some tips for back to school!
monday is back to school (or at least for students in england, it is) so guess what that means? time for more back to school related posts! i’m starting it off with some basic tips that have helped me, and that will help me when i finally start taking my own advice…
1. quizlet. just… quizlet. flashcards are brilliant inventions, right? but surely always-accessible, no-space-taking-up, environment-saving flashcards sound SO much better? well, my friends, let me introduce you to quizlet. i’ve had it on my phone since the start of year nine (just over a year ago) and let me tell you, it saved my grades. i’d never been a big flashcard user before then, but what i love about the app is that it’s on your phone so you can access it wherever you are, without anybody seeing you and thinking “oh shit she’s cramming, she is NOT prepared”… also, bonus point for looking extra prepared BECAUSE you have a revision app!
2. group study sessions. i recently found a new friend group, and these people are smart and somewhat motivated, unlike my old friends, which means that during lunch breaks before an exam we’re all in, we can have a group study session. these are so super helpful because you get to see other people’s notes and how they define things (when defining things i tend to leave out words, but then when i see how others have written it, i realise i probably need those words, for example), and hear an explanation from somebody other than your teacher, because no matter how much you say “sir/miss, i don’t understand”, they’re limited in how they can explain it, so if somebody entirely different does it, it offers a whole lot more help.
3. ask for help. this is one i’m going to have to start following because i am a very anxious human and i HATE putting my hand up, so quit rolling your eyes and saying “you don’t understand, carrie! i CAN’T do it!” i know it’s fucking hard, but i’ve built good relationships with some of my teachers which means i’m actually brave enough to ask for help… if you just can’t put up your hand, talk to the person next to you and be friendly, so if you need help, they’re willing to give it instead of looking at you like you’re a crazy person for daring to talk to them (i’ve been there… it doesn’t help my social anxiety :/)
4. vary your revision. by this i mean write your notes out in detail, then write more condensed versions and aim to take up ¾ or ½ of the space you took up with the first set of notes, make mindmaps, make flashcards (refer back to point 1), come up with cutesy diagrams (in gcse geography last year, i came up with two drawings of volcanoes called “angry bobby” and “happy bobby” to remember composite and shield volcanoes, and my friends ended up remembering bobby as well and it may or may not have saved their grades…. sorry, i’ll stop boasting now…)
5. get more sleep. this was a goal of mine last year and i sort of failed. it depends on each person because everybody’s bodies need different things (don’t read this and think, “i get four hours sleep and i’m coping” because no, you’re not, you’re a zombie and you yawn all the time and your skin is probably not doing so great and you’re more sensitive, you need more sleep. seriously. not optional. get your ass in bed.)but i personally need 8-10 hours to function at my best. i’ve also figured out that setting an alarm half an hour before my other alarms helps wake me up, and i’ll be out of bed after hitting snooze once or twice instead of my usual fifteen… my sleep routine is as follows: 9:30-10pm - get in bed and read/check social media (this is a bad habit) then sleep. then at 5.30am, a single alarm will go off. i turn it off and go back into a light sleep that is still effective and restful without sending me straight back to dreamland. then at 6am, my alarm will go off, and a backup alarm at 6.05am and 6.10am, though i don’t usually need that last one.
it’s important you find out what sleeping pattern suits you best and leaves you most energised, because not only will this stop you from being a zombie all the time, it will help you to be healthier, fight off illnesses a little better, retain information better and be more motivated to get stuff done.
6. have termly goals. i am a massive journal-hoarder, and towards the end of last term i started a “wellness journal”, which i’ll get into more in the next tip. anyway, i’ve been writing end-of-term reviews and new-term-goals for all of this year, and now i’m doing them in this journal. it’s really bloody helpful and keeps you motivated, and whenever you feel like poop, dig out your term goals and read it. feel the energy and enthusiasm and hope you had when writing that, and realise that you, sir (or ma’am, or whatever you want to be called - it’s 2018, come on), have goals to complete and you best get doing them.
7. keep a wellness journal. this is something i came up with, but people have definitely done it before… so, i sort of came up with it. i thought of it, then found out it was already probably a thing… anyway. this journal is your safe space. any and all entries in this journal are positive and a place of solace for you when you need that comfort and guidance. in this journal you can include: self-care routines, entries about topics such as productivity, mental health, wellbeing, studying, friendships, self love, eating,coping with mental illness… the list goes on. you may also include reminders and plans for what to do when you feel like poop, because when i’m in that situation i feel absolutely helpless and need somebody to tell me what i need to do, so write a plan. for example.
“hey, you don’t feel so good. that’s okay, that happens. before i tell you what to do, take a deep breath. you’re okay. you’re gonna be fine. you always wind up fine.
- if you’re flopped on your bed right now, get up. if you’re slumped on the floor in your room, get up. wherever you are in the house, get up and head to your room. make your bed as comfy as possible - fluff the pillows, grab extra cushions from the living room (and that super nice fluffy blanket) and make your bed as lovely and squishy as possible. don’t get into it, just prepare it.
- head to the kitchen and make yourself a cup of tea. take your time. there’s no rush. this is your time.
- grab a good book and wrap up in bed with your tea. or, if you need to cry, put the tea down a second and have a good, long cry.”
and so on, and so on. what you just read is exactly the kind of thing i would write. i need to be as gentle as i can, because that’s what i need when i’m laying in bed or slumped on the floor in a pool of my own snotty tears.
8. remember to take breaks, kid! jesus, you can’t expect yourself to work 24/7, can you? you’re not a machine, you’re a human and you HAVE A LIMIT. don’t push it, it’s not healthy.
9. get yourself a little plant such as a cactus or succulent to keep on your desk as a study buddy. it’s odd how comforting a tiny plant can be, but i have three cacti on my desk (leonard, miguel and humphrey) and there they are, cheering me on, looking all happy and perky and healthy… how could anybody be sad when there are cacti as happy as that right beside you??? (i sound completely insane… there’s no way to even come back from that….)
10. spend time with friends or family. the family one is a big one for me, because i spend so much time holed away in my room, annoyed at everybody and getting mad if i get asked to do the simplest thing, which is dumb. so now every evening i make sure to go downstairs, even just for a bit. usually, since my parents sit in the living room and come in and out of the kitchen while they make dinner late and my mum makes her lunch for the next day, i make a cup of tea and sit on the windowsill in the kitchen and chat to them as they come and go, which means i get to see and spend some time with them while still getting to be in my own company. also, talk to your friends. i have a groupchat with mine and although everybody’s slowly left it, it was good for a while… heh… anyway, make sure you text your damn friends and check up on them and like their posts and send them stuff that made you think of them… just be nice and remind them that you have insane amounts of love for them :)
that’s all for the first part of my back to school series (which will flop… future carrie, don’t abandon this, you have now tied yourself to this “series”… you have to finish it) which i will be continuing into the new term as much as i can in an attempt to restore my account which is slowly dying…
(p.s. if you have any questions or want advice, my askbox is always open!)
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