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half term revision

how do i revise effectively during this half term wo burning myself out and being productive?
Reply 1
thats the million dollar question innit
Original post by hafsaaaaaaaaa
how do i revise effectively during this half term wo burning myself out and being productive?

Top tips:

Don't feel guilty for not doing revision. It won't help you, and will just make you sad and burnt out. Instead, consider it as something you can do to help yourself in the future.

Know what you need to be prepared for. Exams? Mocks? Assessments? Pull out the topics you're weakest on, and then work at them.

From that information, plan out your time a bit. Don't overdo it, just write down what you want, and maybe what days.

Don't think of revision in terms of the hours you've done. Whether you've done eleven hours a day (don't. this is a joke) or two, it doesn't matter all that matters is what revision you've done has been active and effective. Revising for hours on end won't help you keep information, you'll get unproductive soon enough.

Sleep! Rest! Go to bed at a nice time (no later than 11), and wake up similarly (I've always woken up pretty early for holidays, but probably no later than 9-10?) Resting properly is the most important thing for keeping revision in your brain. (Side note and fun fact: sleep deprivation studies have shown that sleep deprived people have a whole set of problems which stem from not having sleep, but they can't recognise them because they're too tired!)

Active and effective revision:

Regular breaks. Some people love using the pomodoro method, and the best timer for it imo is Pomofocus. Don't do more than 2 hours without a break and even that's pushing it!

Do things you don't already know. Depending on where you are in your school life, that could be a lot of content, or not much!

Put your phone away. Give it to a parent, put it in a different room, switch it off. Close messenger apps if you're using a computer (Discord, WhatsApp Web, Snapchat Web)

If you're using a computer, be mindful about what you're doing on it.

Do things which engage your brain:

Reading the book doesn't count, nor does highlighting things. I'd even argue making notes doesn't count unless you thoroughly summarise them and really change them into your own words, but avoid it.

Things which do count: Using flashcards (find someone else's. they're online. they will be, and making them take forever.), PAST PAPERS, PRACTICE QUESTIONS! Bear in mind any mocks will be made out of past paper questions! Use them to your advantage.

When you do past papers and questions, you don't have to do them in timed conditions. I do AQA Triple sciences and the papers are 2 hours each, which is forever to do without being bored. What you do have to do is mark them afterwards, which can be a bit less exhausting. Then, recover the topics you don't know! Everything you do should link back to helping you make it easier in the future.


Good luck. Take breaks. Work hard. You can do it!

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