As a student, I face the hardship of studying every single day. The main problems for me are:
1. I might not have the motivation to start studying or,
2. None of the notes I've read went into my head.
One thing that I've learnt about myself so far is that I need to have a motivation to study. Personally, this is easy for me to obtain. Why? Because I mostly want to perform good in school so that I could be less of a burden to my parents. Majority of you may say that that is the wrong kind of study motivation but let me tell you, every single one of us is different. People might find 'self-harm' (DON'T DO IT. IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE) or 'having beaten by parents' are all motivation to study. These twisted ways are valid also. So in my case, I just want my parents to worry less about me. I want to show them that I could survive through the hell of high school years and bring them something to be proud of. THEN, by making them happy, I actually make myself happy. So you see... this is just how I manage my happiness.
However, my easy access to study motivation is often counter-attacked with the fact that I have passion for other things such as games and music. Have you all heard of minesweeper? God, I'm addicted to that game. I can go for hours if I wanted to but then again, that wouldn't make my parents happy, wouldn't it? And about my passion for music.... I can watch music videos of the same song, same artist for a thousand times, still searching for their lyric videos, search up their lyrics on the internet, trying to record myself singing them and so many more things related to songs that I just couldn't stop. Each of these activities cost me about 5 minutes of my study time. And each second that I spent - wasted - on these activities got me so anxious. It's a complicated thing for me to be able to balance my study, passion and hobby all at the same time. I'm sure some of you got the same problem as me though. pssshh don't worry you'll survive.
Until I was in year 11, I stayed up until 3 a.m. every single day then wake up at 5 a.m. so that I can fit both my passion and study into my life. It wasn't a problem for me.... WAS NOT! Then year 12 started. Gosh, guess what happened? I didn't have the strength to keep myself awake after school finishes (which is 3 p.m.). I would go home, sleep and then wake up at 12 a.m. just so that I could study until morning and not sleep until after school the next day. This became a habit. And let me tell you, this is BAD, VERY VERY BAD. It just means that my body is undergoing some weird changes that unfortunately had also changed my 'body clock'. YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING. It's not healthy. If you're experiencing this, try to sleep at normal time and ignore your study needs for a while. It's okay. Talk to your teachers, parents and probably a professional (if you're comfortable) about it. Make sure that you cure this habit of yours before it eats you alive. P.S. Telling your friends wouldn't help, okay? They know just as much as you do and probably will give you only a poor - not thoughtful - advice. This could get your condition worse.
Thank God, I was able to finish my year 12 studies - not really successfully - but at least I didn't die from exhaustion. :)
Now, I'm going to tutor to prepare myself for the college entrance exam. The problem is, I moved back to my country which has a totally different education system from Australia. In addition to that, we speak in a different language. I lived here for 15 years before I moved to Australia but even that 15 years of experience isn't much of a help for me. The high school syllabus here is so packed with probably 10+ subjects to study for for the college entrance exam. Of course, I have the right to get stressed over this, right? Even worse, I have to study 3 years worth of normal study in 6 months. I don't know how I'm gonna do it just yet but let's just hope that I found a way to finish them before the 6 months are up. /the hymn of the lazy people/
Here comes the tips to studying! Pick a teacher/friend/method or anything that helps you study best. How do you know this? Just try every possibility out there! If you don't feel too comfortable with one method, try another. If you think studying in one room doesn't bring out the best in your study, move! If you get distracted too easily by someone, just tell them the real reason and leave (or try to avoid them for yous who feel bad too easily :p). It's okay to make mistakes too! People don't care about the mistake you've made in the past.
One special advice for me - While you're choosing a teacher to teach you, pick someone who's passionate about the subject you're studying. Even your friends might have more knowledge than your teacher about that particular subject if they're passionate about it. Trust me. I had this friend who taught me biology at my tutor place and he gave a much more interesting explanation than my teacher (haha sorry sir, I had to say this). Surprisingly, I have more will to learn biology now than I did before I knew him. (No, it's not because I like him, he's not my type). The notes I'm reading go easily into my head when he explains them to me! My thought at that time was "AHMAAAYYZIINGG"
You see now that I have solved two of my problems with studying. There are still many that I could not have mentioned here; it would be too long and everyone in my house who's trying to sleep is now probably thinking that the sound of me typing and the tick tick tick tick of my keyboard are more than a little annoying. So guys, if you ever have a problem with studying just make sure to identify the reason behind it first then choose the best way to solve it. Don't rush. Don't be afraid to try new things. Don't get hung up on "but my exam is one week" kind of excuse because you know what? You can study the night before, no worries. :p
Much much love,
Valentine K.
P.S.: I'm 18 now by the way. YAY. I'm legal. Time to get drunk, people. Jokes, time to study for me. ==
