Everyone knows the chaos of the last three months of the school year. Students want to give up as teachers pile on homework, projects and tests, and clubs start asking for community service hour logs and officer applications. So how can students stay motivated and not become overwhelmed as the school year comes to an end? The key to staying motivated is being organized and open-minded.

1. Make a homework list

This is a very simple way to stay on top of everything as well as to get enough sleep. In an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet, make one column that contains a list of everything you have to do. This includes general homework, assignments, studying time for tests and quizzes, projects and even club activities if you are unusually busy. In the second column right next to it, assign the amount of time you think you will need to complete it. You can do this in either minutes or hours. In the third column directly next to the times, write the due dates of each item. This will help you prioritize your work. Now you can decide what needs to be done first, and you have an idea of how long it will take you. Homework can take an average of anywhere from between a half hour to five hours every night, which is most likely a leading cause of sleep deprivation in students. Now they can choose what homework to do each night and still have enough time to rest before the next day.

2. Have a source of daily positive affirmation

Positive affirmation helps you to start your day with happiness and weakens negative thoughts that may be looming in the back of your mind. There are many apps that you can download that will send you notifications containing affirmative messages daily. Additionally, there are many Twitter accounts that you can follow and turn on post notifications for in order to receive similar messages. On the other hand, there are many books that you can keep next to your bed to read every morning and/or night. For example, one of my close friends bought me “Gmorning, Gnight!” by Lin Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun, and I read it every morning when I wake up and every night before I fall asleep.

3. Utilize incentives

For this option, you may want a friend or family member to help you. Incentives are very effective in increasing productivity and reaching goals; however, they are very hard to stick with at times. If you have friends or family to keep your from cheating your way to getting the incentive, then it will be successful. Now, on to the actual incentives. You can use a sweet treat or favorite snack to motivate yourself to read a textbook or novel–make yourself read a page or a paragraph, then treat yourself. You can also set larger goals such as telling yourself to finish a paper before you hang out with friends. It depends on the importance or size of the assignment.

High school is about learning more about yourself as a student, and finding ways to keep your motivation and inspiration is a part of this. In order to keep your grades up, you need to find some system in which you can get work done efficiently and correctly. Do not be afraid to try something new. Talk to your friends and see how they stay motivated in their hardest months of the school year.