I definitely would like to personalize a little bit more,” FHS Chemistry Honors teacher Carrie Fu said.
With this said, it is important to make good habits that can aid their progress through the second semester. Examples of good habits include making schedules and frequently updating to-do lists. FHS junior Tejas Panicker shares his experience with his methods for his second semester.
“I have a dedicated Google Doc where I can not only put homework and class assignments, but also general things outside of school,” Panicker said.
Though good habits can have a great effect on one’s outcome in the second semester, bad habits have just as much of an effect towards a student’s performance. One habit in particular is bad time management. With increased workloads, extracurriculars and a life to live, all crammed in 24 hours, being able to effectively divide work is crucial.
“Let’s say I have a homework assignment with 10 problems. I’ll force myself to do the first two, and do the next eight after I build the momentum,” Panicker said.
Understandably, students putting their minds constantly on school and academics will wear them down, leading to the dreadful feel of burnout. Defined as a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion burnout can prove devastating to students’ health and academics. In a semester that proves a test of one’s power, throwing in the towel at this point in time will prove disastrous. Being able to find activities that balance work and leisure time can help ease students minds that are racing and occupied with events and assignments.
Many students often spend their leisure time doing activities that could affect their performance and mind later on, such as video games and doomscrolling on social media. This proves to make them more lazy and unmotivated to do more work, leading to deadlines being stretched, assignments being pushed away and a negative flow state. Students should spend their free time effectively, calming their stress and relaxing their mind.
“Some things I do are having a couple of activities to relax and enjoy myself, like playing a sport,” Panicker said. “But it shouldn’t be something that will make it harder to focus later, like playing video games or scrolling.”
The challenges and hardships that students will endure throughout their second semester are inevitable. However, with the correct mindset, discipline and habits, they can greatly aid a student’s journey to overcome it, not only making them feel proud of their progress, but also a grand reward of summer break.
