THINKING SPRING!!!

Today I’m thinking of high school students, with a shout out to college students in spring session.

Spring is a real challenge time for many high school students. Yes, you know finals are next month. Yes, you know college admissions look at the last two years of high school. Okay, okay. But the sun is warm, the air is fresh, it feels SO GOOD to be outside!!! Friends are doing things that are fun. Grad prep takes time. Ahhh the lengthening days!

It is so easy to know you should be doing xxx, but just to think about all that later.

I hope you’re still reading. There are ways to move toward your academic goals while listening to the call of the season.

Have a look at that phrase, “think about that later.” That phrase usually comes at a decision point and signals that the choice is going to be pleasure over what you feel is duty. Even writing that sentence is a downer, but stay with me.

What you want to do is to avoid making that choice in the moment when the pleasure call is strong. How to do that is to make the choice ahead of time. The time-proven tool for that is scheduling. Not scheduling that puts study-study-study twenty-four seven. Scheduling that works almost always has the pleasure activities built in, and specific rewards/reinforcers planned.

That way, you get the pleasure of sun time as well as ensuring you’re not ending up the night before finals start with the knowledge of how much you really, really wish you’d gotten done!

So take time this weekend and review what you need to do to meet your academic goals.  List what you want to do for spring pleasure as well. Roughly schedule up to finals. Then chunk the rest of the term week by week.

As you plan the week give yourself break time, downtime, R&R time. As you live the week, be prepared to adapt. 

Here’s an example of how flexible scheduling keeps you on academic track without sacrificing all other aspects of your life:

Let’s say an opportunity to hang out with an old friend again comes up and it conflicts with the time you had scheduled for memorizing history dates. Your decision now can be how to reschedule the study so you can hang out with your buddy. This is way better for your academic goal than just pushing the history off into some nebulous never-gonna-happen land. The history is rescheduled. The buddy time is enjoyed without guilt.

Maintaining motivation as you balance–that involves endorsing yourself every time you move in a goal-directed activity. Just a quick, “Hey, I made time for Harry!” or “Hey, I found time where I can reschedule history!” or “Hey, I’m opening the file with those history dates.” Motivation can also be aided by having visible reminders of the reward you are going to take when you end the term, when you write the final.

Short of finding the 36-hour day, this is the most effective antidote for spring fever rampaging through your best intentions. Schedule, be flexible, reward, and enjoy!!!

Shout-out to college spring session sprinters: This weekend is a good time to sketch out the rest of the term, to reassess how realistic your standards are for the work, and to check your balance of work, self-maintenance, and pleasure. Think of that reward at the end, and keep on endorsing!

Connect with me to plan for these last high school months, or to maximize efficiency during this short, fast, spring sprint term. [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.