With the end of summer nearing and the start of a new school
year just around the corner I think we all need all the help we can get to make
this year a successful year, or at least more bearable. So I have decided to
add my little grain of salt to the massive pile of tips and tricks for school.
Now I don’t claim to be an expert at giving tips but I did just get a high
school diploma so I guess I’m qualified enough. Right? Let’s just get
comfortable and get going with the tips!
Make use of your calendar! I honestly can’t remember how
many times I had to turn in late work because I either left my work at home or
I forgot it was due that day. A great way to remember to bring things to school
or to do something is using the calendar app. Just set an even for the day its
due and put two alerts one the day before it is due and one on the morning
before you leave home. The great thing about the app is that it lets you add
notes, so if there is something you have to bring in just type it on the notes
and you are ready to go. As long as you do this you should never forget to
bring anything to school.
Listen to music that helps you concentrate! I tend to be
someone who gets easily distracted, and it’s also hard for me to go back to
something once I have lost my focus. Once I had to restart an essay three times
because once I lost my focus I couldn’t get back to the same mind set and
decided to write on something else. I found that if I listen to music and then
it is easier for me to keep my focus. The thing with me was that I started
singing and dancing after a couple minutes, until one day I decided to put on
some classical music because I read somewhere it helped with memory. I not only
found that I enjoy classical music but it helped me concentrate! I use a
playlist from Spotify called “Epic Classical” and there is another great one
called “Classical Essentials”. Another great app is Pandora, just search for
classical and you’ll find some amazing playlists. Now, on both apps you can
either pay to get an ad free version or you are cheap like me and don’t mind
the ads then keep the free version.
Prioritize your homework. I don’t know if this was only just
me but I used to do homework in the order of my school periods, this ended up
being disastrous because half of my homework never got done because by the time
I got to it it was so hard and my brain was already “tired” so I ended up
taking breaks and never getting homework done. Then I tried doing homework from
easy to hard because I thought that if I did what was easy first I wouldn’t get
bored and tired (and I was wrong), you can imagine how much that backfired that
I don’t even need to go into detail. Finally I decided to tackle what was hard
first and go on from that, I found this to be the best way to do homework
because once I am done with what is hard everything else feels like a piece of cake.
If you want to give this a try, just start by making a list of your homework
from hard to easy and go on from that. Then you’ll be able to experience that empowering
feeling you get every time you scratch something of a list. (or is that just
me?)
My next tip is about note taking, and since everyone has a
different style of learning I have two options for you. I feel like I am versatile
learner and I found that I can do both, so if you feel like you may be versatile
or learn in many different ways I would try both and see which one I like. The
first option quality over quantity, that is for those of who can recall detail
when reading a summary or list of titles and subtitles. Try writing neatly and
organized because it is better to have little detail but being able to read
what you have than having all the information but jot being able to study it
because you can’t read it. Use highlighters, colored pens, graphics, and cues.
Use your margin, write little phrases that teachers repeat and make them stand
out. When I was learning sympathetic and parasympathetic in psychology my
teacher said “The parasympathetic is like a parachute, it brings you down.” Like
twenty times and I wrote it down and you can bet I remembered what
parasympathetic and sympathetic did when I took my exam. Now, if you feel like
you have a harder time memorizing then try doing simpler notes. Just bring one
pen and one highlighter and instead of wasting time on making it pretty make it
efficient and full of detail (it still has to be legible though). Try to shorten
as many words as you can, instead of writing “without” you could write “w/o” this
will save you time to get more details in. If a teacher repeats something
several times throughout the class then highlight it that way it will make it
stand out. A great way to study if you are doing option number two is that when
you get home you can rewrite your notes making them look prettier. Don’t take
away any information though because you are going to need it once you study. I
used this method when we studied the world wars in European History because it
was very fast paced and there were too many details to memorize and it really
helped a lot on the quizzes and tests.
My last tip is to relax. Find some down time every day to
relax, I know that school can be very stressful, work just seems to pile up,
and teachers don’t seem to get that there are more classes that we have to
study for besides theirs. But pilling and bottling up stress is harmful for
your mind and body and will eventually take its toll on you. I forgot this on
my senior year and it did take a toll on me and my health. My defenses went
down and I even got the flu (twice!). Not only that but it also tired me
mentally to the point of causing unnecessary anxiety, I even had an anxiety
attack while studying for ap psych (it wasn’t fun). In the end you just have to
remember that while achieving your goals or passing the standard that your
parents or you set. All that matters is that you give it your best. Don’t stress
because of past situations. The great thing about grades is that once a grading
period is done you get a fresh start on the next one. Personally every time I get
inside my head and start over stressing or panicking I like to pray. Praying
helps because I get to confide on someone that I know is always listening and will
always want the best for me. When I pray for school I always like to ask for
him to increase my desire to study, and for help with my laziness and my procrastination.
I would really recommend giving it a try. It allows you to confide in someone,
and to get what you feel and think out without telling those who you feel would
not understand or make fun of you. If you’ve never tried, you don’t know if it
would help.
Good luck in school!! I hope this year is very successful to
you! If you need any more tips or you are struggling with something in particular
you can leave me a comment or PM me on Instagram (its @paminthemiddle)
Until next time! Pam.
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