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I'm a high school junior and I've been feeling burnt out for the past three or four month but now its really starting to hit a peak where I just don't care any more. The past couple months I have barely tried in school, and even my AP classes are pretty easy. The only class I study for is Calc but that is just twenty minutes before an exam. I spent January through March studying for the SAT, and March through April studying for the ACT only to have roughly the same scores on both tests. Now I have three AP exams to study for but I can't bring myself to do so. It just all feels so pointless and not worth my time whatsoever.
Is there anyway to combat this? At the beginning of the year I was really focused but I've just slowly been slipping and now its a lot worse since my senior friends know where they are going to college. It almost feels like I have senioritis as a junior.
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D's get degrees. Now become an SC2 Pro
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The same happens to me at the end of every spring semester in college. I just pray that my grades earlier in the semester are enough to pull off an A at the end.
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thing about academics is it's really watered down and boring, but you still have to drudge mindlessly through a lot of work like writing essays or lab reports or memorizing something for exams. so your brain is probably craving something interesting to do. i'd suggest finding a hobby like starcraft, painting, music, etc. that you can get absorbed in and use that hobby to take a break from studying
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High school -> junior -> academic burnout
Admittedly, I laughed as I told my friend about your post. he had but two words regarding your situation. "uh, oh."
Take a year off and get a job.
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Junior year of HS is probably the toughest year imo for this exact reason. If you're planning on attending college (which I assume you are with AP classes), it's all about padding the resume, getting good test scores, etc. It can be really mundane, but as long as you can keep your grades up I don't see where you should be concerned, seems pretty normal to me.
As far as combating this, I played sports so I generally tried to look ahead to the upcoming sport season or whatever to keep me going through junior year. Once senior year rolled around, I found it MUCH easier to stay focused knowing college was coming, and it gave me some extra motivation. Of course you'll most likely get bit with senioritis around this time next year, maybe even earlier, but in either case just keep on truckin'.
The other case you may be experiencing which I am currently going through in my final semester of school in the unwillingness to keep your education going. I'm now realizing what they mean when they say college is not for everyone, which in America you can kind of say is the same for grad school since they push college really hard. I'm at point where I don't want to want to be "educated" anymore. That is to say I'm done with the bullshit classes, the bullshit assignments, I just can't deal with it anymore. If you feel as though your situation is closer to this one, then perhaps college isn't the right choice for you.
Don't believe what most people would have you think, that you need a college degree to make money or be successful. There are plenty of great success stories from people who barely finished high school, if they even finished. If you can find something you love doing and make a successful living off of it that doesn't require college education, go for it.
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All you have to do is change your internal associations to studying for school. For every negative thing you can find about studying...there must be a positive. Rather than seeing studying as a strenuous activity (Which I bet you are currently) see it as a fun activity where you can utilize your creativity. Perhaps you could learn a new note taking system (I would recommend Adam Robinson's book "What Smart Students Know") or you could read a book on developing memory. Using new techniques and challenging your potential can help make studying fun. Probably the most important thing, however, is to see your outcome rather than your list of things you have to do. Would you rather spend a couple of hours studying for AP tests so you don't have to take them in college (Presuming your not majoring or minoring in those areas) while saving money at the same time? Or would you rather escape from reality watching television or having mindless conversation with friends? I'm not saying that escaping is bad...its just that people get their joys in life out of their labor, not their leisure time. If so, look at the desired outcome...and that's all you should focus on. List every single negative you can think of about studying...then think about each negative until you can turn it into a positive. Right down the positives on a separate sheet of paper and literally burn the sheet of paper with the negatives. Read through the paper with the positives at least twice each day.
Moreover, find something that you really want to do. That really motivates you. Something you would consciously be willing to trade your life for. If you seem bored in school, its probably because you don't know what you truly want. You can't know what classes you should be taking, or if you should even be in school, unless you know what it is you really want.
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Schedule that shit and keep on truckin'.
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I had ultimate senioritis during the end of junior year and onward. Study with friends if you can, it really helps alleviate the boredom. Even just whining once saying I'm bored will be a lot different with a friend to whine to. Or shit... if you have great friends, get them to do it for you.
Yeah.. my advice is definitely best here. Rest advice = scrub advice.
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I'm a college freshman right now, and I'm burning out pretty hard.
I think it's because I'm not taking any interesting classes. Almost all of my classes this semester are required classes that you're not allowed to test out of, and they cover material that I already know (I did quite a bit of math in high school), so having to redo Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra is boring as shit.
And since they're lecture classes, I never go. Basicallly, I just spend 1 hour per week on each homework, never go to lecture, and just sit in my room or hang out with friends all day.
It should be more interesting next semester, but I'm worried that it still wont' be.
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Make sure you go into a program you like. I'm in nursing right now, with plans for becoming a doctor, and it gets so hard to push through the year and continue to excel at something that I'm not enjoying. Do my best to keep the dream alive, but it often dims and leaves me feeling hopeless and wanting to give up. Now is one of those times, as I sit here trying to study for an exam.
BUT NO, I must remember the dream. Two more years...
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I'm in the same situation as you. Just remember, two more weeks until APs and then summer is right around the corner. Study hard for the final stretch and keep on trucking.
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Canada13372 Posts
Man, you've got a long way to go before you get truly burned out. I'm in a master's program and JUST finished the coursework, it was grueling to say the least and I'm exhausted. In the past i've felt tired and burned though never like this.
