We roam the hallway extra sluggish, wanting to sleep. The lack of any lingering motivation has our homework on pause. Summer seems like a blissful promise still out of reach and the infamous third quarter slump begins.

The starting of the third quarter means the same thing each school year- pile up the work load and add on the testing pressure! Teachers stop putting up with slack (if they ever did) and expect us to keep up with our assignments as they place them on overload. FCAT, EOCs, AP, and IB exams are all lurking around the corner causing stress to bubble up. With all the pressure that comes along with extra work and cram sessions; motivation levels decrease to the point where we’re at risk of entering the slump- the lowest point of most students’ school year.  What’s worse, the careless mentality of procrastination  causes students to put off work even more so. Ultimately, students’ grades suffer.

“You don’t see the slump with your underclassmen as much as with the upperclassmen. It is frustrating at times that you seem like you’re spinning your wheels and they’re not responding to you because they’ve kind of given up. We all get tired, and I know that sometimes its difficult to get motivated because it seems like what you’re learning is pointless, but you do have to try to stay on top of things so you don’t fall behind on work because then actually that makes you feel worst. Then you feel like you can’t catch up so you technically give up and tend not to do anything which is usually what your third quarter slump ends up being, ” IB Biology teacher Mr. Molina said.

We all cherish the long weekends and breaks that help us pull through the year. Whether it was Veteran’s Day or Winter Break, the second quarter had everyone used to a free day practically every week. Jumping into the third quarter, however, and seeing only two days off came as a shock to all. The dreaded thought that students actually have to go to school five times a week; every week is sure to be a downer.

“Everyone’s feeling overwhelmed with all the extra work they’re getting and having no breaks to recover from it. With less days off this quarter, it really adds on to the slump,” freshman Sabryna Gonzalez said.

Breaking the slump isn’t easy; the key is avoiding it. Staying focused on school work will help the third quarter fly by, which will just leave 9 weeks of testing dangling between you and summer. One way of focusing on your work is by preventing procrastination: the key reason for all slumps. Get focused and quit Netflix for a while! And if the work seems too difficult, don’t be afraid to ask your teachers for help; this is often the time of the year where material becomes harder. If your problem is a lack of motivation, create your own support system by studying with a friend or teaming up to do large homework assignments. Two brains trying to figure out a math problem are usually better than one!

“I try to stay as busy as possible- I have an after school job, I run track, and I was in cheerleading. I try to not think about it as much; the busier I am the faster the year goes by. When I do my homework, I try to do as much as possible so I don’t have to worry about it the rest of the week. If I have essays to write, I try doing that over the weekend so that the rest of the week I can focus on other things,” senior Tiah Caldwell said.

Staying afloat during the third quarter is possible if you manage to stay out of the slump. With school drowning us in work, the only way you’ll survive to see the fourth quarter is to stay on top of things. With a busy mind, there won’t be room for you to go through the slump.