So... I didn't get selected for the competition but nevertheless, I'm glad I atleast tried my level best... Though, my computer teacher has now called me for another competition (not public speaking) i don't really wanna join but her glares are enough to make ice melt so... T-T
Anyway, today i:
Did some accounts sums and concepts (1 hr 30 mins)
Completed 70% of my computer assignment
Revised part 2 and 3 in lesson 3 of economics
That's it. My mid terms start from 18th so I need to pick my speed up because I have a huge portion to cover... especially in Business studies and Arabic, i haven't touched them in ages and both have 8 lessons for midterms :")
Didn't do alot today, I had a headache and was practically fighting to stay awake. The fact that we had 3 accounts periods after lunch did not help, not to mention, we had absolutely no tests today because everything was postponed to tomorrow with 2 extra tests... I don't even know why our teachers do this, like follow the schedule please T-T
Did 2 accounts sums (yes, only 2 because that alone took me 2 hours to understand and yet I'm still unsure about it T-T)
(Competition selection is tomorrow... I hope I get in ://)
I hate ANY toxic/mean motivation so much. "You dont want to study because youre tired? Study tired." No? You a) wont learn anything (much probably) b)will give yourself a headache and you'll be dissapointed in yourself.
Especially: if you're sick, YOU DONT NEED TO LEARN. YOURE SICK, GET A TEA AND SLEEP. It can wait.
This does not define your future but don't mess this up. I'm fine. I have prepared the whole year for this. I will not put it to a waste. I know more than I think I do. I am calm, focused and composed and I am certainly not panicking. I did my best. God will do the rest. Your past self is proud of you. Your future self is counting on you. An exam is nothing but a test of your knowledge. You got dreams to chase, darling. Do not be scared of something which has no power to hurt you physically. You are so close to the victory. Don't you dare give up now. I am so damn proud of trying so hard. Don't stress. Do your best. Forget the rest. There's no way that I'm going back with something that I don't like. You can do this.
Hope this helps xD
It doesn't matter if someone you know has completed the whole material twice or thrice, what matters is how much of it you actually remember.
Sadly, our education system does not test how much we know, it only tests how many of the questions we can answer. So, the content you put in your answers matters more than what you know.
So, you're doing good, just don't stop and focus on your own progress. :)
Day 4/ Day 9
I completed my exam today and nothing else unless reading an extremely cringey e-book counts xD
So yeah... and my exam was meh... not too good, not too bad. I still have like one exam left and then I'm done with junior year!
Well, I'm freaking exhausted! Like, i literally woke up at 6:30 in the morning and it's now 11:30 at night, I didn't even rest even for 10 mins. Gosh, it's starting frustrate me so damn much...
Anyway, the seminar went better than expected, some how i managed the computer test and the business studies teacher believes so much in me that she never picks me to answer a question xD and the economics test is postponed to tomorrow, I'm gonna study that in the morning. And we submitted our computer project today and the teacher liked it and she said that she was impressed with our team's report and even used it as a reference to show the others, I was jumping inside xD
And today i:
Practiced 10 Accountancy sums
Did some computer writing assignment
Reviewed some concepts in business studies
Not alot but still something...
some asks for studyblrs and students more generally!
🎙️someone in your field, dead or alive, that youd like to have a conversation with?
📚 favorite course you’ve taken?
🎓 a teacher/mentor figure that has had a huge impact on your studies?
📉 your least favorite course/a course you did poorly in?
🎵 describe your “vibe” as a student in a song?
👻 share an academic horror story! (bad group projects, missed an exam, etc)
📁 what is a project/assignment you’re really proud of?
💬 best comment you’ve ever gotten on your work?
🌟 share one of your academic “core memories”!
📖 a book/reading from your field you’d recommend/really enjoyed?
💻 a subject/field you wish you could get into if you could?
🗑️ have you always wanted to be in your field? what was your “almost-field?”
✉️ your academic “motto”?
✏️ a big misconception about your field/a popular, but wrong fact related to your field that makes you cringe?
👶 something you really needed to hear when you started out?
📍 an academic pet peeve of yours?
my asks are open too :p ~
How To Self Study
This is coming from a girl who spent her fresher and sophomore year studying at home and yes, I got good grades. So, here are some tips that I followed for studying by myself without depending on any teachers.
So, let's get into it!
Gather and organise material
This is important, why? What are you going to study if you have absolutely no idea what your syllabus and study material is? By materials I mean:
Textbooks (If you have any)
Practice papers
Previous year papers
Extra reading materials/ Reference books
If you don't have any textbooks. Go through the topics that you have and gather resources from different sources.
Tip: Have at least 1 extra reading material for every subject/paper. It helps you understand some topics that are explained in a complex manner in textbooks which is almost all the time.
