The comeback to school serie : #3 study tips habits techniques and methods that saved my life
MAPPING OUT YOUR SCHOOL YEAR FOR BETTER FOCUS AND ORGANIZATION
The first thing I recommend is mapping out your school year early on , not necessarily on the first day, but as soon as possible. I personally did mine in October, and it still made a huge difference in term of ORGANIZATION. I simply took my journal and laid out all the key details of the year: how many semesters I have, the number of tests or quizzes, my exam dates, and the breaks in between. This gives you a clear overview and makes you feel more organized. For example, I have two semesters with four exams each, about five breaks of around seven days, and my national exam on June 6. I also listed all 11 of my subjects and prioritized them, deciding which ones require the most focus and which are less demanding. Having this visual roadmap helps you see the big picture, stay on track, and manage your time better throughout the year.
STUDY FOR YOUR EXAMS SMARTLY
study for your exams smartly by starting your preparation a BIT earlier than most people do, especially if you’re in your junior/ senior year. Breaks are the perfect opportunity to get ahead. If you have competitive or content-heavy subjects like math, history, philosophy, or physics .. use that time to your advantage. I’m not saying don’t rest; take two or three full days to relax but then start studying. For example if your break is seven days or more , spend the remaining days focusing on these challenging subjects while the material is still fresh and you’re still actively learning them in class. This approach is especially IMPORTANT for subjects you feel less confident in tackling them during breaks can significantly boost your understanding and confidence before exams.
Waking up early can sound like one of those “aesthetic” study habits you see online, but for me it became moooore of a necessity than a trend. I’m a morning person but not really in an academic way I used to wake up early just to get ready . That changed in junior year when I had a lot of work and a packed schedule. My last class ended at 6:30 p.m., and by the time I got home, helped my mom, and sometimes went to my Chinese classes, it could be 11 p.m. .. leaving me no time to finish my homework or revise or even to have a good sleep . That’s why I started waking up early, especially during breaks, to get things done. I wake up for Fajr prayer, so I started using the time afterward around 5 a.m. to study. Even if you’re not a morning person, try waking up just one hour earlier than usual, freshen up, make some coffee, and sit down to work. You’ll find that it saves you so so so much time, helps you catch up on homework or revision, and leaves you feeling more active and prepared for the day ahead.
Stay away from social media I know you’ve probably heard this a million times, but if you keep scrolling instead of doing your homework or studying, you’re just wasting so much time. Later you’ll regret it and wish you could go back well it will be so late . If you’re someone who respects your own goals, you’ll recognize when social media is stealing your time and stop using it until you’re free. Especially during exam periods or when your schedule is packed, you need to pause or even delete your apps. If you can’t control it deleting them is the BEST CHOICE . Negative energy and distractions from social media only hold you back U don’t realize how much time you can save to develop good habits and learn new things if you put your phone down. Don’t let social media convince you that education isn’t important or that certain subjects are “stupid.” Those videos or posts that make you feel “relatable” are just excuses. If you notice it’s affecting you negatively stop pooks and quit scrolling. "Nah I can't" giiiirl u are in control of your phone not the other way around 🙏🏻😔 .
I’m not anti-technology I actually support AI because it’s an amazing tool that can help a lot in daily life. But when it comes to schoolwork, stop depending on it too much. If you use AI to write your essays, solve math problems, or do your homework for you, your brain won’t develop the skills it needs. It’s much better to struggle with the concepts, ask your teacher questions, watch YouTube tutorials, or read articles to understand the material yourself. Trust me, relying on AI “just one time” to save time will quickly turn into a habit. Then when exam day comes you’ll be faced with questions you’ve never seen before and feel completely lost.
But when should you use AI? AI is great for things like summarizing , understanding , explaining difficult concepts. For example, in my philosophy class, we have each lesson with up eight theses , each with about three pages of dense material. Sometimes I don’t fully understand parts of it and there isn’t much explanation available on YouTube. Googling philosophy concepts is so confusing too cuz we study it in Arabic and it's raare to found a well explained articles so I use AI to help me research and break down those tough ideas to get a better grasp. But writing essays or doing homework with AI noooooo way and I strongly advise you not to either again pleaaaase If you rely on AI you will hurt ur academic growth in the long run.
I don’t know about you but if you study in groups and end up just gossiping or doing everything except studying it’s better to stop. In my opinion studying alone is more effective because you know exactly what you need to do there is no distractions no judgement , and you can stay fully focused. Being alone helps you develop better concentration and you can even talk to yourself which isn’t crazy !!! Sometimes I find myself rereading material or connecting ideas out loud and it really helps me memorize and understand better.
THE 80/20 RULE (my version)
this rule I follow for absolute time management, especially on weekends or during breaks when I have a lot to study like before exams (I've already talked abt it in my study mistakes blog) . so in my last two weeks of junior year, I came up with my own version of the 80/20 rule for studying. Basically I wake up early and spend about 80% of my study time in a day focusing deeply on one main subject especially the one I feel the least confident in. For example, if I start at 7 AM, I’ll keep working on that subject (with breaks for eating, stretching, etc.) until around 3 PM making sure I really understand it. Then I’ll rest until about 5 PM and spend the remaining 20% of the day studying another subject for about an hour and a half or 2h just to make some progress on it and do some past papers . The next day, I swap them: the subject I only studied for 20% the day before becomes my main focus for 80%, and I rotate like that. It works because I used to get stuck not knowing what to study, but this keeps me organized. And when I say “study deeply,” I mean it head down, papers out, fully focused !!
