The 'I really need to get my life together' GCSE blog

Scroll to see replies

sunday, 5th november 2017
days until mocks: 22
crisis count: 2

so, it's been a while. (two days, meghan, you've literally only been gone two days)
yesterday i did, well, nothing.
And today i did, well, something. Sort of.

This was today's grand to-do list:

This was today's less grand accomplishment list:

geography:
completed my homework which was due tomorrow. I only had to make corrections on last week's homework, but i did pretty well on last week's exam questions so there wasn't a whole lot to do.
english:
completed homework on a paragraph about conflict in war photography, which, get this, isn't due tomorrow. Yeah, that's right, meghan did homework before the due date. I know, i know, i really have my life together.
maths:
i'm afraid the productivity ends here. I did one question of my maths homework and the got distracted messing around on guitar. Not my finest hour, but it's nothing new.

In other news, i tidied my room today so i know i'm going to have my act together for tomorrow evening because i always seem to be 143% more productive when my bedroom's tidy. I guess that's pretty useful seeing as tomorrow is the first day of meghan officially gets her life together: Revision timetable edition, in which she fails to follow a timetable for all of one day, let alone three weeks. I'm pretty sure i've been overambitious (what's new), but just call me macbeth. Yeah, i went there.
On another note, i finally caved and splashed out on a mygcsescience subscription, which i'm already lowkey regretting. I'm more buzzed for all the worksheets rather than the videos, to be honest, but i'll let y'all know how that goes.

That's all for this weekend, i guess.

Also, big thanks to @albaba for dragging me kicking and screaming into the pit of productivity because guess who's got a 2 day streak on duolingo? This gal.

Yes I'm so proud, keep at it pal.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 81

sadforsadboys

My ICT teacher mentioned about mock exams today and that the school don’t even know when they are.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reply 82

ryukk

Original post by troubletracking

Hello, my name is Meghan, I'm a mess but very good at hiding it, I like to ramble (but I'm sure you’ll find that out in due time anyway) and, as the title says, I need to get my life together.

Welcome to my GYG blog. You’re probably here because you’re procrastinating revising. So am I.

So recently, I've been having an all time low on the motivation front, so what’s going to motivate me to get off my laptop and study? You guessed it, nothing less than public humiliation.

Mocks are just around the corner and, although I always have the motivation to revise when I actually need to, I always struggle to get it done just to get ahead. I've felt like I've been struggling stay afloat during the first two months of year eleven, so now is the perfect time to get into a good routine so it’s not such a shock in February.I was supposed to make year 9 and 10 flashcards over summer, but whelp that never happened and I'm also supposed to be making year 11 flashcards as I go, but whelp that’s not happening either.

So, uh, the basics I guess

The grades:

Spoiler

The mocks:

Spoiler

Yeah, I know, overambitious much. This time last year I wanted 9 9s, but all my optimism has crashed and burned since September, so we’re being a bit more realistic now. Okay, maybe I lowkey want all 8s, but I'm just trying to keep my expectations fairly low so I'm not inevitably disappointed on results day. Honestly, I'm just going to try and aim for as many 9s and not try and pinpoint my exact grades (she says, pinpointing her exact grades).

To be frank, a solid 73% of this blog will be me insulting maths. And physics. Definitely physics.

Pointless information about me:

Spoiler

I’m about 61% nervous, 32% excited and 17% sure I won’t meet my maths target, but, hey, let’s do this!

WOW! I feel like were bffs and could get along! :biggrin:

Reply 83

sadforsadboys

Pro tip - if you want to motivate yourself, I’ve seen people taking pictures of their work throughout the year and then at the end you can see all the effort you put in.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reply 84

Toastiekid

Original post by AlbabA

Tbh that's an achievement and a half on a Friday - I was too tired to do anything other than make a to do list :P

P. S. I've made a group on DL so use the group code BQFAKE :smile:

Is the Duolingo group for French?
I know, I'm scraping in but..can I join? :smile:

gotta get a 7/8 to do French A-level!

