No motivation and last minute revision help!!

Please help me! I am a highly ambitious person, I would like to go to oxford to do PPE and go on to work for the FCO.
But I have no motivation to revise or even do homework. I always procrastinate until the last minute and would rather plan my life out than actually work for it!
I am writing this a day before my History GCSE which i have done no revision for!

Two issues : - How to do last minute revision (although undesirable)
* * * * * * * * * - How to fix my motivation and procrastination*

Reply 1

teensoton

Motivation is where your mental strength comes in. The way I get motivated is I think about the fact that I can procrastinate and watch as many tv shows as I want when the exams are over. You have many weeks after exams. You want to work as hard as you can so that your results reflect your ability. There is rarely a second chance.

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Reply 2

rgray

Ok, first off, its not too late! You can still do well in that history exam. I know sometimes it feels impossible to revise but you simply have to do it. Take regular breaks and reward yourself after you have done certain tasks (not a time limit where you might just procrastinate). If you find yourself panicking take a break and come back to it because you will take far more in when relaxed. Turn off your computer, phone and put anything out of sight that might distract you - your friends can wait until tomorrow!

Make sure you have a snack and drink before you start revision so no excuses 5 mins in about not being able to concentrate when hungry etc!

Just remember, you can do this, good luck with the exam tomorrow :smile:

Reply 3

Swanbow

Best advice is to go through your textbook or notes and take key points down. Revise these until they stick in memory, and hopefully as you write the examine it will help bring forward all you remember from class. Second, take some water with you into the exam. It is statistically proven that taking water and have a regular drink during an exam helps you get a better grade. Aside from you might need a dose of lady luck, but I'm sure you'll do fine. And if worst comes to worst a bad grade at GCSE isn't exactly the end of the world.

Reply 4

Proreginaquodterra

Oh! Oh! Oh!
Which exam board are you doing? :smile:

The way I stump procrastination is to turn whatever I'm procrastinating into revision-
So if I procrastinate by going on facebook and chatting to friends. I chat to friends who are doing the exam and revise together online :biggrin:

Likewise if I'm blogging or on tumblr etc. I change the translation settings on Chrome to French- and BAM French revision :wink:

Motivation is hard to force. You will either want to do something because you enjoy it, or you won't.

I'm actually procrastinating my History revision right now... If you've studied the same area as me I'd be happy to talk to you about History/ revise with you :biggrin:

(I've studied Germany 1918-1945 and Home Front, Liberal reforms etc.)

Reply 5

teensoton

I revised for history gcse over two evenings and got an A overall, so it is achievable. What you need to do is make sure that you have an understanding of every event that occurred, no matter what events you are studying. You cannot skip certain things because you think it will not come up. They can ask about anything. 1.

1.Get some pieces of paper and list all the seperate things that occurred in the time periods that you are studying.

2. Summarise each event that occurred.

3. This is now your guide. Make sure you learnt it off by heart in any way possible.

4. The act of trying to summarise your notes into your own words, in-itself will aid you remember a lot.

Best of luck

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Reply 6

tomaird

Think about the consequences of failing the exam and how bad you'll fell if you do.

Don't let yourself get into a situation where you regret not doing more work earlier.

Don't overwork yourself either - everything in moderation.

Avoid any distractions eg. facebook, youtube, the student room!

Try and mix it up - revise in new ways or in new places or with new people

Also, studying with friends or other groups of people that you can have fun with can make studying a lot more enjoyable

Or just get someone to yell at you any time they see you not working

Reply 7

▀▀▒=(◕ ‿ ◕)=▒r▀▀

Original post by Kanemcl

Ambitious but no motivation...vain :frown:

What a nice paradox
Well here is the solution.
Hope it helps...
Hope it's not too late

Reply 8

Kanemcl

Thanks guys, I got an A in it, a low A though so I think I'm repeating this year. I'll revise too lol!

Reply 9

ansie

hi im just asking is watching history videos, before the exam, a good source of revision, because you see i only have less than two days before my exam, and i don't have time to write notes, and do revision cards etc, and i believe if i watch a documentary, and note key points, ill understand more, and quicker to digest the content. do you think this is effective?

Reply 10

Kanemcl

I think looking over the content and doing past paper questions is the most time-efficient way to revise. It's helps you learn quickly and after all it is your answer being marked on, not your actual knowledge; exam technique goes a long way in marks.