Again the Pomodoro is a TECHNIQUE not a METHOD so it really works but the thing if you’re someone who have a lot to study or u have a lot of homework but sometimes feels unmotivated or tired this can help you get back on track. All you have to do is grab a paper and split your time into blocks of 25 minutes. For example, if you plan to study for two or three hours, break it down into those 25-minute or 30min chunks and after each block, mark it off. You’ll feel like you’re going with the flow, and before you know it, you’ve been studying for way longer than you thought. There’s actually a YouTube channel called the POMODORO CAT that posts Pomodoro timers for two or three hours it’s so good and satisfying cuz personally stopped listening to music while studying and instead I either listen to background noises or nothing at all. Music can be nice but when you need to memorize something or doing some deep work it’s better to cut it out. Trust me you’ll see way more progress when you do especially during focused study sessions cuz u need to focus focus focus in what u are doing not what u are listening .
ACTIVE RECALL AND SPACE REPETITION
What really saved my academic life is active recall and spaced repetition as a humanities and literature student . So my memory was dead for 4y like from 7th grade until the end of 10th grade, I didn't try to memorize anything. I’d just go to class, barely understand, do the minimum to pass, and that’s it cuz I was in a very long a$$ depressive episode 🙏🏻
Then in 11th grade it hit me that no one’s gonna save me. The lessons were so long and hard and I was like there’s no way I’ll memorize all of this. But then I found out about these two techniques, and my brain literally started working again
Active recall can be done in many techniques listening, speaking, writing but I do writing active recall. For example with philosophy again (which is like 90% memorizing long lessons), what I do is in my school we don’t take notes in class teachers even hate it so you end up with these huge texts to study. When I get home, I don’t study the same day instead, I revise the lessons weeks before the exam as I said u focus on heavy subjects and take ur time.
ॱ ₊ . Understand the lesson first. If I don’t, I’ll ask my teacher, search YouTube, or even ask AI until it clicks.
ॱ ₊ . Reform it in my own words so I can explain it like I’m teaching it.
ॱ ₊ . Close the book and write from memory what I remember from that paragraph. Then I check, see what I missed, and repeat until I get it all right.
After that, I move to spaced repetition starting early and reviewing in intervals the next day, 3–4 days later, a week later, etc until it's exam day !
Recall it again and again until it sticks w space repetition.
If you only do active recall once and never see it again u will forget it ofc , fhat’s why spaced repetition is key. U can do this for almost all subjects philosophy, history, geography, biology or for anything that need to be memorized. Anytime u feel like u are wasting time just get up, sit at ur desk, and review with spaced repetition. And over time it just stays in ur head for a long period of time in ur long term memory.
I used to never care about this tip, but trust me it matters. Having a clean environment changes everything. When you wake up in the morning or want to take a break from studying, just take a few minutes to clean up. Wipe your desk, organize your shelves, and throw away garbage or things you don’t use anymore. If you have old textbooks or school materials you don’t need, donate them, give them to someone in a lower grade, or pass them on to people who sell second-hand books. Only keep what you actually need on your desk. If you study with a tablet or laptop, keep them clean too, and remove distractions delete social media apps or anything that will tempt you during study time.
Have a fixed spot for your stationery and most important books so they’re always right in front of you. That way, every time you see them, you’re reminded you have work to do. And here’s the trick before going to bed, set your books out on your desk for the next day. That way, when you wake up whether it’s a weekday or weekend you won’t waste time deciding what to study. You’ll see the books and remember the promise you made to yourself. u know that random burst of motivation you sometimes get late at night? Use it to set up your space so tomorrow’s you has no excuses.
Like I said I’m not here to promote hustle culture but you do need a strict routine sometimes. There are days when you feel really behind, and that’s when you need to get it together. Build a routine that works for you. Don’t copy someone else’s because everyone has a different mindset and a different way of thinking.
Your routine could be a full day of studying, a focused week, or a set schedule after school. For example, if you finish ur school day early, start studying right after you get home . When you come back from school, avoid scrolling endlessly hold yourself accountable, because no one else will. Especially when it comes to academics you’re the only one who can make sure the work gets done. If social media is a distraction and for exemple idk u can't deleted ext setvat leaaast a timer. Give yourself 30 minutes max after school then get up and go straight to your desk and loooock in . Sometimes you have to push yourself even when you’re not motivated that’s where discipline comes in. Aim for at least 2–3 strict study days a week. When you’re falling behind, you can’t afford to wait for motivation. Sometimes u just have to be firm with yourself.
I’ll make another blog about it in this back-to-school series,l but for now I’ll go through it really quickly. Try to pamper yourself at least every Sunday . always find those gaps in your week or school year where you can take care of yourself. During your breaks, of course I’m not saying you should study the whole break. Take rest, relax, and take care of yourself. When you take a study break actually TAKE IT: don’t just scroll endlessly, overthink, or do something unhelpful. Do something that really nourishes you. Go out shopping, journal, hang out with friends just change your environment from time to time. And always remembe this is a journey nobody’s perfect .