Reply 85

Le Beb

Original post by Toastiekid

Is the Duolingo group for French?
I know, I'm scraping in but..can I join? :smile:

gotta get a 7/8 to do French A-level!

Of course!! The more the merrier :smile:

And same here, really hoping for an 8😖

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 86

Toastiekid

Original post by AlbabA

Of course!! The more the merrier :smile:

And same here, really hoping for an 8😖

I'll join (if I remember) tomorrow.
Have you tried memrise? It's pretty cool as when you learn a word you grow like a tree with your knowledge.
Good luck getting an eight!(or higher!)

Reply 87

Le Beb

Original post by Toastiekid

I'll join (if I remember) tomorrow.
Have you tried memrise? It's pretty cool as when you learn a word you grow like a tree with your knowledge.
Good luck getting an eight!(or higher!)

Ah I remember using it once or twice but might check it out some more if you think it's any good.
Thank you, and to you :smile:

Reply 88

ismailali

never let piece of paper decide what you want to do in the future keep working hard.

Reply 89

troubletracking

Monday, 6th November 2017
Days until mocks: 21
Crisis count: 2

I don't think I've been this productive since, like, May.
Let's cut to the chase: Did I follow my revision timetable? Well, no. But did I manage to actually work for hours and not get distracted? Yeah. And that's good enough for me.

Today's mediocre accomplishments are, as follows:

Maths:
I've got it down for all my other subjects, but I'm still a little unsure of how to revise for maths and where to start. Our teacher gave us a huge ass checklist last year so I think I'm going to work through that, but the limited time means I'll probably be only able to cover things I absolutely don't get. Today I did set notation, which was probably a little futile because I can do that, but hey, nothing wrong with a bit of extra practice.
Biology:
Over the summer, I was meant to make Year 9 and 10 flashcards, but I only completed B1. I went over these flashcards and separated the ones I knew from the ones I didn't. Then I used MyGCSEScience (I'm determined to get my money's worth before the year's up) and printed off every worksheet for B1. I only managed to complete two, but I've got them at the ready when I need them. When I revise for the actual exams, I'll watch the videos and dedicate a study session to each topic, rather than each module, but I'm a little pressed for time so this'll have to do.
History:
American West topic 1: the Plains Indians. Finished off a mindmap I made in year 10, then made five big flashcards. It's starting to dawn on me just how much I've got to do, but I'm not thinking about that. I just need to complete what's on my timetable for that day and worry about the next day when it comes.

Which brings me onto my next problem: I did three out of the five things I had to do today, so that means I haven't done C1 or Geography Unit 1a. I left a few hours of space during the weekend, so I'll probably just do the things I couldn't accomplish in the week then. I'll do C1 when I should be doing C2, so I'll be behind but hey ho I think I can claw it back. Hopefully.
Another thing about myself that I've known for a while it's recently become more prominent is that the half-hour slots really aren't working. The smaller slots were supposed to help my concentration and make me feel more productive, but I'm the type of person who takes a while to get settled, but once I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone. Thus, longer hours do work best for me, so I'm aware I probably won't be able to cover everything in as much detail as I would like. But is it really an exam if there's not a cheeky bit of cramming the night before? I think not.

In other news, I got my biology assessment back today and, Christ almighty, it's not pretty.
In fact, it's worse than the physics.
26/60. A grade 5. Oh my God.
Again, I'm not saying that a grade 5 is by any means a bad grade, but for someone who consistently scores high in biology, is predicted an 8 and also wants to potentially take it for A-level, this ain't good news. I'm counting on chemistry to not make me look like an absolute potato (all that damn osmosis ayyyy), but until then, I'm just going to have to get my life together, it seems.
But, I mean, what did I expect when I didn't revise. Well, there's the motivation to do well then.

I'm going to tidy my room; do some Duolingo, Memrise and Quizlet; then I'm off to bed. Goodnight! :smile:

Reply 90

troubletracking

Wednesday, 8th November 2017
Days until mocks: 19
((pretty sure I'm gonna get rid of the crisis count))

I knew it was coming, and it sure as hell came. The lack of motivation has returned.

