Recently, I have started the chore of revising for my up and coming mocks, which are in January. This means that during the festive season, I will have to do a bit of desk slavery. But I have found a few things that have made my experience a tad more exciting or enjoyable (if that's what you want to call revising!)
Revising (or studying) is not something that we want to do, but to get us through life, we will have to do it at some point. These are my tips of how to revise so that you can enjoy your life around it and keep calm before the exam storm!
Number 1. Make yourself a hot drink!
Today I went for a cup of tea in my favourite mug, but sometimes I will have a gingerbread latte or just a normal coffee. I think that having a hot drink with a little shot of caffeine is the best way to revise because it prepares you and makes you want to do more because you are more awake!
Number 2. Make a revision timetable!
Currently, I make a revision timetable per week so that I have a vague idea of what I have going on in the up and coming week. I use the website getrevising.com to make a timetable, because it takes all of your subjects and commitments into account as well as your free time and it creates you a timetable that you will want to use. Also, it is colourful, which makes me feel like this is more enjoyable than it actually is!
Number 3. Get the revision guides that you need for your subjects!
My favourite revision guides are the CGP guides because they are fun to work with and use pictures which help me to memorise the subject more. Also, I have the maths guides from the company 'Revise Edexcel' which are also excellent! As well as the revision books, for some subjects i.e. maths, I have the workbook, which gives you all the subjects and gives you questions to answer and work through.
Number 4. Take regular breaks!
Every 20 minutes or so, stop and take a break. Go and drink a glass of water and eat something or just go and spend time with your family for a few minutes. This will relax your brain after the stress that revising puts on it. Then go back and do another 20 minutes or so. The brain can concentrate for a maximum of 45 minutes (on average) before it starts to let go of all the information it was withholding.
Number 5. Organise your workspace!
Recently, I cleared my desk up so that I could use it and not be so cramped because it was so cluttered with rubbish! Now, I have the essential things on it. A light, a pot full of things such as hairbands, tissues and lip balms etc so that I don't have to move to get them. I also have a pencil and pen pot, a money pot because my desk is right by the door and a coloured pens holder. I have used bookends and put all of my folders and revision guides together so that they are on hand for when I need them. I also have my laptop and my camera so that they are both on hand as well. I added a photo of me and my friends as well to keep me going. Finally, I have some coasters to put my drinks on! I also found that by tidying my desk and my room, I was a lot more motivated to revise and do my work!
Number 6. Have some music on!
I was told once that if you listened to music whilst working, put some tunes on that you hadn't heard before because if you know the lyrics to a song, it will start thinking about that rather than the work that you are doing. This can distract you and we don't want that! I use a playlist on Spotify that is made for deep concentration because they update it regularly which means it isn't the same music all the time. This means I cannot learn it fast enough for it to have an effect! However, I know that sometimes all I want to listen to is my favourite music, which is fine! Once in a while play tracks that you know to cheer you up and keep you motivated!
Number 7. Whiteboards!
I have a mini whiteboard on my wall that I can write my current homework or revision status on. Alternatively, I write little things to remind me to keep motivated. For example, currently, I have "Don't forget to eat! We don't want you getting hangry and stressed!" I get very hangry (hungry and angry) and this stresses me out big time when I am trying to concentrate!
Number 8. Sleep!
Remember to sleep because although revision is a big part of exams, so is sleep. If you don't sleep, you are not going to remember all of the stuff you revised because you will be too tired! Also, you don't want to fall asleep in the exams!
Number 9. Technology!
I have learned that if I have my iPod or my phone next to me when I am working, I get distracted because as soon as a notification pops up, you look at it and lose concentration. I tend to put my IPod on the other side of my bedroom because then I have to get up to check it and usually I cannot be bothered to do that!
Number 10. Sticker Chart and Wall Planner
This one has been something that I thought of quite recently. I put all of my subjects down the side of a chart and each box had the words 1 hour above it. This way, every time I did one hour of revision, I would put a sticker or colour in the box and at the end, I would get a reward. I find this motivates me because I know that at the end, I get a treat!
Also, I bought a wall planner off of Amazon, which was just a mid-year 2015-2016 planner. On this, I put everything that I had going on and when my exams were. Thid way, I knew when to revise, what to revise and things I had to look forward to in the near future.
I hope that this has given you some tips of how to revise for mocks! Comment if you want my favourite revision apps or other revision posts!
Stay happy,
Katie xx
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