The Student Room Group

I’m too stupid! Is it possible to become smart in 2 weeks? (>_< )

What should I do?

In Year 10 the plan was to go through all my subjects during the summer holidays, since I’m basically failing all of them.

4 weeks in and I still haven’t touched anything (I tried to do German but it’s not sticking at all). I really want to achieve high grades for my GCSEs but I’m so lazy and a major procrastinator! I’m to blame!

I wish I could be more organised (maybe like Ruby Granger?), have a really good work ethic (maybe like some Koreans I see on YouTube;they’re awesome!) and a lot of self discipline!

I hate myself even more as the weeks go by so quickly! I still have Geography H/W where I have to fill in 2 booklets and German homework to answer 40-50 something questions since we have a speaking exam when we come back!

All I’ve been doing was lying down in bed while on YouTube for the whole of my summer. There was one day where I had enough and forced myself to go to the library but that didn’t work out since I just sat there confused with what to do plus I did a mindmap but the information didn’t stick at all! I’ve been on the Student Room asking questions instead of actually following the advice they always give me.
I always get the same advice that I can’t bring myself to actually follow, things like “practice papers are your best friend...etc”

I want to master my subjects before Year 11 and become a better person (T^T ). Someone here helped me a lot for English Literature and I don’t want to let them down by not doing any practice.

I just can’t motivate myself to do anything! I’m a lazy bum who’s too negative for her own good! I’m too stupid and I just wish I can be smart enough for school to achieve high grades...

My subjects are:
-English Lit&amp;Lang -&gt; WJEC/Eduquas
-Maths -&gt; Edexcel
-Science (Triple) -&gt; AQA
-Geography -&gt; Edexcel A
-German -&gt; AQA
-RS -&gt; Edexcel (I think?)

Any advice? Especially unique advice that hasn’t been said over and over again? Please! Also I can’t afford a tutor or to burden my parents with buying revision guides so I can maybe use the ones they have in the school library (but that means I’ll have to wait til it’s school and I can’t do that).

Thank you in advance!
(edited 5 years ago)

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Reply 1
Hey bro, I'm in Year 10 and doing my IGCSE's which are quite similar in terms of content but a bit harder. You should use Physics and Maths Tutor to get some notes and take revision easily maybe 1-2 hours a day and with best friends? I started revising just 3 days ago and I'm makimg quite a lot of progress for Coursework 1 & 2. Maybe check out my GYG for some inspiration (heh selfless promo). Anyways best of luck! It'll all work out if you put in the effort.
Original post by Hiro2468
What should I do?

In Year 10 the plan was to go through all my subjects during the summer holidays, since I’m basically failing all of them.

4 weeks in and I still haven’t touched anything (I tried to do German but it’s not sticking at all). I really want to achieve high grades for my GCSEs but I’m so lazy and a major procrastinator! I’m to blame!

I wish I could be more organised (maybe like Ruby Granger?), have a really good work ethic (maybe like some Koreans I see on YouTube;they’re awesome!) and a lot of self discipline!

I hate myself even more as the weeks go by so quickly! I still have Geography H/W where I have to fill in 2 booklets and German homework to answer 40-50 something questions since we have a speaking exam when we come back!

All I’ve been doing was lying down in bed while on YouTube for the whole of my summer. There was one day where I had enough and forced myself to go to the library but that didn’t work out since I just sat there confused with what to do plus I did a mindmap but the information didn’t stick at all! I’ve been on the Student Room asking questions instead of actually following the advice they always give me.
I always get the same advice that I can’t bring myself to actually follow, things like “practice papers are your best friend...etc”

I want to master my subjects before Year 11 and become a better person (T^T ). Someone here helped me a lot for English Literature and I don’t want to let them down by not doing any practice.

I just can’t motivate myself to do anything! I’m a lazy bum who’s too negative for her own good! I’m too stupid and I just wish I can be smart enough for school to achieve high grades...

My subjects are:
-English Lit&amp;Lang -&gt; WJEC/Eduquas
-Maths -&gt; Edexcel
-Science (Triple) -&gt; AQA
-Geography -&gt; Edexcel A
-German -&gt; AQA
-RS -&gt; Edexcel (I think?)

Any advice? Especially unique advice that hasn’t been said over and over again? Please! Also I can’t afford a tutor or to burden my parents with buying revision guides so I can maybe use the ones they have in the school library (but that means I’ll have to wait til it’s school and I can’t do that).

Thank you in advance!