I was doing well on Monday and also pretty well on Tuesday too (did some maths revision, maths homework made Inspector Calls flashcards, completed physics notes), but today not so much. On Wednesdays, I have to stay behind an hour for another science lesson so it was cold and dark when I came home at like 5 and I just wasn't in the mood.
I've done some maths at least, and I've started with my geography unit 1a flashcards, but it's just hit me how little time I have and how much I have to learn. We got the list of what we need to know for our science mocks today, and it was about half the specification so I guess it's not ALL the spec at least. Still, there's a lot to learn.
And I'm sat here on TSR procrastinating.

Maths:
Did a page of my revision guide on indices. I'm very aware what I was doing was not grade 8/9, though I didn't have the effort to find some higher level questions online. I did some power stuff yesterday and I still need to pluck up the courage to ask my teacher for help, though I think I'm just going to ask her in Cloud 9 Maths Club on Friday (evidently I really like to kick off my weekend with a bang)
Geography:
Made about four Unit 1a flashcards before I got bored. My motivation is currently melting in the convection currents under a destructive plate boundary between the Nazca plate and the South American plate.

I want to try and finish my GU1A flashcards (not likely) and maybe even start B2 if I have the time (NoT LikELy). Tonight, I want to get into bed an hour earlier so I'm asleep by 11-11:30 because I want to get up at 6 for once in my life but it's not fricking happening at the moment.

Anywayyy, in other news, I got my chemistry results back which were surprisingly good.
I got 48/72, which worked out to be an 8.
I'm not overly pleased with the score, though, because I still feel there's a LOT to improve there. I've never taken assessments and stuff to be an accurate representation of my knowledge, mainly because I think a lot that came up just happened to be things I could do, but there's a lot where I've still got no idea what's going on. Though I guess you could say that stands for exams in general, and the topics that come up would be the main decider of whether you pass or not. I don't know, I've just got to keep working hard I guess. (she says, as if she was working hard at all to begin with). I guess I've got to start working hard.

I'm off to have a bath and hopefully find some motivation too while I'm there.

Reply 91

aMassDebater

Good luck for your mocks, don't be like me, mine are tomorrow and i have barely done any revision, I am pretty much completely screwed

Reply 92

troubletracking

Original post by aMassDebater

Good luck for your mocks, don't be like me, mine are tomorrow and i have barely done any revision, I am pretty much completely screwed

Good luck for tomorrow! At least they're only mocks, right, and maybe a few poor grades might motivate you to work harder for the right thing. I'm sure everything will go at least alright (maybe even great if you're lucky)
Ah, it looks like I'm heading that way with you, my friend, after today's revision count of 0.

Reply 93

troubletracking

Thursday, 9th November 2017
Days until mocks: 18

Hello, my name is Meghan and I am
un
pro
duct
ive.

Reply 94

Le Beb

Well my friend, careful not to burn yourself out too fast. I get the feeling that because you've had a few productive days, you're feeling less motivated thinking you have less to do. Although these are only mocks, I'd use them more as an indicator to how well you can time manage and buckle down under pressure. Saying that, I'm really happy with the increase in productivity - whether you want to give yourself credit for it or not, it just shows that you're willing and able to change your habits and attitude when need be. Good going.

I think the best advice I could give you, which I really should take myself, is that the greatest motivation should be the reward at the end of all this. You know how relieved and proud you'll be when you get the results you want. Work hard for it now and you can treat yourself to an extra bum day, created precisely for those of us with a tendency to keep our bums glued to our beds :wink:

All the best!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 95

troubletracking

Original post by AlbabA

All the best!

I swear, you are going to be the only reason I pass these exams. Once again, you're here saving my ass :colondollar:

Reply 96

clouddbubbles

Original post by troubletracking

Thursday, 9th November 2017
Days until mocks: 18

Hello, my name is Meghan and I am
un
pro
duct
ive.

meghan dont worryyyy
we all have unproductive days
you have 18 days to motivate yourself

you’re amazing
and u can do it!

