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Revision Tips, Exams and Future Plans (1/2)


Hello Everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this week! April has already come to an end (whoa!) which means that we have fully approached exam season! Some people may have already done their exams, but the majority of people in the UK are still preparing for those hour long exam papers that will but not really dictate the rest of their lives! Ten years ago when I was in primary school, I was handed my first exam, a 20 question maths times tables questionnaire, and was given a timer to for each question. I feared for my life if I couldn't get 15/20 questions right, so my mum bought me some 7+ maths revision books so I could learn what 7 x 8 - 25 was in 10 seconds. Now as a 17 year old, I think I can say that I've become accustomed to the exam process and how to get through it alive.


I'm not a Straight A student (as much as I like to tell myself) but I can achieve good grades depending on how much effort I put into my work and revision. I don't really have a set plan to get straight A's and everything that most of my past teachers told me was to key to an A grade did not help me at all. There are many things I've tried to do go get my grades up but not many of them have worked out for me, so here are a few that have! 


Feel it
I think I speak for everyone when I say, if I'm not motivated to study and get work done, it wont happen. I could have every piece of equipment needed around me, the most relaxing study playlist on soundcloud running, and my reward food at the ready, but If I don't feel like doing the work I will find literally anything I can do to procrastinate. I don't bother studying if I don't feel like it because it won't stick in my memory enough for me to remember what I'm revising or what work I should be doing. One of the things that makes me feel motivated enough to work is the food I eat before hand. This might be strange, but after I've woken up early had a lovely Eggs Benedict and a banana smoothie in the morning I feel I lot more refreshed and motivated to get work done than when I've slept in and skipped breakfast. 


Want it
It's a struggle for me to get work done when I feel like it isn't the right place to revise. If the place I'm in doesn't make me want to revise, I won't do it. Crowded and loud spaces are a huge no for me, and due to my anxiety, I don't really use my college library even though it's quiet because there are so many people. I revise the best during the day when it's bright outside, a little breezy, and quiet with no one around me. Keeping away from the social networking sites is a given, there is no way you will be able to work after seeing the little youtube notification on your phone saying your favorite vlogger has just uploaded a new vid. My friend told me this once "Keep twitter away to keep your grades at bay.", great quote for people like me who can't stop checking their feed. The right music is a must too, I can't listen to music with lyrics in it, I find it too distracting so I opt for instrumentals to listen to instead.


Imagine it 
The one thing that gets me motivated is knowing that I will be rewarded for doing the work. We all use the typical motivational thought "If you do the work now, you'll get good grades and have a nice job and a good life!", but I feel like I need a little bit more to motivate my ridiculously lazy self. I like to imagine myself relaxing on a Saturday and Sunday then telling myself that If I work hard today, I can relax during the weekend. I like to set goals when doing this too, for example yesterday I said "Alright, The Incredibles (in case you didn't know, it's my 2nd favorite Disney film!) will start showing at 8pm, so If I get my work done before 7pm I can have dinner then watch the film while eating desert!". Imagining things like that get's me motivated enough to get my work done. 



Forget it
While I'm revising I tend to get distracted easily by mess or the things around me, so the one thing I like to do is make sure I stay organized. I lay out everything that I need to do for the day, then set aside the one thing that I'm going to be working on at that moment. All the rest of the work gets put into a pile in order of which one I will do first. I keep all of my flash cards, post it notes and general equipment in front of me too. That way I don't have any reason to look for anything in my room only to get distracted, because everything I need is on my work space. ALL technology sits well away from me until I'm on break. I make sure to set my phone on mute, with my TV off, and only use the laptop/computer if I have to do work on it. 


Do it 
I'm not one to set breaks, because I feel like I push myself a little to hard when I do. If I have to get through a 10 chapters of work, Instead of saying "Let's get chapter 1 done before 3pm so I can have a break for 10 minutes then go onto chapter 2 at 3:10pm" I will think "Let's start chapter 1 at 2pm" then take my break whenever that chapter gets completed. That way I don't rush myself to complete things. When I do take breaks, I like to scroll through my social media accounts (because let's be honest here, our generation can't live without knowing what our peers did 2 minutes ago), or do one of my daily missions on the Apps that I like to play. It's hard to get lost in your phone during breaks so make sure to limit your breaks. Also, it's good to keep hydrated while working. Always have a glass of water and a snack near you so you don't feel the need to walk to the kitchen and get distracted. 


Sometimes I have days where I just blank out and completely forget how to revise. During those days I look up ways to revise to catch new ideas, one of my favorite revision tips article is this one here, so check it out if you feel like you need the extra push! 

 ☆ And that concludes all my revision tips! 

 I hope you enjoyed this little piece and I hope it inspired you all to get to work! I'm also in the midst of revising and preparing for exams so I apologies in advanced for the slow weeks to come! The next part of this post will be up soon!

What techniques do you use to revise? Got any tips? 
Leave me a message down below in the comments section! 

xox


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