Simple. If you don't do your work then you don't learn. If you don't learn then you can't revise. If you can't revise you'll fail all your exams. You won't get into sixth form or college. You won't get the qualifications needed for university or apprenticeships or jobs. You'll be stuck in a minimum wage job forever never really achieving what you initially wanted to.

Now, get to work and good luck!
Reply 3
Try switching off internet and minimise distractions, lock your phone in a cupboard / take out sim card/ give it to your parents to look after for few hours, then pile up books and past papers on your desk put a sign on your door do not disturb ( used to hate when parents knock or friends call and I am in a middle of the paper, I immediately lost concentration and wanted to go out) Instead of googling things use text books ( as you know you go quickly to check something in Google and if you aren't carefull you end up on FB or TSR for next half an hour) Good luck. ( IF you have smart friend maybe he/she can help you to explain stuff and revise along side you or maybe it will lead to more distractions you have to try)
(edited 5 years ago)
Hey,

I'm in year 11 and I'm also a MAJOR PROCRASTINATOR!! I'm lazy as well that could be one of my job descriptions. But when I focus on something I get it done. I recommend that you get off TSR first🤣 Then use the website Get revising which is also by TSR to get some good resources, past papers are also a major key to success!!

If you need any help please don't hesitate to PM me! I'm in the same boat as you and it's sinking😬😬😬
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 5
Yeah, I was the same. I also spent most of my Year 10 holidays just watching TV, going out with friends etc. I only really started revising about two weeks before the exams.

The advice I can give is that you can start waking up a bit early such as 6am. Then, have breakfast, shower etc. until 7am, and start revising.

Make a habit of doing about 3 or 4 subjects a day. For example, you can learn 10 words in German, and then do one topic for maths, bio, chem, physics and geography in the morning.
After that, take the afternoon off to do whatever you want, and return in the evening for about 2 hours before bed to read through your notes.

This way, you'll have your afternoon to look forwards to, and you'll be a lot ahead.

I wished I'd done this because last minute revision was horrible. I used to get 5 hours of sleep during exams sometimes and even less when the exam was the next day, and I hadn't even opened the book. It was really stressful, so maybe you can use this as motivation to not do the same. :smile:
I totally get how you feel! I didn't do much revision in the summer between Year 10-11 and pretty much had to work a lot in Year 11. Thankfully my grades were great!

If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of work/revision you have to do for your subjects, then maybe you should just pour all your energy into the subjects that you want to do in A-Level and the ones you're struggling with (like German in your case) and ignore the rest. Of course this is the lazy student way to pass GCSEs so I wouldnt recommend it if you wanna get Bs or higher in ALL subjects. In that case just get on with your summer work and make as much revision material for all subjects so that in Year 11 you won't have to spend ours making them (and give yourself more time to do past papers!).

I hope this helps you! Oh and good luck in Year 11. It's gonna be a tough year but just stay positive no matter what (I also struggled with this 'cause I was also a pessimistic student).
Reply 7
Original post by Kroznox
Hey bro, I'm in Year 10 and doing my IGCSE's which are quite similar in terms of content but a bit harder. You should use Physics and Maths Tutor to get some notes and take revision easily maybe 1-2 hours a day and with best friends? I started revising just 3 days ago and I'm makimg quite a lot of progress for Coursework 1 & 2. Maybe check out my GYG for some inspiration (heh selfless promo). Anyways best of luck! It'll all work out if you put in the effort.

Thank you for your response! I’ll check your GYG and hopefully get motivated!
Reply 8
Original post by DrawTheLine
Simple. If you don't do your work then you don't learn. If you don't learn then you can't revise. If you can't revise you'll fail all your exams. You won't get into sixth form or college. You won't get the qualifications needed for university or apprenticeships or jobs. You'll be stuck in a minimum wage job forever never really achieving what you initially wanted to.

Now, get to work and good luck!

Thanks for your response! Sadly I've already been told this and I am fully aware but I just don't know what I should do if that makes sense? I'm not sure where to start exactly or how. I'm lost.
Original post by Hiro2468
Thanks for your response! Sadly I've already been told this and I am fully aware but I just don't know what I should do if that makes sense? I'm not sure where to start exactly or how. I'm lost.