Reply 97

Le Beb

Original post by troubletracking

I swear, you are going to be the only reason I pass these exams. Once again, you're here saving my ass :colondollar:

Lol lol appreciate it but it's not true, you're way smarter than you give yourself credit for :smile:

Reply 98

troubletracking

Saturday, 11th November 2017
Days until mocks: 16

Hello, my name is Meghan and I am
dra
mat
ic.

Really. Thursday's update was just uncalled for.

So I've lost my Duolingo streak but not my motivation. Not yet anyway.

It’s eleven in the morning and I'm still in my pyjamas. I went to bed at like ten yesterday which I legit don’t think I've done since I was eleven, and I'm not feeling quite as refreshed as I thought I would. I thought this weekend would be one long revision session, until I realised just how much homework I've got to do so my plans have pretty much just crashed and burned. Oh well, half of my homework should count towards revision anyway.

Mocks are just over two weeks away and it’s time to get it together.

Although this week might not have been the most productive week of my life, it’s made me realise some things about myself and so the revision plan will be changed accordingly.

Things I've learnt:

•

I can’t work in short bursts. Longer periods work best because it takes me a while to focus, but when I do I can sustain that concentration for longer.

•

I struggle to cover 4 topics in one day. In fact, I can barely do 2. For the real thing, this won’t be so much a problem because the topics will be shorter because I'll be doing topics instead of whole modules. But for now, I need to condense stuff.

•

I will not have time to cover everything. It’s a fact now; there’s no way I'll be able to cover every single thing on the spec in detail.

•

I need to stop going to bed at 1am

Things I’m going to change:

•

I won’t include timings on my revision plan. Some things take longer, some things take a less amount of time. As long as it gets done, I'm not too fussed.

•

I’m only aiming to cover two units a day, max. Maybe more on the weekends, but not much more than 3 or 4. I’m a slow worker, I've realised (don’t know how I didn’t notice earlier seeing as I'm a slow everything), so it’d take me two hours to just do one unit.

•

Primrose Kitten has some great videos condensed units for the sciences, so I'll watch them and only go over things that I don’t understand/ don’t remember. The worst form of procrastination is revising stuff you already know to avoid doing the hard stuff you don’t, and it’s the worst because it feels like you’re revising, except you’re really not.

•

All work must be finished by 9pm. That’s two whole hours to faff around with power chords or youtube or whatever. I need to be asleep by 11 (maybe half 11 at a push)

•

I’m not going to aim to do much work on a Friday. It’s habit I suppose: my dad always told me not to do homework on a Friday, and I come home later on a Friday (cloud 9 maths club wooo) so I'm pretty much dead by then. Most of all, I can’t be bothered. So Friday will become Friday Frenchday. I’ll do a large chunk of Memrise (I’ve literally only learnt 80 words and there’s about 2000 to know arghhh) and go over some irregular verbs (still don’t know when to use the imperfect and when to use passé compose)

A big bit of gossip in school yesterday was that my geography teacher leaked the mock exam dates. She told her form when she wasn’t supposed to, and her form told loads of over people, and now everyone has pictures of the exam dates, so at least I can prioritise stuff now. I have English literature paper 1 first, and I'm not sure if I'm relieved or dreading it. English is supposed to be my ‘best’ subject, so I feel the most pressure to get an 8/9 in that one, but at least it’s out of the way.

For anyone wondering, The Great A-Level Crisis of 2017™ is still in full swing. I thought I had it down until last week when I went to a college open evening and a biology teacher told me not to bother with biology because there are no transferrable skills between biology and history and English literature. I’m aware I can’t do anything sciencey with biology on its own (throwback to The Great Chemistry Conundrum of September 2017™), but now I’m thinking of taking English language instead, though I'm quite weary I won’t like the course because it’s very different from GCSE and I actually liked the GCSE course so now I'm stuck. I want to take all four, but I've been advised numerous times not to do that and I'm also pretty sure I'd drown in worksheets if I took four, too, but I'm thinking I should take four and drop the one I like least within the first month. Idk, this would be so much easier if I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Arghhhh

*bangs head on table repeatedly* why can’t I just want to be a doctor like everyone else on TSR?!

"for your tomorrow, we gave our today"

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 99

troubletracking