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Justin_L:
T2 Week 4 Update

Hello, welcome back to my second "official" update where I'm going to go over my progress and make plans for the next few weeks. I've gotten most of my half yearly results back, so I'm going review and plan for my upcoming assessments

Maths Ext 1
Half Yearly: ~40%

Not great, I've just finished catching up on my in class notes and I'm going to try and find time to do some of the practice chapters our teacher set us. I have another exam for this in class in Week 8, and so I really need to up my game for that. The content is interesting, so I've got that going for me but since it's extension, I always get thrown a curveball right when I think I've understood something. I've got a great teacher and a solid set of notes through, so I'm quite motivated for this.

Maths Advanced
Half Yearly: 50%

Advanced is pretty much everything bad about extension and more. My advanced teacher tries to help, but he's just not particular good at teaching (In my opinion) and with online learning, I've fallen way behind. My notes are a mess, partly because we've been jumping from topic to topic and partly because I haven't been spending as much time as I should have. Again, I have an exam Week 8 the day after extension, so I need to up my game but it's difficult without motivation. Unlike extension, the content feels boring and repetitive, and there's a lot more of it since it's a 2 unit subject. I suppose there's nothing I can do but just keep chipping away at practice exercises and bringing my notes up to speed if I have time.

English
Mod A Hand In: 80%

I'm finished with Mod A, and I was surprised to find that I actually quite enjoyed my texts, W;t and Donne. I was annoyed that I was one mark off from a higher band though, and I still don't particularly enjoy English as a subject and feel like I'm often disagreeing with my teachers in terms of interpretation. I've heard rumors that the average for this task as actually 17-18 which have made be a bit uneasy but I suppose there's nothing I can do about it now.

We've just started our Mod B, King Henry IV and I find our in class analysis really boring. Again, I don't really vibe with my teacher's teaching style so I guess I just have to deal with it and do the bulk of the analysis at home.

Software Design and Development
Half Yearly: 94%
Major Work: 98%

I've gotten pretty decent scores for software, which I'm happy about but there's still a lot of uncertainty in terms of scaling and moderation. We're a pretty small class, and our teacher told us that the we've all done incredible well. I've asked around and from what I can tell, we're probably all a few marks away from each other, meaning things are incredibly tight in terms of rank. On the other hand, my classmates are pretty phenomenal and I'm not surprised that we're all getting close to the top mark. For our major projects, one of classmates used the school's VR gear to make a game, while one of my friends 3D printed a test dice roller and write a machine learning script to analyse and predict dice rolls. Like what ? ? ? how do y'all know this stuff in high school ? ? ?

But anyways, our teacher predicts we'll finish all the HSC content this term and we'll have all of next term for revision, so it's all chill.

Modern History
Half Yearly: 88%

hahaha, the marker (not my teacher) wrote me a lot of angry comments for not using double spacing and not including a word count, but my teacher said that I did quite well considering the task was changed very last minute. Personally, I'm not very happy with my mark, I was secretly hoping for a 90%+ but I suppose this is something I'll have to work on.

Our new topic is Apartheid is South Africa, and while it's arguably "easier" due to the super linear timeline and minimal foreign policy impacts, it just doesn't feel as interesting looking at "nonviolent" protest after studying Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. (With nonviolent in quotations because imo, necklacing and sabotage are pretty violent)

We also got a new assignment notification, which is a 50 minute in class exam on what we've covered of apartheid in 2 weeks time. The content hasn't been coming along as intuitively for me, so I'll need to spend a fair but of time preparing and revising.

History Extension
Assessment Event 1: 93%

This turned out much better than what I was expecting, I lost one mark for some large gaps in my logbook journal, and one mark for not linking my annotated sources to my central argument (because I don't have one yet lmao). From the peer and teacher feedback that I've received, my proposal is solid, I just have no idea how to actually go about writing the thing which is a problem considering I have 5 weeks until it's due, at lease 3 of which will be spent on my other assignments. TBH, I'm more afraid of disappointing my teacher than of failing this subject so that's going to be quite motivating I expect.

Personal
Lately, I noticed that my binders were getting a bit full (I have one for maths and one for HSIE), and so I popped down to officeworks today and got 2 new ones. I have no idea how I'm going to carry them to school, but that's a problem for future me. I think I might just start carrying a "working" binder and leaving the majority of my notes at home.

