To help my fellow STA students survive another year. I have compiled a short list of my own personal life hacks that have helped get me through junior year so far.

Life hack 1:  The in-school workout

Everyone knows that exercise is a vital part to healthy living and should be an important part of our daily routine. Unfortunately, especially for those of us who don’t play sports finding time to exercise in our busy lives can be difficult. My personal solution to this problem was to completely forget my class schedule, and then lose the paper copy. Twice. Almost anyone who has had me in a class can testify that I frequently forget what class I’m going to and often times end up not only on the wrong floor, but in the wrong building as well. For example, last Thursday sixth period I walked all the way down to Mr. Whitney’s room only to find it completely empty and promptly remember that I in fact, had Honors Chemistry, not AP US History and that I had a test that would begin in about one minute. What could be a more invigorating and motivating exercise than sprinting up three or more  flights of stairs with a 50 pound backpack to avoid being late for class? Now I get extra exercise every day, and the unnecessary self-inflicted extra flights of stairs have done wonders for my calves. Plus, it makes every passing period an exciting guessing game. Where do I go next? Who knows? Not me.

Life hack 2: Getting homework done quickly

One of my great flaws as a human being is the fact that I have the attention span of a goldfish. This can make getting homework done in a timely manner difficult. To avoid getting sidetracked while working, my advice is to do your homework in front of the most judgmental person in your family. The fastest I can ever do my homework is under the watchful eye of my eleven-year-old sister, who does everything a week before it’s due and supplies me with helpful reminders that I “should’ve started that a week ago” and that “I’ll never get into college” if I don’t finish my math homework. (I also have her edit my essays.)

Life Hack 3: The perfect study guide

When preparing for a test nothing is more helpful than a well put together study guide; however, these can be time consuming to make. Fortunately, there’s an alternative option to making one yourself. If you wait long enough, eventually someone else will always make one. Find these people and befriend them – they are the backbone of this school.