HOLIDAY STUDY ROUTINE || HOW TO GET 5-6 HOURS OF STUDYING DONE PER DAY WITHOUT BURNING OUT
Hey guys! I thought I’d share what I have found to be the most effective way to get loads and loads of studying/revision done during your holiday time without burning out, and I’m going to run it through step by step below, as well as give you some general advice about studying during holidays (this also applies to weekends if you really need to get loads of revision done).
Figure out your overall routine
You have to remember that you do actually have a holiday when you’re working over Easter, and so it’s super important to take breaks from studying from time to time, especially because technically you have every day off. I know some people who will work during the week and then take the weekends off, but I prefer to run my study routine in a cycle so that my time is super structured and I’m more encouraged to stick to it. I’m doing four subjects, so I will do four days of revision (one day per subject) and then take a day off where I really don’t do anything work-related, where I normally read or exercise or binge-watch Netflix (it’s a holiday, so what can you do?). If it’s easy for you to split your subjects up into a cycle with a single day break, I highly recommend it as running out of steam is less likely this way.
Figure out what you will study every day
If you know how much ground you can cover in a day, go ahead and plan your whole holiday (or what is remaining of your holiday) with what content you will cover each day, so you don’t aimlessly flounder around. If you don’t know how much you can do, then set yourself what you know will be too much for a day, and then go through the day and see how much you did; you can then go on and plan the rest of your holiday accordingly. This way, you won’t be stuck not knowing where to begin (I recommend using the syllabus/specification to do so).
Make sure your breaks are breaks!
I honestly can’t stress this enough because if you let your work seep into your breaks, even if it’s one piece of work on a day off, you won’t be reaping the full benefits of the break. If you really really can’t tear yourself away from your work during your breaks, then try doing something less directly related to the core of the subject, like reading around the subject, or listening to a podcast in a similar but not identical field, as they won’t engage your brain as much as hardcore revision and you might learn something new! If I do work on a break day, I normally sleep in and then do some admin work like preparing my opera repertoire for the upcoming concert season and other equally as fascinating things. I would also definitely be sociable, and meet up with friends or do something with your family, so that you don’t get sucked into the void of studying.
Figure out your daily timetable
Like with the overall routine, this needs to be padded out with breaks. The reality of the situation is that you can’t work for five hours straight- it’s not sustainable. I normally work over three sessions, with the second session split into two so I can eat lunch, and they run from 9am to 11am, 11:30 to 3pm (with an hour between 12:30 and 1:30) and 3pm to 5pm. Absolutely no work is done in the breaks, and no work before or after 9-5 (although if you need to do some non-revision work you can stick an hour on somewhere). These sessions are also split using the Pomodoro Method which means bursts of 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break, and then a half-hour break after four of these bursts. If you want to study huge amounts every day, you need to break it up so that you don’t burn out either every day or after a couple days of hardcore revision.
Eat properly and exercise
This is something that honestly gets overlooked so much but is a staple of studying. Make sure you’re eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, and make sure your meals are all a balance of fruit, clean protein, complex carbs, and fats (I’m going to do a studying recipes thing later on). If you can, I recommend taking one multivitamin and a fish oil tablet every day, just so that you feel alert and ready to work all day. Eating simple carbs and sugars is super tempting, but I would reserve that for the evening if you must, as after 5pm you deserve a reward for working so hard, and you don’t need loads of energy as you won’t be working. Exercising is also important, as you will find that your brain will be working better: I like to go on runs on my break days, and do 10 minute strength exercises like sit-ups and squats, etc. on days when I have a lot of work (I promise it works I’m not a superfan of exercise but it’s worth it because you can’t sit at your desk all day without doing anything in between).
Sleep!
Get a good amount of sleep per night otherwise your brain will not be at optimal functioning the next day- if it’s hard to fall asleep early-ish (I normally go to bed at 10:30/11 so it’s not horrifically late), then take a melatonin tablet half an hour before you go to bed, turn off your phone and laptop after 9:30, and do some reading (you’ll also feel more productive).
Airplane mode and do not disturb
Unlike a lot of other studyblrs, I’m not advocating a complete social media switch-off when you need to revise. Use your phone to time your 25 minute study sessions, but put it on do not disturb as well as airplane mode without wifi turned on. That way, you won’t be distracted by incoming notifications. If possible, turn off notifications for your apps, and check them when you choose rather than when you get a ping. I like to check my apps and messages when I have my five-minute breaks in between sessions because it’s a quick way of engaging with anything apart from work.
Keep your goals in mind
It’s easy to get disheartened and demoralised when you feel like you’re wading into endless work. I keep a post-it note with my studying goals (grades/marks/etc) on the window next to my desk so I can keep in mind what I’m aiming for, which gives me the motivation to keep going. I’m going to write a separate post about setting and maintaining reasonable goals, but having your goals visible helps.
Consider your progress
If you really feel like you’re flagging and your goals for the future are too out-of-reach, then take a moment and look back to where you were at the beginning, because you will always have made some progress, no matter how much. This should be a kick towards where you need to go.
Don’t panic if you slip up
If you don’t do as much as you were hoping, or you don’t do anything at all one session or one day, then don’t worry! Figure out what you still need to do, and slot it in elsewhere (as long as it’s not in a break), normally meaning one weekend when you get back. You can’t let one slip-up define the rest of your study time- get back on the horse, and keep going, because you’re totally capable!!
I hope this helped at least some of you, and if you have any questions or suggestions for future posts (or you just want to chat) DM me! I’m very active on Tumblr messenger (but only after 5pm GMT, for reasons made evident above). ♥
