#hhhhhh I have a class tomorrow so I’ll try picking his brains then

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Hello STUDENTS OF TUMBLR, so here’s the post I talked about yesterday. This is  a recapitulation for all the study tips I followed whether it worked for me or not. Just try what you think works better for you. if you don’t have time to waste on trying new methods of studying and then failing with it and trying another one. Just sit with yourself, pick a paper and a pen (doesn’t matter the brand HHHHHHHH), then think of how you study the best, what’s your learning style : check here for more , and based on that choose what will work with you, your school system, your personality, how you manage your time .. and all.

 After figuring out your learning style, it’s time for the first step : MOTIVATION . I can hear some of you saying that motivation doesn’t matter, and what’s matter is discipline, and I totally agree with that, but I think that in order to build a discipline/ habit we need a push of motivation to start. ( I can recommend you the videos that motivates me the most).

****How to get motivation ? ****

1-    Audios / videos/ music ( there are plenty of them online and for free)

2-    Quotes. I definitely recommend putting motivational quotes in every sight-reachable  place.

3-    Pick a paper ( until finishing this post, you’ll need a lot of papers HHHHHH) and write all the reasons why you’re doing this, why your studying?

Personally : my school year starts on 15/9 and ends on mid June. It’s gonna be a long year since I’ll have exams on June based on what I studied from September to May. So I wrote on papers 260 quotes ( one for each day). If you want to try it, you can do that on sticky notes, or just simple papers(if you want it coloured, print some themed backgrounds and write on them)  

 Now you’re motivated and all, take a paper and divide it to  :

1-    Write all the subjects you take at school, class them from your weakest to the strongest subject.

2-    How many hours you can study daily? ( on week days / weekends / holidays.. ) , here it’s better to underestimate than saying I can study 6 hours a day then doing nothing.

3-    The largest part. Divide the hours estimated for each day in a way that you give your weakest subjects more time to work on ( having strong subject doesn’t mean ignoring them, give them time to).

4-    Now in a little column, write why things are not going well: is the problem YOU? Are you the only one stopping yourself from being excellent? ( i’m asking these questions, because I WAS) or is it something else? Parents? Friends ? relationships? Mental health issues? ( try to talk with someone about your issues or see a pro) [sorry, I’m not a professional advice giver and I don’t have the solutions for all of these problems, I had one problem and it was related to me and my way of thinking and I changed it myself, please talk with someone who’s struggling with the same things as you, and I hope you’re all going well and doing good] .

Let’s move to the practical tips :

·         You have probably read this at least 1584358442 times, but I’m re-saying it, because it’s so true. PLAN YOUR LIFE. PLANIFIER VOTRE VIE. خطط(ـي) لحياتك. Plane dein Leben. I don’t know another languages, but whatever language you speak, DO IT. how to plan? You’ll need the paper where you wrote the subjects and the time for each one. Get a planner, start a bullet journal, get some printables online, create those printables yourself with Microsoft, or just simple USE A PAPER. You can plan for a day, or for a week, for a month, or the whole year. I recommend doing weeklies at the beginning of each month , filling each day with your regular activities, important days or tasks ( that you already know) , and then every time that you have something new, add it on its day. when to plan? As I said plan monthly, then weekly, then daily, and every night before going to bed check what you need to do for tomorrow ( it will helps you get out of bed next morning)

·         Don’t overestimate what you can do. It’s okay to admit that you’re not a super human and you won’t be able to sleep for 8 hours go to school for 6hours , socialize , eat well , exercices and then study for 6 hours. If you can do that, congratulations , but you’re damaging your brain.

·         When planning and you have a history project don’t just write ° History instead write : - brainstorming : searching for ideas - organizing those ideas - plan your project : I.1.a / I.1.b … - finding an appropriate related video - organizing all information + adding animation ( if it’s on powepoint) - making sure you have copies of it ( it happened to me a lot that I finish a project than lose it because of a click) and you can apply this not only to projects but to all kind of activities like cleaning : wardrobe – kitchen – bath.. first you will feel satisfied ticking a lot of tasks, and second if you didn’t finish all the under-task , it will be a task in progress not an uncompleted task.

·         Start your day with checking your planner and  doing a to-do list to get a general look on your day. Write next to each task how much time it will take, so that you know what to prioritize

·         Try waking up early , it’ll boost your energy and if you’re best concentrating on morning wake up earlier and benefit of morning , I do this personally but make sure in this case to get to bed earlier too.

·         For your homework, write any homework you get down. I used to say I’ll remember it, then come next session and figure out that I had 12 math exercices. If you have blank hours between classes, use it to get your homework done , so that when you get home you’ll only focus on revising, summarizing.. getting ahead in class. start with doing the homework for your least favourite class or your weakest ones or the ones that take too much time. Do it as soon as it’s given to you, so that you get it out of the way.

·         Think of installing blocker for distracting sites, whether it’s on phone or computer.

·         Related to the previous one, limit your social media time, it won’t matter if you missed out news like your cousin bought a new car or that your friend from primary school is in Amsterdam, you can go back after studying and know all those unnecessary news.

·         Get rid of electronics if you don’t need them.

·         If you’re working on a project, collect all what you need from internet them disconnect. Otherwise, you’ll probably gonna see a pic of a cute cat and you’ll click on the link and you’ll find yourself after 3 hours watching videos of a turtle carrying a cat on his back ( I do this.).

·         Set a clean and minimalist study space, and bring all what you need for that study session from the beginning to avoid distraction.