Overall, just so much to do and so little time to do it. Such is life.



EDIT: Removed detailed marks and converted to percentages, removed weightings

Justin_L:
T2 Week 5 Sprint

Just something a little different for my own reference - I'm super behind so I'm going to setup a sprint and check back at the end of the week to keep myself accountable. It'll also be an interesting experiment to see if posting publicly increases my success rate at doing things.

- Math Adv: Area between X and Y curves
- Mod His: Review all of Apartheid and get min. 1 practice q done for exam prep
- HISEX: Polish up logbook, Get a rough draft out

I'll check back Friday, either in an edit or in a separate post depending on how things go.

Justin_L:
Hey y'all,

It's been a pretty bad week tbh. I have multiple assessments to prep for, but I just spent most of my time in bed looking at tik tok and youtube. I have no idea why I've suddenly just lost all motivation.

On an unrelated note, I used to really like rain but now it just feels kind of cold and depressing. Whatever the case, it really doesn't help with productivity. I also learnt that sprints don't work for me, I didn't accomplish any of my goals. Guess I'll just stick with my usual system.

School is returning to a normal routine, we've been able to reclaim our old space in the quad after some juniors tried to take over, and there have been just a few timetabling changes which work out in my favour (I have a extended Monday (8AM-4:30PM), but a shortened Tuesday (10AM-1:30PM) now!)

I'm really worried about my schoolwork though. I've just caught up on Maths Extension, but I'm at least 3 weeks behind in advanced (I never did catch up from online learning) and I haven't done a single practice response for Modern. Worst, I have no idea how to write my History Extension essay. I have a solid proposal, case studies, sources, but I just can't seem to put words on a page. Everything I write feels like I'm just rewording/summarising my historians.

It's been much better today though. I resolved to delete tik tok and caught up on a lot of my overdue homework. Libraries reopen tomorrow, and I'm planning to make full use of them - I am so done with learning from home. I also watched a few lectures by Richard Buckland about communication and security engineering today. He's an absolutely amazing professor with a lot of good insights into education and cybersecurity, and I'd highly recommend his content if you're interested in any of those fields.

That's all for now! To anyone reading this, I hope you have a amazing day/night. Until next time.

s110820:
Hi Justin,


--- Quote from: Justin_L on May 31, 2020, 10:15:20 pm ---
It's been a pretty bad week tbh. I have multiple assessments to prep for, but I just spent most of my time in bed looking at Tik Tok and youtube. I have no idea why I've suddenly just lost all motivation.


--- End quote ---

Procrastination is the enemy of all of us. Especially me - I really tried this year to be as "motivated" and "studious" as the StudyTubers that I watch, but sometimes (and now, pretty much all the time) I lack the motivation to do anything. However, maybe we can help each other with motivation and stuff if you're interested? I've seen a lot of students use this method to make their online learning experience a little bit better, so we can definitely try that if you would like.


--- Quote from: Justin_L on May 31, 2020, 10:15:20 pm ---
I'm really worried about my schoolwork though. I've just caught up on Maths Extension, but I'm at least 3 weeks behind in advanced (I never did catch up from online learning) and I haven't done a single practice response for Modern. Worst, I have no idea how to write my History Extension essay. I have a solid proposal, case studies, sources, but I just can't seem to put words on a page. Everything I write feels like I'm just rewording/summarising my historians.

--- End quote ---

I can definitely help you with your schoolwork as well! While I'm not an HSC student (I'm a QCE student), I do subjects similar to yours so I can definitely help you if you need. I do English, General Maths, Literature, Biology and Modern History, so if you would like to ask any questions based on those subjects (or their equivalents), please don't hesitate to as I would be more than happy to help!

I also offer free tuition services for my Humanities based subjects (English, Literature and Modern History) where I can proofread, edit and annotate your assignments or practice essays for you. Please contact me if you're interested :)

For your other subjects, however, I would suggest using the ATAR Notes forums to your advantage as there are many experts in each individual subject and they can also help you to catch up with your workload as well! There are also many online learning platforms you could use to learn as well (For HSC students, I recommend the "Art of Smart" website).


--- Quote from: Justin_L on May 31, 2020, 10:15:20 pm ---It's been much better today though. I resolved to delete tik tok and caught up on a lot of my overdue homework. Libraries reopen tomorrow, and I'm planning to make full use of them - I am so done with learning from home. I also watched a few lectures by Richard Buckland about communication and security engineering today. He's an absolutely amazing professor with a lot of good insights into education and cybersecurity, and I'd highly recommend his content if you're interested in any of those fields.

