If there is one thing that all high schoolers are good at, it is the ability to procrastinate and pray for good grades.
Forget about playing Division 1 in football. Become a D-1 procrastinator and put it on your college resume with pride.
I’m sure colleges would love that. Not saying that I’m not a procrastinator myself. To the contrary, procrastination is a favorite hobby of mine.
In fact, I’ve developed it into an art form.
Living in a world of completing work last minute has become a part of my identity, and I’m proud of it.
Last year I went into first semester finals practically blind, showing up to class, taking tests, and waiting for the grades to come in just hoping for the best.
I recall thinking to myself after this experience, “What can I do differently next time to get better grades?”
I even brainstormed the most diabolical ideas and goals I could think of.
Unsurprisingly, as you might have guessed, nothing changed when second semester finals rolled around.
I again chose not to study, and actually somehow forget that I had finals to even study for in the first place.
That finals week came and went, and my dream of being an academic weapon remained just that – a dream.
But my hope for academic success still remained this year, and I couldn’t let it go, no matter how hard I tried.
On the flip side, however, I knew I couldn’t study all day and go to sleep at an unreasonable time, so I came to a compromise this year.
I knew that my late night gaming sessions couldn’t be neglected – come on, I’m being realistic here – so I had to think of a solution quick, and I did.
What I share with you now is the art of procrastinating effectively.
This might even be the title of the book if I decide to publish this one day.
Now, my daily routine after school begins with snacking instead of starting my schoolwork. By the time I’m done, it’s generally already 5 p.m. With so much time left in the day, I then stall on my phone until 6 p.m. before the impending sense of dread from my accumulating homework kicks in. That’s when I realize I need to lock in.
I then drag myself to my computer and muster up any remaining energy to finish just enough assigned homework to avoid getting a zero for the next day.
Normally that is enough to maintain my grade until the next test comes along.
Since I made no effort to make time to study outside of homework, I reread my notes to see if I could piece together any information that would be useful the night before the test.
From there I make a study guide, usually on a Google doc, cramming down all the information that I have into around one or two pages.
The next morning I read and reread the study guide again and again with whatever time is left before the test until it is engraved into my head.
This method normally gives me enough information to survive a test.
But it’s not enough information to do well on finals day. For that, I’ve employed a completely different strategy.
Instead of typing out all the necessary information on a Google doc, I write down any necessary information in a book.
Writing down information instead of typing it helps me remember what I need to know much better. Additionally, I write the information down from memory.
Whether it is from a video, textbook, or lecture, I write down as much useful information as I can and add onto it each time by looking back at the material.
For example, when there was an upcoming history test, I watched a video about the subject and wrote down any information I could remember.
I rewatched the video and rewrite everything again to ensure I remembered everything. I repeated this process until I could comfortably recall information without much struggle, or at least until after finals week.
Although this process usually took 3-4 hours to complete, in high schooler time it felt like 3-4 centuries.
Regardless, the time I spent cramming was the equivalent to studying for a single day.
It was then I began to realize my biggest failure: I was no longer the greatest procrastinator. I had become what I despised most, a good student.
Slowly, I started to work on assignments ahead of time, unconsciously studying for tests that I hadn’t even thought of.
Regardless of my change in thought process, one thing I can attest to not doing even in my most dire of circumstances when procrastinating was pulling an all-nighter.
I can’t help but urge my fellow peers to at all costs not pull an all-nighter studying for an upcoming test.
Not only will it be practically impossible to retain most, if not any information that you studied, it has been scientifically proven that pulling an all-nighter puts a severe strain on your health.
There are a ton of articles about all-nighters that exist, probably written by people who don’t procrastinate.
Either way, they all talk about the same negatives when it comes to staying up the night before a test or project.
When the unbelievable fatigue of not sleeping hits you during a test, you’ll feel like an overworked, over-caffeinated college student.
Fortunately for us high schoolers, we won’t have to worry about college for awhile. Instead we can lay back and procrastinate the day away before an exam we have in two weeks.
If we even remember it.
