study burnout

[Youlosethegame]

Getting this one in early on in the year, but does anyone have any advice about keeping up lots of study without burning out halfway through the year and losing motivation?

[K888]

Getting this one in early on in the year, but does anyone have any advice about keeping up lots of study without burning out halfway through the year and losing motivation?

Hi there!
Honestly I think the key (at least, for me) is only study if you're going to get something out of it. Work smarter, not harder, as they say.

It's also important to give yourself plenty of breaks, and know that it's okay to have a night off from studying to chill out. Make sure you allow yourself some leisure time - if you play a sport, keep on doing that, or otherwise make sure you have something to do outside of school.

Another thing you can do to keep up motivation is to set yourself short term and long term goals. Then, when you've got some Chem homework to finish but all you want to do is watch another episode of your favourite show on Netflix, you can use your desire to achieve these goals as a bit of a carrot on a stick to keep you going.

[Yertle the Turtle]

Another thing to do is look at applications of what you are learning in real life. I know that when you are doing stuff that seems totally useless, there is no real motivation to understand the concept. As K888 has said, short and long-term goals are important. I struggle with finding motivation to do work, but when I set myself a timetable and goals it works much better. Give yourself well spaced breaks, and probably rewards for completing your goals, so that it is not just pointless.

[The Special One]

Depends on your own limits, some people can work non stop without being burned out. I myself have never experienced burnout so I can't comment on it. But just know your own limits and don't push your self too far unnecessarily year 12 is a marathon not a sprint, it's about consistent studying over the course of the year not concentrated intense  studying for only the first two terms.

Keeping yourself motivated is key make sure you have always have that fire to do well. Everyone is motivated by different things.

[snowisawesome]

2 questions
1. Is it wise to study the day before a sac, or should I make sure i have finished revising the day before the day before a sac (ie 2 days before the sac day)
2. How do you memorise large chunks of information quickly?
Thanks

[The Special One]

2 questions
1. Is it wise to study the day before a sac, or should I make sure i have finished revising the day before the day before a sac (ie 2 days before the sac day)
2. How do you memorise large chunks of information quickly?
Thanks

1 Always study the night before but make sure you haven't  left it to the last minute.

2 think of clever I believe the English term is memetics which is think of a word Like SMART which has the first word of the steps you need to learn in order

[Joseph41]

2 questions
1. Is it wise to study the day before a sac, or should I make sure i have finished revising the day before the day before a sac (ie 2 days before the sac day)
2. How do you memorise large chunks of information quickly?
Thanks

1. Whether or not it's wise will depend on the situation, and even then it's pretty subjective. Is it better to have finished all of your revision two days before the SAC? Sure, I think so. It gives you a bit of a buffer period, a longer time for the information to consolidate, and will probably mean you'll be less stressed with last-minute cramming and the like. But is that to say you should never study the day before a SAC? I don't think anybody's really in such a position of authority to say, because if you feel like it would be good for you, then you should do it.

2. It's difficult to do so! I liked to break it down into main dot points or whatever, and remember those dot points. That sort of gave me the crux of the information, which you can then build on and link. But yeah, I don't think there's a quick fix of sorts for remembering content.

EDIT: In response to the above, I never studied the night before a SAC, and did fine.

[PolySquared]

2 questions
1. Is it wise to study the day before a sac, or should I make sure i have finished revising the day before the day before a sac (ie 2 days before the sac day)
2. How do you memorise large chunks of information quickly?
Thanks

1. I think that your time of revision is dependent on your psychological habits. Do you get stressed easily? Are you able to calmly fix any errors you've made? If you answered yes to the latter, then you should probably clear your mind on the day before the SAC so you can reduce nerves and think logically on the day. If you said yes to the latter, then you should study during the day before the SAC so you can ammend any misunderstandings you may have on the topic.

2. The way I memorise large chunks of information is to use flash cards and run through them several times. If you want to memorise a large chunk of information word-for-word, then I recommend recording the information on your phone and listening back to it while you read it. You can also try reading information and hand writing it over and over again - this helped me memorise my whole discussion for my Chemistry experiment.

Hope this helps. 

[abbeyrose]

I think you've already made a really important step in recognising that burning out from studying is indeed a prevalent thing, and that you're actively trying to prevent it! I say this because I burnt out last year (and just before exam time of all times) and at the early stage of the year I had very little idea that it was actually possible to physically hurt from stress. So, I have a lot of respect for you. In regards to study burnout, I think that prevention is far better than cure. 

I wholeheartedly agree with the advice you've already been given. By all means, Year 12 is a marathon and not a sprint and thus it's vital that you give yourself breaks. In addition to what's already been said, I think it's helpful to identify the times in the day when you work best/have the most energy (so for me, I was always the most productive at around 5:30pm after going for a 30 minute walk/jog) and, if you can, use that time to do schoolwork or study. By utilising this time you're likely to be more productive and efficient, giving you more time to unwind and do the other things you enjoy. Furthermore, give yourself time between studying and going to bed to do something leisurely each night.

Lastly (and this is something I cannot stress enough), but if you do notice a change within yourself and think you might be starting to burnout a little, please talk to a teacher you trust. I did this, and I honestly think it was the best thing I could've done for myself. It may feel like it sometimes when your SACs begin to fall on the same dates or you feel like you have a never-ending pile of homework, but your teachers aren't working against you. When I was starting to notice that something was off and I was feeling like I was burning out, I mentioned it to my favourite teacher and he actually helped me out immensely... even up until the day ATARs were released. Having your teachers aware that you are feeling a bit overwhelmed makes the world of difference, I promise you. It doesn't have to stop there either, if you feel like you're struggling with your stress do talk to someone (this can be a healthcare professional) too. Around exam time I asked my GP for advice to deal with stress and burning out, and it helped me tremendously. You're never alone on this and there's always people who are willing to help you out. 

[Yertle the Turtle]

2 questions
1. Is it wise to study the day before a sac, or should I make sure i have finished revising the day before the day before a sac (ie 2 days before the sac day)
2. How do you memorise large chunks of information quickly?
Thanks

1. I think you need to be learning as you go, so that studying before a SAC is just quickly doing some practice questions. In general, you want to keep your studying up-to-date, so that you minimize crash-learning just before a SAC.

2. I have a good memory, and I'm not doing content heavy subjects, but I mostly just read myself the textbook. I know, however, that this doesn't work for everyone. Sorry, but that's the only technique I know...