What worked for me in the past was just taking a week away from everything. Sometimes its better to save yourself mentally by taking a break from school and work rather than keep pushing yourself if you are feeling really tired of school
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Braavos36362 Posts
whenever i'm burned out with schoolwork i just go help run a starcraft 2 community site
working so far
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how many more weeks left of school? it seems like you are already done with most of it.
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You're not going to like my answers, but here they are.
First off, of course it matters. You know it does, and you also know it's not pointless. That's your mind trying to justify the fact that it wants to be lazy. Not trying to pick on you, just pointing out how our minds works.
What to do about it?: There is no magical answer, and I think somewhere you already know this. There's a saying "Nothing worth while in life is ever easy," and while it's definitely an over-generalization, the spirit of the message is true. You've got to push yourself through. I promise you that if you blow off the rest of your school, you will regret it. I would put $1000 down on it right now and I don't even know you. I know it sucks, believe me. We've all been there, but you just have to suck it up.
Now, having said that, I will tell you that I'm a proponent of taking some time for yourself and having fun in your life while you're young. I took 4 1/2 years off between high school and college and have never regretted it in the slightest. In fact, I consider it one of the best decisions I ever made. I had so much fun, did so many great things and have so many awesome memories from that era of my life there is no way I could regret it. And trust me, no time in your life is as conducive to that type of behavior.
I'm not saying everybody should do that, just that I needed a break after high school, and I listened to myself and took one. You're not in a position to take a break right now because high school doesn't wait around for you. Buckle down, push through, do well and THEN if you still feel you need a break, take a break. It will be all the more sweet because you can sit back and be proud of yourself for a job well done.
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you honestly don't even know the meaning of being "burnt out". If this is too much for you, you will DIE in a hard core science heavy college.
The place I'm going, a sophomore or junior has a typical attitude of "1 hour of lecture=2 hours of study to figure out wtf happened in lecture." With well over 40 hours a week minimum of mind breaking homework.
Doing that on top of taking exams for 4 or 5 classes is capable of "burning you out"
Junior fucking year of highschool? Complain less please.
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On April 20 2011 04:55 Hot_Bid wrote: whenever i'm burned out with schoolwork i just go help run a starcraft 2 community site
working so far
what about us the rest of us T_T
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On April 20 2011 05:35 N3rV[Green] wrote: you honestly don't even know the meaning of being "burnt out". If this is too much for you, you will DIE in a hard core science heavy college.
The place I'm going, a sophomore or junior has a typical attitude of "1 hour of lecture=2 hours of study to figure out wtf happened in lecture." With well over 40 hours a week minimum of mind breaking homework.
Doing that on top of taking exams for 4 or 5 classes is capable of "burning you out"
Junior fucking year of highschool? Complain less please.
That's whats recommended - using conventional learning methods.
If you learn how to rewrite your notes so you begin seeing the material as a series of pictures, that relate to one another (and as you get better you can make the material relate to any other class) and you use some advanced mnemonic devices (not taught in most schools) you can easily get by with less study. I'm currently studying no more than 20 minutes a day for a Physics class where the teacher recommended 2 hours of study per lecture (50 minutes each)...without prior knowledge of the material. And i'm doing fine. I'm not particularly smart either. Its a matter of getting an efficient study system and seeing your outcome (for motivation) which will change how you habitually think and it will change the results you produce.
Moreover, the classes that require 2+ hours homework/night are typically 5 credit classes or more...meaning you would probably have no more than three 5 credit classes. And you would probably only have 4 lectures per week (At least that's how it works at my University). Also, there are always elective classes that require little to no study at all.
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On April 20 2011 01:59 tryummm wrote: Would you rather spend a couple of hours studying for AP tests so you don't have to take them in college (Presuming your not majoring or minoring in those areas) while saving money at the same time? Or would you rather escape from reality watching television or having mindless conversation with friends? I'm not saying that escaping is bad...its just that people get their joys in life out of their labor, not their leisure time. If so, look at the desired outcome...and that's all you should focus on. List every single negative you can think of about studying...then think about each negative until you can turn it into a positive. Right down the positives on a separate sheet of paper and literally burn the sheet of paper with the negatives. Read through the paper with the positives at least twice each day.
Moreover, find something that you really want to do. That really motivates you. Something you would consciously be willing to trade your life for. If you seem bored in school, its probably because you don't know what you truly want. You can't know what classes you should be taking, or if you should even be in school, unless you know what it is you really want.
Thanks for pointing this out. Next time I study I'm just going to convince myself that I'm going to save myself a couple grand.
On April 20 2011 05:35 N3rV[Green] wrote: you honestly don't even know the meaning of being "burnt out". If this is too much for you, you will DIE in a hard core science heavy college.
The place I'm going, a sophomore or junior has a typical attitude of "1 hour of lecture=2 hours of study to figure out wtf happened in lecture." With well over 40 hours a week minimum of mind breaking homework.
Doing that on top of taking exams for 4 or 5 classes is capable of "burning you out"
Junior fucking year of highschool? Complain less please.
Where do you go to college N3rV? I've only heard of that amount of course work at CalTech.
I wasn't trying to complain, I'm just trying to find a way to get over it. I know that my course work is incredibly easy; I'm just trying to find a way to get some discipline so that I can sit down and get my shit done.
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