How to smash the new academic year!
- Erica Levett
- Sep 3, 2018
- 3 min read
The first day back to school after a long break is often a dreaded date. Alarm set, bags packed, new, slightly too big, blazer hung ready to go… as Mamma Mia 2 would say, ‘here we go again!’. The start of a new year is an opportunity to finally organise your life, to increase productivity and reap rewards to be proud of. Easy for me to write on a Word document, I know. However, after 12 years of education I have some top tips for motivation and organisation to help you get the most out of your year.
New Stationary!
If September isn’t the time to make your way to the local WHSmith, when is? I’m lucky enough to have a September birthday so I have successfully created a list of the entire Paper Chase website…what else would I want for my 18th? New stationary can often act as the physical new start you need: empty notebooks, pens filled to the brim with ink, highlighters ready to turn terrifying Shakespeare plays into comforting rainbows. You’ll want your teachers to give you something to write! Whilst new stationary may seem slightly tedious, imagine the feeling when you walk into school knowing you won’t need to borrow a pen; you could even offer one!
New stationary will inevitably transform you into a winner of life.
2. Planning!
To make the most out of your days, I would recommend creating to-do lists. These don’t just have to revolve around school, they may include walking the dog or going to your hobbies, but they can help your days feel less daunting. Seeing all the jobs you need to do written in an organised list can be a lot less stressful than them inducing absolute chaos in your head. They also give you the satisfaction of ticking tasks off!
For sixth formers, you may want to plan how you want to spend each free. Knowing how you need to spend your day will immediately eliminate those periods sitting around thinking ‘I have nothing to do’
3. Break it down!
Turn big tasks/goals into small steps to make them seem less overwhelming. For example, you might want to make revision notes for the entirety of Macbeth. Split your revision by scene, character and theme. You could spend half an hour summarising the events of Act 3 at one time and then an hour studying the character of Lady Macbeth at another. For science, you may wish to make revision cards for a topic a day leading up to your exams.
Top Tip – once you’ve condensed your notes, condense again! I went from A4 pages, to revision cards, to post-it-notes.
4. Declutter!
Organised space = organised mind. At the start of the new term declutter your room, your files, your notes, your random pieces of paper you forgot ever existed, to make life easier for yourself. Having a tidy space to work in parallels with your motivation to sit down and organise your academic life. Although it sounds like a massive chore, it’s sure to make you feel ready to tackle the school year.
5. Reward yourself!
While I’m NOT telling you to do an hour of revision and then treat yourself to a two-week holiday in Greece, little rewards can be great motivators for homework, revision and other assignments. This could be doing two hours of work and then watching two episodes of Friends, treating yourself to a nice lunch, meeting up with your friends in the evening. Too much work can have an adverse effect – make sure your work/life balance is encouraging you to be the most productive possible.
6. Start now!
Don’t wait for unit tests, mocks, and other exams to hit you in the face; start the year as you mean to go on. This may be spending an allocated time a night summarising your lessons, keeping on top of your revision cards and posters, wider reading within your subjects. Treat your learning as a marathon rather than a sprint to maintain motivation and your sanity. There is nothing more soul-crushing than a mountain of work with very little time.
Good luck for the next academic year!
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