PICTURED ABOVE: The books of classes with exams begin to pile up.

As the Class of 2018 gears up for their final set of exams, senioritis is at an all-time high. Here are six tips to avoid contracting this second semester senior disease during exam week.

1. Put Down your Phone

As fascinated as our generation is with maintaining Snapchat streaks, scrolling aimlessly through the Instagram Explore page and texting friends, all of our phones can use some timeout time. If you cannot bear to be away from your phone, apps like Freedom (https://freedom.to/) can be downloaded to block specific websites or apps from being accessed on your device. Putting down or powering off your device can help you to avoid the distractions that come from our ever connected world as you study for exams.

2. Go to the Library

The Upper School Library in the Liza Lee Academic Research Center is the perfect place for a distracted senior to study. With quiet, individual study spaces on the second and third floors and the study rooms on the third floor, the library provides the perfect refuge to any procrastinator who needs some quiet time. The library can serve as the dedicated spot for a distracted studier to shut down their phones and just study. Additionally, snacks will be provided on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night for all of the Upper School studiers!

3. Stay Hydrated

As silly as it may sound, actually drinking the recommended daily intake of water can

help with feeling productive. Even if drinking roughly two-and-a-half liters of water creates lots of bathroom study breaks, the focus that results from being properly hydrated can help any unproductive senior actually start studying and be able to keep studying without the advent of a searing headache from staring at too many history notes or Calculus problems.

4. Sleep

According to the Sleep Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, teenagers require nine hours of sleep to be alert and awake. In the next few days leading up to exams, seniors especially need to get their beauty rest. The extra sleep will allow for an increased productivity as they study. Even if you feel as though you can survive on two regular coffees and an Americano, a consistent increase in good sleep will allow the hours that you study to be more productive and for a higher retention rate of information.

5. Take a Break

Even though this may seem counterintuitive, no one can study for hours on end and that same philosophy goes for an exhausted second semester senior. Amidst the stress and procrastination, taking anywhere from fifteen minutes to a few hours to surf the internet or to have dinner with your friends is valuable. But at the same time, these breaks cannot serve as distractions. A little away time is okay, as long as you get back to hitting the books. But everyone’s brains, need the occasional break.

6. Remember your Education Still Matters

Though it seems that the grades of a second semester senior do not matter in the college admissions quest, the Hockaday education still matters. So as you attempt to study for exams, or even question why you are studying for exams, remember that you are still learning. Just because you feel as though you are almost done with something does not meant that you are done. To the Class of 2018, we still have three months to finish the Hockaday grind and get our degrees, and that is still three months of trying in school.

Story and Photo by Katie O’Meara