The Easter holidays means time to revise if you are in Year 11 or Year 13. Here are just a few tips to help when thinking about how to manage time and make your revision effective:
1.Make a Timetable
Many of us will know the joys of spending longer on writing and colour coding our revision timetable than actually doing any revision. However, a timetable is an excellent place to start. Basically, you look at how many days there are between now and the exams, and plan each day by writing down how you are going to spend your time. Include free time and any activities, to make sure you have a realistic idea of how much time you have each day. Overwhelmed? Just plan one week at a time. Be realistic; you might be panicking and think that of course you can squeeze in five hours of revision a day for four weeks, but the truth is you won't, and you are just setting yourself up for failure. It is much better to make your timetable achievable, so that you an actually stick to it. My Study Life is a great app you can use to organise your time. https://www.mystudylife.com/
2. Use the Pomodoro Technique
Pomodoro is the Italian for tomato. Francesco Cirillo was an Italian who realised that he learnt better if he broke his time down into short chunks of 25 minutes, and he timed himself using a tomato shaped timer. The idea is to break your revision time down into chunks that suit you, from fifteen minutes to half an hour, and take a short five minute break when you finish a chunk. A break means moving away from where you are working and doing something else, like walking around, playing with your dog or making a cup of tea. Something that won't distract you so much that you don't get back to work.
3. Manage Distractions Ahead of Time
We are always paying attention to something, but it isn't always the task at hand. it is so easy to get sucked in to something that is more fun and enjoyable than revision, and before you know it you have spent all of your time looking at your phone instead of getting your work done. If you know this is going to happen, you can stop it. Give your phone to a parent. Switch your phone off completely and put it in a different room. If you are working on an iPad or Chromebook, use your screentime settings to block apps during your revision time. Work out what your biggest distraction is, and take some action to manage it. Maybe even delete the whole app for the weeks running up to your exams. Your future self will thank you.
4. Take Care of Yourself
Obvious as it sounds, are brains are part of our bodies and need to be looked after. Eating healthily, exercising, taking time to relax and a good night's sleep are all essential for our brains to be working at their best. Our emotions can really effect our ability to concentrate and learn. If you are feeling anxious, stressed or frustrated it is really important to talk to someone about how you are feeling. You can talk to a friend, relative, teacher or go online and use The Mix, a forum for young people. https://www.themix.org.uk/
5. Understand Your Motivation
Why do you want to revise? If you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, then it will be easier to stay motivated and to stay focused. Write down your goals on post-its, and stick them around your room. For example, 'I am going to get a 5 in English so I can get on to the course I want to do'. Another really great way of staying motivated is by using visualisation. Close your eyes and slow down your breathing, breathing in through your nose for a count of 4 and breath out through your mouth for a count of 5. Work through your
body from your feet up, noticing each part of your body and relaxing yourself. Now picture yourself on the day the results come out. Where are you? What can you see and hear around you? How are you feeling? Picture seeing the results. You have got the results you needed and wanted. How do you feel? Now, slowly bring yourself back to the room. This is how you want to feel in the future, and you need to revise to get there.
There are loads of really helpful revision tips on https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ If you struggle to get started, read https://www.livewelllearnwell.co.uk/post/_goal
