Hi,
I am currently struggling to manage my four 1-2s and 2 3-4 s together in year eleven.I seem to be putting more hours of hard work which are not being reflected in my results.The competition in my class is intense and sometimes overwhelming.I am struggling to manage my stress and work productively at the same time.The intense load of my 1-2 s is causing me to neglect my 3-4s sometimes which I know should be the other way around.I am running low on motivation even though it is start of the school year.Any tips on working productively will be appreciated!
Cheers
Hey geek,
I know the feeling. Doing 6 subjects, two of them Year 12 in year 11 is a huge challenge. It sounds to me like you're already burning yourself out.
In order to help you with this, here's a
great guide by Joseph41 on burnout. For the rest of it, here's my thoughts:
As someone who did a 3-4 subject in Year 11, I know how difficult it can be. I found that giving myself set hours every night (this year I'm doing 4-5 hours a night, but I did 3 in year 11) was really helpful. Do you have a
study plan? This is definitely a good thing to get yourself. Be realistic about the time you have and how productive you will be at certain hours of the day. Find your element. Prioritise work that is due, and treat all of your subjects with the respect they need - if you
have to choose between year 11 and 12, choose 12. Your teachers will understand if the workload is just too big for you at some point or another, especially if you talk to them about it before class or in your spares. This will reduce that stress of yours and help you feel like you're truly working towards something, because having a final goal is really important.
The competition can be super intense in some classes, and I know this can really weigh down on you, but try not to worry about it. Instead of stressing about comparisons, just do the best
you can. Your Year 11 subjects don't matter that much when it comes to ranking, anyway. Know that no matter how this year goes, it'll be over one day. Every day is closer to the end, and so just do the best you can today instead of worrying about tomorrow.
Checklists are really good for this sort of organisation. Here's
another article on using them!As for working productively:
- Use Edrolo if you have it, or use another tool, even recording your own voice to listen through your notes. It's really important to take in all kinds of information: not just visual or rote learning, but listening to the information.
- Highlight or colour code
- Find the best times to study and use them
- TAKE BREAKS. This is vital. DON'T think you can work day and night and not get tired.
- Find what works for you. These are just suggestions of things that work for me, so it's okay if you don't like some of these suggestions.
- Ask other people what they do to study smart. You've done that already by hopping on ATAR Notes - well done with that, btw - but real people in real life can help you a lot, too. Teachers as well.
I think I've exhausted my current supply of advice, so I wish you well. You'll do great. Don't stress, you'll get through it!