It’s finals week so why not procrastinate writing these instead of actually studying? These are some of the probably useless tips that I use while I study and look where I am now right so here we go
1) Clean your study space. This is said so many times it actually sounds like white noise now but it’s incredibly true. A messy study space will only mean distraction during your study time which should be 100% uninterrupted so get rid of all the clutter!
2) Get textbooks/resources/tools ready beforehand. Two days ago my dad had to take me textbook shopping at 9pm because I didnt have any. Plan what you’re going to study and what you’re going to need, whether it be your classmate’s notes or your laptop and put them where they need to be put. Our education system is one that focuses on multiple choice questions so I know I need to have a ton of them, and I mean A TON. Also, new books and stationery make you want to study so spend some money on those.
3) ACTUALLY STUDY. I know I get so caught up in not letting my latte cool, keeping my desk tidy and pretty, keeping an eye out for the candles, that I don’t actually study, I just write down words and staple papers together. Pay attention to what is in front of you. You’ll get to deal with whatever is on your mind later. To quote Tara Stiles, “if your thoughts are that important they’ll come back later”.
4) Motivate YOURSELF. Don’t rely on exterior sources of motivation. Who here doesn’t come on tumblr and check the studyblr tag instead of studying? Well, what I’m saying is don’t do it. I printed some of the desk photos that I liked the best, some photos of Berlin (where I wanna go to college), and the logos of the colleges I wanted to go to and put them up on the wall next to my desk and now instead of wasting half an hour on tumblr, I spend half a minute looking at those pictures.
5) Keep active. Sitting on your butt all day will tire you out more than doing some light exercise, honestly. If you have the time, go for a quick walk or a run, but you probably don’t, so here’s what I do during exam week: During every break, do a few squats, or a few jumping jacks, or just simply stretch. Waiting for your coffee to heat up? Jog in place. After lunch? Ten minute yoga. It feels soooo good to stretch out all your muscles after a long study session.
6) Find what works for you. Here are some of the methods I use for different classes, try them out if you’re unsure about how to go: For math, I write down any formulas I might have, keep them on my desk and do lots of questions. Same for geometry. If I’m really lost I watch some online classes and do the questions along with the teacher. For physics, I redid (I dropped all science classes this year) the examples in my book or notebook, honestly for physics I had to watch online classes each time. But again, lots of questions. Chemistry, memorise what you need to know and do questions. Write formulas on your ankles if you need to. Biology, more charts and flows than you will ever need. I had the photosynthesis process on my wall, and next to it were the explanations for each step. For biology you really need to visualise everything. For literature, I’m sorry but you need to sit your ass down and make a thousand flashcards. I have to memorize books, their authors and genres this year so what I did is wrote them all down once, made flashcards for each author and then took a paper, randomly wrote down some book names and quizzed myself by matching the author with their books. Then I gave that paper to my dad and he quizzed me. I can recite 60 Ottoman books written between 1860-1878 now. History, write write write. Try to connect each event with a reason and an outcome. Acronyms are probably your best bet for remembering wars and kings. Get a map of the era and visualise everything. Make lots of lists and if you have time, read some books or short stories about the time period you’re studying. For geography, maps are everything. Doesn’t matter what you’re studying, climates, meridians, get a freaking map and write everything. And lastly for foreign languages, this is long term, watch youtube videos in that language. Listen to songs. Forget grammatical rules and conjunctions or whatever, honestly, I learnt English by talking to my friends from England and communicating with people online in English. But for short term, simplify grammar rules as much as possible, use new vocab in random nonsense sentences and go over past papers.
7) Music? I can’t study without music, honestly. I literally sing out loud while I study and I can easily focus, but when/if that’s not the case, here are some amazing instrumental playlists that will help you concentrate:
Playlists: English Renaissance / French Renaissance / Ravenclaw Common Room (my absolute fave) / 4 Hours of Writing / Ultimate Playlist (7 hours) / Ultimate Study Playlist IV / Modern Fairytale / Concentration / Bon Courage / Instrumental Mega Mix / Truth, Knowledge, Beauty (recommended) / Above The Stars (recommended) / The Royals / The Ultimate Instrumental Playlist
Collections: Ravenclaw / Fairy Tales and Magic / Homework / Study (recommended) / La Musette’s complete collection (I am in love with them all)
Hope these made you get off tumblr!