Don't depend on your teacher
Teachers are good. Seriously. But their attention will always be shifty. They have a lot of students to teach, from many other classes so if you depend only on your teachers for clarifying your doubts or being at the back of you to study then newsflash, its going to be hard. Rather, be your own teacher. Don't go "I'll ask this to her/him tomorrow after class" because that will be your answer every time you have even a small question which can easily be solved by a simple search. You're saving your time and theirs.
Tip: If you're someone like me who gets distracted when you take up your phone even for a second then write down all your questions in a paper and search them later after your study session.
Make notes
I usually say this because notes help you understand topics. There are many methods of taking notes. I usually don't follow any structure for note taking, I just read and write keywords under the topic name, linking a few things here and there.
Tip: Notes need not be aesthetic. Seriously. You can be as messy as you can.
Watch videos related to concepts
This helps and I know most already do this.
Tip: When you finish watching a topic, close the video and write down what you understood and then play the video again, fill in the gaps that you missed and watch it again.
Study in chunks
I always believe that whatever you do, you should do in chunks. Instead of doing one chapter, divide it. Into small bits. I'll tell you, you'll see the difference. I don't usually recommend Pomodoro since it doesn't work for me. I don't keep a time limit or a set number of breaks. I finish a chunk and if I am tired, I take a break otherwise i continue.
Tip: Self quiz yourself after each chunk and then take a break. Then after you finish the chunks for the whole chapter with the self quizzing then self quiz yourself randomly for every chunk. Here's an additional tip. Take 20 second breaks.
Period of deep work
This is not a new concept, i didn't realize i did this at first. Basically, when you start your work. You do nothing but work. Like nothing else. No phones. No snacking. No unwanted thoughts. Just nothing but what you have to do. That is to study.
Tip: It is difficult to implement this right away especially if you have a habit of it getting distracted easily so i just suggest => Start smaller. One topic with full concentration. It would usually take you 20 - 30 mins to get immersed in the work. 40 mins if it's something you don't like but once you get the momentum? An unbelievable achievement really. And then, change your environment.
Quality > Quantity && Consistency> Cramming
One hour of productive studying is better than nine hours of useless studying. I feel like it's better to study 20 mins everyday rather than the whole night before an exam. It just causes stress.
Tip: Start early. Your teacher is on chapter 5? And you still don't get chapter 1, it's fine. Start learning. Seriously, it's okay to be behind. You just have to stick. Do it everyday and you'll see results that is better than those who are just keeping up with the teacher.
Deadlines Are Mandatory
Have deadlines. There are a number of ways to do this. I'm a person who is really lazy and a weird soul who would never complete their to-do list for the day if they write it down. It would always be left unfinished. So i just keep a mental time limit and the thing i have to get done.
Tip: Overestimate your deadline. Like, let's say i have to complete around 15 lessons that week. I keep my deadline to around 25-30 and i eventually complete 15. It's about adapting to what works for you. Just change according to what works for you.
Practice questions / Previous Year Papers
I can never emphasize this enough. The best way to prepare for any exam is just do practice questions or previous year questions. You will learn a lot of things. The topics that are important or repeated. The topics that are never asked.
Tip: Grade yourself on each paper. Circle the questions in your textbook while you are studying and practicing. Then when you have to actually study then you can actually revise the topics a bit more thoroughly. If you want to know more, click here.
It's okay to be behind in class
During my first term in senior year, the whole class was around 5 chapters ahead for every test and exam while me? If they were on chapter 12, i was in chapter 4 or 5 but i understood the concepts and took my sweet time with each chapter. Because the more time you take for a chapter, the better it stays in your memory.
Tip: Here is where active recall comes handy. When you revise one chapter, take a 2 day break and study another subject and then go back to the chapter and answer the practice questions. If you're able to do them, great! If not, revise more and then look at it after 3-4 days. Repeat until you have no mistakes in your answers. This helps in long term retaining.
Make It Interesting
How do you study boring subjects? You adapt. Mind maps don't work for me. Neither does flash cards. So, i found something that did. Storytelling. Take your most boring subject, turn it into a story. Make it bearable.
Tip: Tie it somethings that you like. For example, business studies was the most boring one for me so obviously, every topic was a story for me. HR Theories and Processes? ==> An office romance story. Management Principles? ==> A fantasy story where a group goes on a quest. Make It interesting. Make it gripping. And let me tell you, this actually works because our minds grasp stories better than just normal theory jargon.
Difficult Topics Are Only Difficult Because You Think They Are
This was something that i learnt the harder way. Everything looked difficult at the beginning. Everything. But the most difficult paper was maths. Because i had no teacher. Literally. I was learning from YouTube, searching different sites for tips and tricks. I thought it was too difficult and then i was like "i have to do it anyway no matter how much i brood" so i started from scratch like 3 months before my exams.
Tip: A mind set change is everything. If you think it is easy. The topic will be more bearable. If you think it's tough, it's going to be more tough. If you want some more tips for complex topics, click here.
Hope this helps !!! :)
|| Isabelle || INFP-T || Study tips || Self improvement || Books ||
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