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Alevels study methods

Hello,
I've only just started my alevels and am taking bio, chem, maths and psych. For gcses I was managing the workload fine and ended up with mostly 9s but recently I've been really burnt out and am stuggling to bring myself to even do work at all and am starting to fall behind. Has anyone got any advice or stufy techniques that worked for them. Devices dont seem to be the problem, just when i sit down infront of my books, i start procrastinating even which work im doing.

Reply 1

31kushpatrl

I'm in Y13 predicted A*A*A* in bio, chem and psych but I struggled a bit with the transition too, everyone learns differently but I initially tried approaching all of them in the same way which didn't work. Now, Chem i find i have to memorise a lot more so i make detailed notes next to the spec, psych is more understanding the concepts and the eval points but I use flashcards to memorise the studies and bio is understanding the basic concepts for most of it but you also need to memorise key terms and processes (like transcription/translation) but that's just me and I'm sure you'll be different, maybe try a couple different strategies out and see what works?

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Consistency is key with a levels. I like to imagine my a levels like a full time job I work Monday to Friday 8:30 - 5:00 on my a level subjects so whether that’s being in lessons, doing homework, revising, epq etc that’s what works for me and I get the burn out struggle completely, for me working on public transport helps like getting a long distance train always makes me very productive or just changing environment ie cafe or library. Lastly being to harsh on urself is the biggest reason for burn out so most importantly remember u are human and if it ever gets too hard just remember it will eventually pass

Reply 3

UniLancashire

Official Rep

Original post

by wei_wuxian

Hi @wei_wuxian,

I'm sorry to read that you are feeling burnt out. It's really easy to get yourself burnt out whilst studying and it is something I definitely felt whilst doing my a-levels and at uni. I would often think to get my revision done in one lot without any breaks to get as much done and then have time to relax but that didn't work. I implemented regular breaks which allowed me to be more motivated and focused. Even a 5-10 minute walk, or checking your phone or making a cup of tea helped me to stay focused on my revision. It's really important to take breaks and time for yourself to recharge.

Everyone studies differently as we are all different. What worked for me may not work for you but it's often about experimenting and figuring our what works for you. Breaking up my revision into smaller chunks helped to keep it more manageable. Think about how you revise now and what could be making you procrastinate? Is it the room? Are you in one place for too long? Do you have any distractions around you? I'm sure you will find the best way to revise that suits you. You've got this!

I answered a similar thread here with more details and a video.

Hope this helps and best of luck! 🙂
^Zac

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 4

Kingston Vee

Official Rep

Hi @wei_wuxian I recommend trying out the pomodoro method as this is all about how to use your brain better and optimise memorisation. You set timers for twenty five minutes and every time it goes off you have to take a break as your brain stops retaining as much information around this time. This also should feel more manageable and motivational as you only need to work for twenty five minutes at a time, making it feel much less daunting. Also, make sure you have one day a week where you do absolutely no work to prevent burnout. Otherwise your overworking your brain too much and then studying becomes futile.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Vee (kingston rep)

Reply 5

Kingston Vee

Official Rep

Hi @wei_wuxian I recommend trying out the pomodoro method as this is all about how to use your brain better and optimise memorisation. You set timers for twenty five minutes and every time it goes off you have to take a break as your brain stops retaining as much information around this time. This also should feel more manageable and motivational as you only need to work for twenty five minutes at a time, making it feel much less daunting. Also, make sure you have one day a week where you do absolutely no work and allow your brain to rest. Otherwise your overworking your brain too much and then studying becomes futile. Burn out really does suck and unfortunately a lot of us go through it but prevention is key : ))

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Vee (kingston rep)