Monday 20 April 2015

How to...Revise

Anndddd... the build up to exam season has begun ! All the revision can be super stressful and it's easy to get absorbed in it. Add on the pressure to get good grades and it's easy to forget that you need a life now, as well as the fantastic one you're promised when you get good grades. Lets face it, if you're miserable and tired and feel like there's no escape from that mountain of revision books blocking you in the house, then your revision effects wont be as positive or affective as if you're calm and happy :) So Today I thought I'd share with you some tips on how to get the most out of your revision !
  • Planning ! As boring as it sounds, it's really helpful and motivating to have a revision schedule . Knowing when you need to get up and actually start is a really good way to make sure you .. you know ? ACTUALLY get up and start ;) It's also good to know when you're going to finish partly for the motivation to keep going and partly so that you don't over work yourself ! Don't forget that you need breaks otherwise you're not going to take very much in and sitting staring at a text book for 5 hours doesn't teach you much... trust me I tried ;) I like to work by the 50/10 rule so doing 50 minutes of focused revision and then having a 10 minute break :)
  • Don't try and force yourself to do all your revision, for all your subjects in one day. Spread it out ! I like to write the individual bits of revision I need to do on a post it note and I arrange them on my bedroom wall under the days of the week and the system is really simple. If I don't do it them that day,  the post it note moves onto the next day . I soon do the work once I can visually see it piling up :) 
  •  Set up your space :) If you have a nice quiet, clean area where you can focus to revise in then it's bound to be more appealing ! It also helps to have lots of lovely new stationary ( Stationary is one of those things I get extremely over excited about ) . The one thing I can't revise without are my paper-mate revision pens. They're £4.99 a pack at W.H.Smiths but worth every penny and great for notes and mind-maps . 
  • Eat well and drink LOADS of water! It's pretty common knowledge that it's easier to learn when you're hydrated .... also .. hot chocolate helps ;) 
  •  Get some exercise. Seriously I can not express help much it will help just to get out of the house and even just go for a ten minute walk especially if you can't manage to understand something, coming back to it 10 minutes later with a clear head can make that complicated maths equation just fall into place ! Or if you need a longer break then why not go to the gym for an hour or so ! 
  • Sleep is your best friend :) There's no point panicking that you haven't done enough because a) you probably have and b) You're not going to learn very much at 2 am ! You'd be better off getting a good nights rest of about 9 hours so you can focus in the morning :)
  • Get out of the house ! Find somewhere new to work, like the library or a quiet picnic bench in the park . A change of environment might do you good . 
  • Find out what methods work for you :) Not everyone learns the same way so don't panic if your friend has 50 pages of notes because you might be amazing at learning from flashcards and those 50 pages of notes, however much they help your friend might be completely useless to you <3 My favourite methods for revision are condensing down all the information and putting them into mind-maps with all the key facts in :) 
Over all the most important thing is don't panic because that won't get you anywhere :) If you work well and with a positive attitude then I'm sure you'll do great :) Let me know your best revision tips or methods in the comments !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)
Love, Marianne xxx

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