Small Advice for HSC students! (1 Viewer)

Jolteon

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Hi guys!
With the HSC coming up, I thought I might just make a thread for the little things and uncertainties that students tend to think about.
These are just personal experiences that I thought I might share and please feel free to add to it! :)

Study technique:
There are countless study techniques that teachers introduce all the time but this was the only one that I used and worked:
It's called the Pomodoro technique.
You essentially set a timer to do work for 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break after each 25 min session. Because it takes me a while to get into the 'zone', my version is a little different - I set my timer for 50 minutes and take a 10 minute break.
Here is the link I use to set my timer: This is extremely useful for those who go to the library to study since there is often a mentality to be productive the entire day. However, what usually happens is that we tend to burn out after 3 hours of constant studying and the rate of productivity lowers significantly. This technique allows you to pace yourself to ensure max productivity, avoid burning out and minimise procrastination. It works best with your phone turned off or on airplane mode.

Eating:
You either eat or you don't eat when you study!
Some people just cannot eat while studying because chewing or unnecessary movements can distract them. I'm like this!
My friend, on the other hand, loved snacking on fruits and tiny snacks whenever she studied.
If you know you can't eat while studying then don't eat and study. It sounds trivial but you might find yourself seeing results.

English Pace:
Somebody once told me that there are two types of writers: One who plans out everything and edits their essays as they go to make sure everything is perfect and the other, where they write everything out and then edit/refine until it's perfect.
I was definitely someone who refined my essay as I went so by the time it was complete, it was essentially a perfect/final draft. It took almost a week to complete my essays contrary to my other friends who could bust it out in 3 days and took another 2 nights to refine it.
You could be like me so don't stress or worry if your friends are finishing essays before you, even though you started earlier.

Restlessness:
  • Take a shower: It refreshes the mind and you can start afresh afterwards
  • Change the environment: If your own room is distracting you, go to the library or go to the living room. Changing the environment could mean everything.
  • Change out of PJs: If you're feeling lazy or finding it hard to concentrate well, it might be the comfort of your own PJs. Try changing into jeans or something a little tighter so you feel less drowsy and less likely to take a nap.
  • Take a nap!: I know I just said not to but a 20 minute nap goes a long way if you are really tired or feeling restless. Anything longer than 20 minutes may be detrimental so try to set a 25-30 minute timer. The extra time accounts for how long you take to fall asleep so it may vary from person to person.
  • If all fails, just take a day off: There are days where you just don't want to or can't do anything and nothing is going into your head. Studying with this mindset is absolutely useless - you retain nothing and realize that you just wasted a day even though you had your notes by your side the entire time. If that's the case, just take the night off and either do some very light studying or just sleep early and work a little harder the next day to compensate.
Your break between graduation and HSC is a long time and if you don't pace yourself well, you'll find yourself burning out before you even sit your English exam.

Concert / parties or events:
Go to them. If you know there is a party close to exam season and you know you can be on top of it, then I think you should attend them.
The sooner you know they are happening, the sooner you can account time for them and to study a little more during the weeks leading up to the event.
Students who keep their extra-curriculars or part-time jobs tend to manage their time a lot better since they need to plan/schedule their shifts and when to study. They also tend to procrastinate less since they can't afford to waste or lose more time. However, that isn't to say that everybody is like that. If you know this isn't you then don't attend the event but if you push hard, a social life shouldn't be something you have to sacrifice for the sake of academics.

Feel free to add more but here are just the small things I thought that might help with your future studies :)
 
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