If you’re struggling with getting started studying again at the beginning of a new school year, you’re not alone! Getting back into the routine of studying can be challenging after weeks of free time. Here we’ll take you through our top three tips for getting started studying again. If you’re struggling with motivation, check out last week’s post here.
Tip 1: Get into a routine
Establishing a routine can help reduce the mental barrier to getting started with studying. Once you’re in a routine, it’s easier to keep going with it even if you’re struggling with focus or motivation!
Take a look at how your days normally go. Perhaps when you get home from school, you find that it takes you a few hours to get going with homework because you’re tired. If this is the case, give yourself 30 minutes to an hour when you get home to just relax. Once the time is up, get started again! If you have dinner at the same time most days, use that as the end to your homework session.
If you find that you’re struggling more with a specific subject, get into a routine of working on it at a certain time. For example, if you find that you’re always putting off working on chemistry, set aside an hour every Thursday evening to catch up on concepts from the week. Check out this post for more tips on studying a subject you don’t love.
Tip 2: Focus on studying smarter, not harder
As an IB student, you have a lot going on! Focusing on studying smarter, not harder will help with getting started studying again. It will also give you more time for non-school related activities!
Spaced repetition is one of the most effective ways of studying. If you haven’t heard about it before, check out this article for a brief explanation. It works by taking advantage of how your brain retains information. Incorporating this technique into your studying will help you work more efficiently and reduce the total amount of time spent studying.
Tip 3: Plan ahead
Another aspect of studying smarter is planning out how you are going to tackle your work. It’s important to be realistic with any planning that you do! Making a plan and not managing to stick to it can be stressful and demoralising. By being realistic you will set yourself up for success.
You can make it easier to get started with bigger projects by breaking them down into smaller tasks. For example, instead of having “write extended essay” in your calendar, break it into “do background research”, “plan analysis”, and “write analysis”.
Try using a digital calendar that syncs across your computer and phone. They are generally free and offer flexibility. You can set up alerts to make sure that you don’t miss any deadlines.
Tip 4: Establish a healthy work-life balance
At the start of the school year, it’s important to set yourself up for success! If you try to go from 0 to 100 in terms of how much you’re studying, you’re going to burn out quickly. Establishing a healthy work-life balance from the very beginning of the year can help make sure that you don’t lose motivation later on.
Make sure that you include your hobbies and time with family and friends in your planning. While IB has a lot of work, there is definitely time to do other things as well! If you spend all of your time working you are guaranteed to burn out by the end of the year.
Overall, if you’re struggling with getting started studying again you’re not alone! Getting back in the habit of projects, homework, and staying on top of content can be challenging. Focus on establishing a routine, working smarter not harder, planning ahead, and creating a healthy work-life balance. If you find that you’re struggling to understand content, check out our YouTube videos and online private tuition service. We’ve got a whole team of IB experts ready to help!
