When Studying Books – Relevant to I/GCSE

Hey everyone,

Today’s post is a little different, and geared more towards people who are presumably still in school (me 😦 )and are being obliged to read books for the sake of English essays and exams and grades (probably even History, too like To Kill a Mockingbird, which was something I had to read but being the nerd I am, I had already read it haha).

How to Keep Track of HW, assignments, Exam dates, Revision + more!

Hey guys!

Now, if you know me well, you’d know that being “organised” in general, isn’t really a word you’d use to describe me. You know it, I know it. But with studies, it’s a different story!

I prioritise my studies (like I know many of us do!). I make sure that I’m organised with my work by keeping track of everything to make sure it all happens. Today, I’m going to be sharing with you guys some of my top tips on staying organised while studying (aka, how to have happy teachers – submitting homework on time! Yay!).

Now, these tips are directed more to organising things like your assignments so they get done on time, tests so you have enough revision time, etc. With things such as organising your workspace… I’m not really the greatest at, to be honest – but working on it 🙂

Purchase a yearly planner – These are great with keeping up with test and exam dates, as well as significant days in your courses and most importantly – holidays (so you can plan your revision for then – of course – *cough*). The issue with me now is that although my planner is on my desk I don’t usually remember to check it, but I’m developing a habit in going through it every morning.

Make a revision timetable (or calendar?) – Now, I know a lot of people are like, “I can’t stick with the timings” and I get you – I can’t either! But at least count all the topics you need to learn for your exam (check your exam specification) and then count all the days you have left to revise. Then divide all the topics amongst your remaining days to ensure all the material necessary is learnt. 

Have a to-do list – Last year, I got a chunky to-do list thing from Paperchase, and it is the most helpful thing in the world. When my mind is abuzz of assignments I need to complete and tasks I need to get done, I just jot it down onto that list which is always planted on the corner of my desk.

Set notifications on your devices for the deadlines of your assignments – This is the most helpful thing. Despite the to-do list (which can sometimes be cast underneath a pile of books), Google Calendars and also Reminders (on my Mac) are so, so helpful. Sometimes a homework on my to-do list can escape my eye in the long list of other things I need to get done. Google Calendars pops me an email every time something I need to get done is due, so whenever I open my laptop, those emails shoot into the top left corner of my screen, reminding me.

Sort out your desk every morning and evening – It’s become a habit for me now. Every morning before I start working I take out the textbooks and notebooks I will need for the day, and every evening I get rid of whatever notebooks and textbooks I won’t be needing until next week.

So these are my tips for keeping organised with homework and exams! I hope you all found this helpful, in one way or another!

Let me know which tips are most helpful to you, and whether you would like more study-orientated posts 🙂

Speak soon!

How to SLAY Your Exams #2

Hey guys!

Welcome to Part 2 of this series. Check out Part 1, here. Since this is around the time where a lot of people start revising for their GCSEs (I’m not sure about A Levels, SATs or any other exams, but you can apply these tips anywhere within studying), I figured this would be pretty relevant right now 🙂

Change your settings. I find that if I switch up my surroundings, like sometimes studying in the kitchen or at the dining table instead of at my desk helps me to concentrate more. Maybe even popping over to your local library will help you get in some good revision time away from the hustle of the house. Also, it helps you to recall the information you digested later, because we store information at the different places, there’s actually a study in psychology about that.

Ensure your surroundings are quiet and won’t distract you. My studying desk is beside my other siblings. Sometimes it can get really noisy, and its totally impossible to get any revision time in. Usually I then go and find somewhere else to study like at the dining table, or even outside! Asking someone to drop you off at the library for a few hours might also be the best solution if your house is too noisy.

Make yourself some tea, coffee or hot chocolate but don’t try and eat anything messy, it can get really distracting. Balancing soup and a science textbook? I’ve tried it, and I can’t say I recommend it. Sipping a drink at the same time is doable though!

Do past papers! Get used to exam-style questions. This can save your freaking life, so go and download past papers for the exam you’re taking if you haven’t already! It adjusts you to the type of questions you’ll be asked in the exam, so it can get you used to what you’ll encounter in the exam.

Try and use pictures and diagrams in your notes as much as possible. Quickly sketching out a colourful mind map of all the key concepts of a topic may help you learn something faster, especially if you are a visual learner.

Concentrate on what you don’t know. I know I’ve done it – doing English over Maths, History over Geography.  I know it’s stating the obvious, but just to make sure you keep it in mind! I know we all dread going through something that makes 0.001% sense to us, but that only makes it more important we focus on it. Reward yourself with some chocolate afterwards.

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That’s all for this post! I hope you found these helpful 🙂

Stay tuned for the next in this series! Speak to you all soon! Let me know in the comments whether you use any of these techniques.