A Bipolar's Journey To University

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Get enough sleep. There is no way your brain is going to be functioning well enough to actually answer questions properly if you're on just 3 hours of sleep per night. NO WAY. Trust me. You're not focused enough and you're tired so definitely 3 times 4 will start looking like 22. If you get as little sleep as I do you're going to fall asleep in your test and not even finish it in the first place. (I have fallen asleep in an exam before. True story.) So yes, please get adequate sleep and your mind will be alert and functioning well enough to answer questions properly.

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Write out all the variables listed in the questions before solving the problem. This. Is. Important. Writing out the variables you can work with from the question will help you figure out which formula to use faster. You'll be less likely to miss out something important or use the wrong formula when you're aware of all the variables given in the question.

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Go over your work. This is probably the most important tip here. I can't say how many times I've found an error that would have lost me marks during the time I set aside for going over my work. Try to set aside at least 20 minutes at the end of a test or exam to go over your work and check + double check for possible mistakes.

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Don't skip steps. Don't do this. No matter how well you think you know the method. Don't skip whole steps in solving because you think it's faster to do it in your head. You'll be more likely to make a mistake that way or miss something. Plus an added benefit is that in most mark schemes there are marks for the working out so putting down all the steps will maximise the amount of marks you get.

1.

Plan your day the day before: I only plan whole days. I try not to plan weeks or months because that doesn't go well with me because if I don't accomplish everything in the day I'm meant to then I get really thrown off and the whole week/month is thrown off for me. I find planning out a day is best because if I don't get something done on that day I can easily move it to the next day and it doesn't affect anything or throw me off balance because I haven't planned the next day yet.

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Prioritise: Prioritising your tasks is really important because it means you spend more time on the most important tasks and get them done first. It's an important thing to do because it means that if for any reason you couldn't get all your tasks for the day done then the most important tasks would've most definitely been done at least. You can prioritise by highlighting the tasks that you think are most important in what ever you plan your tasks in (planner, bullet journal, planner app etc)

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Figure out your most productive time: Everyone is different so everyone has different times when they're most productive. For me it's during the day time (about midday). I really can't get work done at night nor can I work properly early in the morning so tend to schedule most of my work around midday so I can accomplish more since I'm most productive at this time.

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Multitask: It's really helpful to multitask certain things. For example reading a book or doing the stuff you usually do to procrastinate on the bus/train/whatever mode of transport you use to get to school/anywhere tbh or during a lunch break or something. It'll mean you're less likely to do that stuff during times that'd be much better used for studying and it allows you to be super productive for not just school related stuff but everything in your life. Utilising your free time properly is key.

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Get rid of all temptations: It is very tempting to check TSR, twitter and snapchat whilst I'm studying so a way of helping myself is logging out of my accounts and hiding the apps (on an iPhone you can do this by creating one of those app box thingies, filling it with a bunch of apps (nine) and then putting your tempting apps in it as well because it'll only display the first nine apps in that group so the offending apps are out of sight). I also put my phone on do not disturb mode (another iPhone thing and I think if you're on an android you can use the silent option) so I don't get distracted by shiny new notifications. In extreme cases of TSR addiction that's keeping you from studying you can block the website on your browser and chrome has got loads of site blocker extensions to choose from.

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Stop making excuses: I am always looking for an excuse to get out of studying. This is a bad habit and needs to stop. I keep going 'oh I'll wait for the right moment when my brain is completely ready and motivated'. Nope. Don't make excuses. Start the work you're meant to start and try to finish it efficiently then you can get back to what it was you were doing. In a way, make studying an excuse for not doing other things. Like 'okay I will argue with these TSR trolls once Im done revising with maths'. That'll change your mentality about it.

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Make up your own deadline: By establishing your own deadline, you set yourself a time frame to finish something in. This pushes you to actually do the work in that amount of time you've set for yourself.

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Have good time management skills: When you manage your time properly you'll be more self disciplined. Refer to my post on time management to see how to work on that