·         I’ll also recommend changing studying space often ( if that works for you), because scientifically every time we move around we force the brain to form new associations with the same material so it becomes a stronger memory.

·         If you can do it now then DO IT. There’s an Arabic proverb that goes: لا تؤجل عمل اليوم إلى الغد، فإن للغد عملا آخر. (Do not postpone today's work to tomorrow, for tomorrow has its own work) [see the first pic]

·         In class sit at the front : - I do this because I get distracted easily by my friends , plus i’m short-sighted. - you’ll hear the teacher better, also the teachers always answer for front-students questions because they look more serious than questions of someone sitting at the back.

·         ASK. Don’t be shy. There’s nothing wrong with asking, even if you sounded stupid, better sounding stupid in class, then being stupid in the exam. Profit from every chance to ask. Ask your teachers, classmates, google, parents, teachers that aren’t really your teachers (I don’t think they’ll ignore you). If you’re toooo shy to ask in front of classmate, wait for the end of the session, and go to the teacher.

·         While revising, put a mark, or highlight what you need to ask for, and actually ASK FOR IT. I used to just highlight questions that I didn’t understood and never asking, and guess what, one time on a Physics exam, while redoing old exams of my teacher I found so many hard questions, I said he gave them before, he’ll never give them another time. He actually did. J

·         After school routine: i take train to go back home, my way back home lasts 40mn. 1st I do when coming back is studying, because my brain is still in the mood to study ( when I’m extremely tired physically or emotionally , I take a nap. Health and Mental wellness have more priority then Studying for me).

·         when I go back to home, I don’t change clothes to stay in the sensation of being in school. Plus home’s cloths are comfortable but make you feel lazy. ( at least for me) . if you feel comfortable with home’s clothes and still be productive, change.

·         EAT WELL. I can recommend some good food for your brain : Omega 3 & fattyacids (eggs/ fishes : salmon- sardines .. ) – caffeine ( coffe-/ tea) in moderate consumption- Curcumin ( improves memory and boosts serotonin and dopamine which improves mood, it also helps new brain cells grown) – vitamin K( broccoli) – pumpkin seeds- oranges- dark chocolate .. also STAY HYDRATED : it improves concentration and cognition, helps balancing mood and emotions, reduce stress, increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain and maintains memory function. Just TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. ( if exercising works for you, do it. I didn’t personally try that, I’ll just start exercising this year because one of my final exam on June is Physical Education, and it’s all practical)  

·         Revisit older work on a regular basis to keep it familiar so that it will be stored in long term memory. And revise often.

·         This is how I do for revising sessions : I keep track of the review dates of each chapter : - 1st R : 2 days after taking it in class - 2nd R : 3 days after 1st R -3rd R : 7 days after 2nd R -4th R : 21 days after 3rd R - 5th R : 30 days after 4th R - 6th R : 45 days after 5th R - 7 th R : 60 days after 6th R with this system I’ll be able on June to remember what I learned on October.

·         Also, everytime you review, test yourself.

·         Divise the revision sessions in bloc of 20 to 50 mn, then take a rest, to give time to your brain to analyse to the new information. And every time increase the time.

·         Learn the same information in different ways : - rewrite it in your way - mind maps - explain it to someone else - youtube videos - class notes - others resources : your friends notes, if you have this in your country Para-scholar books (books made by other teachers –not by the government- where you can find notes, summaries, exercises with correction )

·         When revising, make a list of possible questions. Make quizzes. If it’s literary subject ( languages) , do a list of possible writings topics). For math, re-do the exercises given by teacher (the exam will probably look alike, since it’s the same person making the exam). If it’s a national exam ( my case), do the exercises given in the end of every chapter ( since it’s the same government giving the exam).

·         Make mnemonic* to facilitate learning new information. Link the information with a crazy story. (- Mnemonic = cutiing something down into an acronym, rhythm, word or phrase, to help remembering it).

·         Read information out loud: you’re mentally storing it in two ways : seeing and hearing it.

·         Talk to yourself , imagine you’re explaining it to someone else. Move while reading your notes. I don’t know why but It works for me.

·         In one sitting just focus on one topic. But don’t stick to the same topic for the whole day, or the whole after-school, your brain will feel that he’s not learning something new, and he’ll stop accepting new information.

·         Don’t memorize in one sitting rather break up the info into small chunks and review them consistently over a long period of time.

·         Before every exam make a checklist of things you need to know. It will help you get an overview of the material.

·         Start studying for an exam earlier, you’ll have more time in case you stuck on some points. Also you don’t know what can happen, you could get sick or an emergency ruins your plans.

·         Work on your psychic state. If you have toxic relations, get them out of your life. You need all your brain capacity, you can’t just waste it on toxic things. If you feel like needing help, ask for it.

·         HELP YOUR FRIENDS. (if you’re not religious, ignore the rest of this point, and just do this because you’re a great human <3 , if you’re religious: I had a teacher that used to always say this to us : “Help each other because who only loves himself (selfish), God doesn’t love him”).

·         DON’T BE SOO HARD ON YOURSELF. TAKE A DAY OFF IF YOU’VE DONE WELL ALL THE WEEK. I saw this on a youtube video: you can make a system of scoring for yourself , everytime you reach a score you’ll do something fun : go to the cinema, go on a train trip, go to the down town, or just lie in bed and watch your favourite movie. REWARD YOURSELF.

  I can help with other tips, I’m just busy these days, maybe all go back later and add some more.

I hope this is useful for you.

If anyone have any remark or questions, please don’t be shy.

   (excuse my English) .