Am I burning out ? What can I do to still succeed in GCSEs ? Asking for some advice.

In September up until now, I've been extremely driven- I've worked many hours a day studying / writing up flashcards for my GCSEs, I've had many 10 hour study days on the weekend, and I've got a heck of a lot of work done. I've worked on as little as 4 hours sleep for 4 days on the trot, and have sacrificed so much for my grades because I want to become a doctor.

People keep saying 'you're going to burn out' and I didn't really want to listen to them because the fire was in my heart and it made me happy studying, knowing I was giving my self the best chance of getting good GCSEs.

Yet now, during the middle of February, I feel like the fire is still in my heart to get the 8s and 9s, but it is my mind that is becoming increasingly tired and reluctant.
If I'm being honest, I've confined myself to a VERY strict routine of basically just study all day everyday, for the last few months.


I feel like I could be on the verge of burning out..


I really don't want to :-/ , but I just don't know what to do.


Do I give into my mind, or do I give in to my heart ?

I mean, all I do when I'm not working is worry about what I could be doing and my friends doing more than me, which will lead them to inevitably rubbing it in my face.

Man, this is a tough dilemma.

What do you think I should do ?

I need your advice. You might literally save my grades and dream of being a doctor.

Thanks.

In September up until now, I've been extremely driven- I've worked many hours a day studying / writing up flashcards for my GCSEs, I've had many 10 hour study days on the weekend, and I've got a heck of a lot of work done. I've worked on as little as 4 hours sleep for 4 days on the trot, and have sacrificed so much for my grades because I want to become a doctor.

People keep saying 'you're going to burn out' and I didn't really want to listen to them because the fire was in my heart and it made me happy studying, knowing I was giving my self the best chance of getting good GCSEs.

Yet now, during the middle of February, I feel like the fire is still in my heart to get the 8s and 9s, but it is my mind that is becoming increasingly tired and reluctant.
If I'm being honest, I've confined myself to a VERY strict routine of basically just study all day everyday, for the last few months.


I feel like I could be on the verge of burning out..


I really don't want to :-/ , but I just don't know what to do.


Do I give into my mind, or do I give in to my heart ?

I mean, all I do when I'm not working is worry about what I could be doing and my friends doing more than me, which will lead them to inevitably rubbing it in my face.

Man, this is a tough dilemma.

What do you think I should do ?

I need your advice. You might literally save my grades and dream of being a doctor.

Thanks.

Just reduce the hours you study.

In GCSE I only started 4 weeks before and it is totally doable. I got all A's. I am not trying to brag, but GCSE's are not as tough and important as you think they are. Many of my friends did this too xD

Now, as you have revised basically all day every day, you probably know the content for most subjects. But you are still most probably learning new topics, right? So just start doing past papers and obviously leave out the ones you haven't learned yet. It is only February, you have lost time.

Sleep is key, it helps in many ways. And if you are this bad now, then when it comes to exams you will be totally sleeping deprived and won't be able to concentrate on anything. Tyr to at least get 7+ hours.

If you keep the same drive for A levels, then trust me you can make it haha

Lol, I'm not trying to be rude by your actually very dumb!

If you wanted 8/9 and you are going to revise that much why not start in feb/Jan? Why would you start so early in the year - plus, since you have a burn out you would struggle to get good grades because, you will lack concentration and would be depressed.

In terms of advice I would say relax during half term and start doing small amounts and increase it during Easter holiday. Goodluck

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5811142#


Firstly, you need to sleep more. You cannot be focused if you lack so much sleep. Your eyes will just be reading your notes and your brain will not actually absorb the information.
Also studying for long hours without any breaks or fresh air is not the best way to study. Take short breaks every half an hour, go and get some fresh air, go for a short walk, then come back to your work.
When you do take breaks, think how beneficial it is to your mind and how it will benefit you when you later come back to revise. You will be fresh and more energised and most importantly you will have taken a well-deserved break! Don't think that you are missing out from reading the next chapter or that your friends may be studying right this second, because, what is the point of studying when you will not absorb the information?
Everyone has their own way of studying, comparing yourself to others will not do you good.

I wish you the best of luck in your GCSEs, I know it is tough but you clearly have a lot of motivation and it is just about putting your mental health first and creating a better study plan.

Hey. This sounds just like me a year ago and now I've achieved really good grades and close to achieving good grades at A-Levels and doing medicine at Uni. I know it might seem like the worst idea now but please take a break. It is still super early and you sound like you are definitely going to get super high grades but don't burn yourself out. Right now just be consistent with a couple hours a day and more in the weekends and build it up when you need to. Make to-do lists for the day instead of forcing yourself to revise for longer hours because working smarter not harder is definitely a thing. I used to spend hours making notes but what got me the grades were the past papers and sleep. If you need any advice I'm here to help because I've just gone through everything you went through and learnt so much from experience. Good luck, you can do it!!

Thats actually sick man !!

But if you did legacy GCSEs, it’s harder to say how “easy” they are. I mean to contextualise the increase in difficulty of the new exams, we have basically triple the content for each subject you did, with such higher difficulty ; the last question on one of the legacy GCSE maths exam was literally the 14th question out of a 27 question exam.

But you’ve still done amazing none the less. And also a 9 = an A**. An 8 = A*.

Nah I didn't do legacy, I was the first year to do the new spec for most the subjects in WJEC. So it was harder as there was only one specimen paper, but we did have the old ones but they were nothing compared to the real thing hahaha

Yea I still don't understand why they have 9's now, ours was only up to A* hehe
I was an idiot and thought GCSE's were not worth my time. I honestly don't know why I thought that tbh hahaha
Ans thanks <3

But at least you are putting the effort in

But good luck, and try not to go crazy on revision

You’re actually a legend !!

Thanks for this because it seems sometimes like nobody else can relate even though they try to dictate everything.

But how much did you revise in the Easter Holidays ?

Thanks for this.

I just want to point out I haven’t ran on 4 hours of sleep everyday. Just for 3 days at a time, twice.

I tend to sleep around 7 hours a day now, or even 8. It’s better.

This is just ridiculous. Most people can get good grades by revising a few weeks before. I did my GCSEs last year and started in Feb. I built it up throughout the weeks to give myself plenty of rest. I even went on holiday for a week over Easter and did NO revision.

I got five 9s, three 8s, and two 7s.

Lol, I'm not trying to be rude by your actually very dumb!

If you wanted 8/9 and you are going to revise that much why not start in feb/Jan? Why would you start so early in the year - plus, since you have a burn out you would struggle to get good grades because, you will lack concentration and would be depressed.

In terms of advice I would say relax during half term and start doing small amounts and increase it during Easter holiday. Goodluck