Top 3 Tips for AS/A Levels
1. Time Management
If you’ve got yourself 3 or 4 or (as moronically as I did) 5, time management is key.
Set up some sort of schedule that you can REALISTICALLY follow (remember never to overexert yourself, you aren’t going to study 8 hours a day on top of school luv) and follow that schedule religiously!
This was my afterschool schedule:
16.00 - 16.30 wash up
16.30 - 17.30 nap
17.30 - 18.30 jogging + shower
18.30 - 19.30 dinner
19.30 - 23.30 study
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!!! Don’t forget to walk around every now and then, and give yourself a half-day on Sunday for minimal burnout risk. :)
2. Train for NO PRETTY NOTES
I know, to all the very aesthetic ladies (or lads) out there, this may sound blasphemous, but seriously it’s a waste of time!
Key Word: Train.
I too fell for the temptation to make all my notes look a specific way, but then you become fixated on the way the notes look rather than the content.
Whenever you can, during class, or on your own, take notes with keywords. Don’t fixate on how they look and keep your eyes on the board. Anything you want to look back on write it down: any questions, any definitions, any key details.
Don’t take notes on content, you can always read the book it’s less time consuming that way. With that said, you should always TRY to read your books before class (or briefly skim), try to ask your teacher ahead of time what they plan to teach. This will make sure your focus is on the lecture itself rather than noting down every word and not knowing what information is most valuable.
3. CONSISTENCY is KEY
Obviously, it is.
I suffered from senioritis and began falling behind on classes. It’s better to do 4 hours of study a day, instead of a week of all-nighters, believe me, I know.
Lectures (especially online ones) are definitely going to be tiring, so make sure to really use your in-between breaks to TAKE A BREAK.
Put your phone away, and as many possible distractions. If you begin to lapse, take a break, it’s fine, as long as you come back ready to do quality work.
These are your last 2 years before uni applications, you’ve got to make every effort count.
And, as I said with the first tip, take a half-day on Sunday. It’s better to take a proper day off (filling yourself with mind-numbing video games) than inconsistencies during the times that matter most.