Make a checklist of everything you want to do and then start working through it.
Reply 10
Original post by onebro
Try switching off internet and minimise distractions, lock your phone in a cupboard / take out sim card/ give it to your parents to look after for few hours, then pile up books and past papers on your desk put a sign on your door do not disturb ( used to hate when parents knock or friends call and I am in a middle of the paper, I immediately lost concentration and wanted to go out) Instead of googling things use text books ( as you know you go quickly to check something in Google and if you aren't carefull you end up on FB or TSR for next half an hour) Good luck. ( IF you have smart friend maybe he/she can help you to explain stuff and revise along side you or maybe it will lead to more distractions you have to try)


Thank you for responding! I'll try this out and hopefully I make some progress little by little. I'll facetime my friend for maths help too (^-^ )
Original post by Hiro2468
What should I do?

In Year 10 the plan was to go through all my subjects during the summer holidays, since I’m basically failing all of them.

4 weeks in and I still haven’t touched anything (I tried to do German but it’s not sticking at all). I really want to achieve high grades for my GCSEs but I’m so lazy and a major procrastinator! I’m to blame!

I wish I could be more organised (maybe like Ruby Granger?), have a really good work ethic (maybe like some Koreans I see on YouTube;they’re awesome!) and a lot of self discipline!

I hate myself even more as the weeks go by so quickly! I still have Geography H/W where I have to fill in 2 booklets and German homework to answer 40-50 something questions since we have a speaking exam when we come back!

All I’ve been doing was lying down in bed while on YouTube for the whole of my summer. There was one day where I had enough and forced myself to go to the library but that didn’t work out since I just sat there confused with what to do plus I did a mindmap but the information didn’t stick at all! I’ve been on the Student Room asking questions instead of actually following the advice they always give me.
I always get the same advice that I can’t bring myself to actually follow, things like “practice papers are your best friend...etc”

I want to master my subjects before Year 11 and become a better person (T^T ). Someone here helped me a lot for English Literature and I don’t want to let them down by not doing any practice.

I just can’t motivate myself to do anything! I’m a lazy bum who’s too negative for her own good! I’m too stupid and I just wish I can be smart enough for school to achieve high grades...

My subjects are:
-English Lit&amp;Lang -&gt; WJEC/Eduquas
-Maths -&gt; Edexcel
-Science (Triple) -&gt; AQA
-Geography -&gt; Edexcel A
-German -&gt; AQA
-RS -&gt; Edexcel (I think?)

Any advice? Especially unique advice that hasn’t been said over and over again? Please! Also I can’t afford a tutor or to burden my parents with buying revision guides so I can maybe use the ones they have in the school library (but that means I’ll have to wait til it’s school and I can’t do that).

Thank you in advance!


Koreans are very good at self-discipline because they are kinda forced to do all the stuff to stop them from getting distracted. For example, most people don't get phones/ have flip-phones until they go to uni, because, as I have felt so many times over my GCSE period, social media is distracting af!

In terms of that, I would advise getting an app called Forest, it's really helped my procrastination, as a mild phone addict!

I hope this isn't really generic advice... and I hope this helps!
Reply 12
Original post by London090
Hey,

I'm also in year 10 and I'm also a MAJOR PROCRASTINATOR!! I'm lazy as well that could be one of my job descriptions. But when I focus on something I get it done. I recommend that you get off TSR first🤣 Then use the website Get revising which is also by TSR to get some good resources, past papers are also a major key to success!!

If you need any help please don't hesitate to PM me! I'm in the same boat as you and it's sinking😬😬😬


Thanks for the tip!Get Revising is actually really helpful! Yea....my boat is sinking too much I might even drown, too bad I'm too lazy to fix it (T^T )
Reply 13
Original post by I'm God
Yeah, I was the same. I also spent most of my Year 10 holidays just watching TV, going out with friends etc. I only really started revising about two weeks before the exams.

The advice I can give is that you can start waking up a bit early such as 6am. Then, have breakfast, shower etc. until 7am, and start revising.

Make a habit of doing about 3 or 4 subjects a day. For example, you can learn 10 words in German, and then do one topic for maths, bio, chem, physics and geography in the morning.
After that, take the afternoon off to do whatever you want, and return in the evening for about 2 hours before bed to read through your notes.

This way, you'll have your afternoon to look forwards to, and you'll be a lot ahead.

