Decrease Stress & Improve Study Habits

All students struggle in one way or another to maximise their study proficiency, whether it's by procrastinating or not revising the correct material. These minor struggles make students question their own abilities, intelligence and efforts which ultimately makes students feel inadequate in comparison to their peers. But let me tell you something, your current results do not define your potential, there are so many ways to improve your study habits and decrease the undue stress and pressure that you might be feeling from school all while improving your results in those pesky exams.

1. PLAN AHEAD

Trust me I know, planning doesn't sound like much fun to anyone, but being prepared for due dates and no longer losing unnecessary marks or getting in the teacher's bad books for forgetting an assignment, does pay off. To plan ahead efficiently you want ask each of your teachers for a copy of the study design for their subject, or alternatively look it up through your state's curriculum and assessment authority. Once you have obtained this, get a year planner or a calendar and mark all the dates of your exams, assignments, excursions and most importantly your school holiday dates, so you have something to look forward to. (I highly recommend having a symbol or sticker to mark your planner a few days before an exam for when you would like to be prepared for it by ideally) This allows you to visualise when each of your exams are, how long you have to prepare for them and which ones to prioritise studying for.

2. MAKE USE OF AVAILABLE SITES

We have the advantage of being within the age of technology, take advantage of it! Sites and apps such as Quizlet, Evernote, Forrest-Stay Focussed, are incredible resources you can use to ensure you have all the notes you need when it comes to revising. Quizlet is a site with an affiliated app which allows users to make flashcards online, you can either switch out your regular note-taking for making flashcards during class time with key terms, questions and diagrams that you would write in your usual notes, except this allows for constant revision and in some cases cuts back time-wasting by suggesting appropriate definitions for the terms you write in. In other cases you may want to use Quizlet in addition to your regular notes for a fully maximised study regime and if you find yourself stuck last minute, you can search up your subject, unit and topic to find flashcards other students have made and revise for your test that way. Evernote is an app which you can download on all your devices so no matter where you are, on or offline, your notes are synced and up to date with the last thing you typed on any device. Finally Forrest-Stay Focussed, encourages students to stay off their phones while studying for set periods of time (fantastic for the using the pomodoro technique) by planting a virtual tree but if you go outside the app before the time is up the tree dies and overtime students can view their productivity in the form or a mini forrest.

3. PRIORITISE

This one is simple but it's also where many students fall short. Don't be afraid to let some subjects matter more than others, not all subjects have to have equal weighing. Figure out which subjects matter most towards your future goals, talk to your careers advisor, even if you're not quite sure what you want to do after school they can tell you which subjects give you the highest chance in each field. Also prioritise the subjects you struggle most with, this way you have more time to ask for help and if it comes done to last minute work it will be easier for you to pump out the work you're good at. Above everything prioritise your mental health, do not sacrifice your sleep, every student knows occasionally all nighters are essential to making due dates but do not make this a regular occurrence make a conscious decision to have a healthy sleep schedule and stick to it as much as you can. Keep a healthy diet and treat yourself, treat yourself with a bit of chocolate now and then when you've accomplished a goal and if you've been studying hard don't let it be the only thing you're doing, find time to spend with your friends even if it's only a half hour over coffee.

4. ANNOTATE EVERYTHING & KEEP A QUESTION BOOK

Even if your teacher doesn't ask you to, annotate everything, your textbooks, prescribed reading material, videos you watch in class, lectures, excursions, everything. Bring a note-pad with you everywhere and be prepared to jot down any points your teacher, video or textbook is focussing on for the most time or with extra emphasis - cause these points will come up in your exams. By annotating (highlighting, drawing and taking notes in the books your reading for class) you will gain a better understanding of each topic and questions will arise. This is when your carry size question-book comes in handy, anything you're unsure of or any questions you have, write them down and see your teacher after class, or once a week to go over those questions.

5. CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Sometimes the reason we can't get anything done is because we don't have a productive workspace or we've been stuck in the same workspace for too long. Get out- Go to the library, or the park, the botanical gardens, your front porch, the living room, a cafe (why not order a coffee at the same time) but the point is change your location up, where ever you have been studying, go somewhere else. Find a new fresh space and maybe it will give you a fresh perspective and make you feel like you did something with your day by getting out. By studying in the same space everyday you will have familiarised yourself with every way to procrastinate in that area, which means by changing it up you also eliminate all known distractions. If getting outside makes you anxious or you need a strong internet connection or have some other reason why you have to change home, change which room you're studying in or rearrange/redecorate or clean your space before you start studying so you still have a fresh space for a focused environment.

By Vienna Nolan