--- End quote ---

That's great that you're feeling better! I believe that the first steps of regaining motivation are to prioritise yourself and maintain a balance between you and your study. To prioritise yourself, you need to experiment and find study methods, self-care activities and a "structure" of your day that works for you. While it may be tempting to "copy and paste" from various "studious" and smart people, their way of learning may not work for you, which is where my downfall was for my studies.

The second step is to maintain a balance between you and your study. It may be challenging at first, especially as there is much more of a focus on study rather than health, but it's essential to academic success. Personally, I recommend using the Pomodoro method -- usually, people would work in a 50-minute block and then take a ten-minute break but you can adjust this if you would like to suit your individual needs.

For example, when I was in Year 10, I procrastinated 24/7, so I used the Pomodoro method of 25 minutes productivity block and a five-minute break as I was easily distracted back then. I recommend experimenting with the productivity blocks to see what works for you and what suits your individual needs. I would also recommend writing a more structured to-do list. Rather than writing a long list of the stuff that you "should", "would" or "could" get done, write a list that focuses on your productivity.

For example, in the first column, write what you need to get done (your task). In the next column, write what time you started completing the task. In the column after that, write what time you finished that specific task. And finally, in the final column, tick if you actually completed the task. I personally find this a great way to structure my homework, study and revision whilst maintaining responsibility and accountability for my own learning.
You could also use the ATAR Notes "Motivation and Accountability" forums for inspiration if you would like.

Hopefully, this helps :)

Have a great week and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

alice343:

--- Quote from: Justin_L on May 31, 2020, 10:15:20 pm ---Hey y'all,

It's been a pretty bad week tbh. I have multiple assessments to prep for, but I just spent most of my time in bed looking at tik tok and youtube. I have no idea why I've suddenly just lost all motivation.

--- End quote ---

Me. Too. But honestly, I feel like most students are going through a mental slump at the moment. It'll pass - there will always be times when you don't feel like doing anything; I encourage you to take those times as chances for self care, rather than stress about the work you haven't accomplished.


--- Quote from: Justin_L on May 31, 2020, 10:15:20 pm ---I'm really worried about my schoolwork though. I've just caught up on Maths Extension, but I'm at least 3 weeks behind in advanced (I never did catch up from online learning) and I haven't done a single practice response for Modern. Worst, I have no idea how to write my History Extension essay. I have a solid proposal, case studies, sources, but I just can't seem to put words on a page. Everything I write feels like I'm just rewording/summarising my historians.

--- End quote ---

Since you have a backlog of work, I suggest not focusing TOO much time on it - yes, you should make sure you know the content, but maybe give yourself a deadline to finish the most important work, and then leave any unfinished work by that date. I know it sounds scary, but sometimes not doing every piece of work is more beneficial - you don't want to be left further behind by trying to finish all the work from before. I have a list of ALL the work I have not done (you know, those times when you have a casual teacher and you get textbooks for the whole lesson), and that list is pretty substantial - not excessive, but not small either. I realised I was wasting my time by trying to tick off everything on that list, since I was just taking the attention off of what was currently going on in class.

I'm having the exact same problem with my History Project! I feel like I'm not even writing an essay - it just sounds like I'm summarising my research. Though I'm not behind on schoolwork, I would like to be further ahead for trials preparation, so I'm planning to spend more breaks in the library studying, and utilising all my free time to make sure I'm not cramming for trials.


--- Quote ---It's been much better today though. I resolved to delete tik tok and caught up on a lot of my overdue homework. Libraries reopen tomorrow, and I'm planning to make full use of them - I am so done with learning from home. I also watched a few lectures by Richard Buckland about communication and security engineering today. He's an absolutely amazing professor with a lot of good insights into education and cybersecurity, and I'd highly recommend his content if you're interested in any of those fields.

--- End quote ---

YES!!! PROGRESS!!! TikTok is so addictive lmao - I set up a 60minute time limit on it. It's really good that you're researching university courses!! I feel like often as HSC students we forget what is beyond the HSC exams - I know many people at school neglect to find out what they want to do after they graduate.

Good luck!!! I have full faith in you.

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