I wished I'd done this because last minute revision was horrible. I used to get 5 hours of sleep during exams sometimes and even less when the exam was the next day, and I hadn't even opened the book. It was really stressful, so maybe you can use this as motivation to not do the same. :smile:


Thank you for your response! Luckily I wake up at 5 am (but straight away go onto Youtube) and your advice sounds really interesting as if I get the afternoon off then that'll be somewhat of a good motivation! The only problem is that even if I tell my family not to disturb me because I'm studying they will find a way. My mum would call me every few hours or even minutes to do stuff so I'll have to think of something and my brother purposely distracts and tries to ruin my flow. On some days the library opens at 9am so I could go there (it's so boring there though!).
Reply 14
Original post by KittyGalaxy
I totally get how you feel! I didn't do much revision in the summer between Year 10-11 and pretty much had to work a lot in Year 11. Thankfully my grades were great!

If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of work/revision you have to do for your subjects, then maybe you should just pour all your energy into the subjects that you want to do in A-Level and the ones you're struggling with (like German in your case) and ignore the rest. Of course this is the lazy student way to pass GCSEs so I wouldnt recommend it if you wanna get Bs or higher in ALL subjects. In that case just get on with your summer work and make as much revision material for all subjects so that in Year 11 you won't have to spend ours making them (and give yourself more time to do past papers!).

I hope this helps you! Oh and good luck in Year 11. It's gonna be a tough year but just stay positive no matter what (I also struggled with this 'cause I was also a pessimistic student).


Thank you for your words of encouragement! Unfortunately I'm struggling in all my subjects but want to get higher grades(>-< ) I don't think I can stay positive but I will try!
Reply 15
Original post by DrawTheLine
Make a checklist of everything you want to do and then start working through it.


I've done that before and I've experienced problems of not being able to fulfill my list as for some subjects I just couldn't understand it no matter how many Youtube vidoes I watched or read in revision guides.

Thank you for the tip though! I'll try do that again and hopefully I won't screw up (^-^ )
Reply 16
Original post by EnglishKoreanman
Koreans are very good at self-discipline because they are kinda forced to do all the stuff to stop them from getting distracted. For example, most people don't get phones/ have flip-phones until they go to uni, because, as I have felt so many times over my GCSE period, social media is distracting af!

In terms of that, I would advise getting an app called Forest, it's really helped my procrastination, as a mild phone addict!

I hope this isn't really generic advice... and I hope this helps!


Thank you for the tip! I've been told a lot about Forest but sadly I have no storage to download it (my precious photos are taking up space) so I'll just switch off my phone and hide it lol. Yea I agree social media is too much! I've finally stopped using Instagram and Twitter so I guess that's a start (^-^ )
Original post by Hiro2468
Thank you for your response! Luckily I wake up at 5 am (but straight away go onto Youtube) and your advice sounds really interesting as if I get the afternoon off then that'll be somewhat of a good motivation! The only problem is that even if I tell my family not to disturb me because I'm studying they will find a way. My mum would call me every few hours or even minutes to do stuff so I'll have to think of something and my brother purposely distracts and tries to ruin my flow. On some days the library opens at 9am so I could go there (it's so boring there though!).


Trust me, I know what you're talking about. Every time I try to sit down and study, a few mins later, someone will come into the room and start talking, or they'll tell me to hoover etc. and that makes it next to impossible to study. You should tell them that if there are any tasks they want you to do, you'll do them in the afternoon (unless it's urgent).

I avoid the library too as I just couldn't study there.

Is your brother older or younger than you?
If he's older, you could ask him for help in specific subjects or borrow his notes to make revision faster.
Reply 18
Original post by I'm God
Trust me, I know what you're talking about. Every time I try to sit down and study, a few mins later, someone will come into the room and start talking, or they'll tell me to hoover etc. and that makes it next to impossible to study. You should tell them that if there are any tasks they want you to do, you'll do them in the afternoon (unless it's urgent).

I avoid the library too as I just couldn't study there.

Is your brother older or younger than you?
If he's older, you could ask him for help in specific subjects or borrow his notes to make revision faster.


Ikr! Struggling to study every chance I'm motivated to study! My brother is the same age as me (we're twins) so he's even more annoying. Plus he chose different subjects to me. I'll try tell my family that and hopefully it works (>-< )
try learning in a different way, why don't you make yourself some flash cards on topics that aren't your strong suit and stick them on the wall or carry them around and flick through them when you have a moment or two. to be fair, like the other guy said, if you're a self proclaimed procrastinator and aren't willing to help yourself then there isn't much we can do on here, your future is in your hands and whatever you do with it isn't going to affect us so... you need to start owning your mistakes and turn them around before you're on TSR in a few of years crying that the uni's declined you.

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