Dr. Jess 😉
Hey @Dr. Jess 😉,
Not a bother at all - please ask as many questions as you like. So, as cliche as it sounds, it really comes down to how you do it personally but rest assured, I am not going to be annoying and I will give some advice on how I do it and how I tell my students to do it.
The best way (and I feel like only way) to balance multiple subjects is to create a timetable or study schedule. So, I use the greatest tool in existence, Excel, for my timetable because it’s super flexible, so many options and easy to update (not sponsored by Excel). You can also colour-code it by subject or topic (if that's your thing), add in study blocks for each day, and include rest time to make sure you don’t burn out. I usually recommend setting up your timetable weekly so not daily because its not far enough into the future for you to plan and not monthly because its too far into the future that if anything happens, it'll have a snowball effect and ruin it. So you can adjust it based on how you're feeling or how much progress you've made with each subject.
So, start by blocking out your non-negotiables first - things like school classes, work shifts, and any other commitments you have. Then, write a priority list of your subjects/topics/assessments and assign specific times for each subject based on this priority list, making sure to rotate your subjects daily to keep it varied. It’s also important to include some buffer time for review or catching up on anything that falls behind. This is very important because please please please do not schedule back to back events because in practicality that will be almost impossible - you could be distracted, lunch could go longer than expected, your mum could tell you to do something, you could randomly have something pop up which will ruin the rest of the timetable (similar to the snowball effect above) so buffer time is very important and if nothing happens, you can use the buffer for reviewing a previous subject.
The other main thing is to reduce distractions and pointless events in your schedule. Now obviously, you need to have a balance and social life but that does mean you need to go out partying or a concert every Friday night if that makes sense, at least for year 12. And in terms of distractions, all the social media apps are truly a waste of time unless you're communicating with friends (which is definitely not all the time). So my recommendation is to either download an app to block those (like Forest or Opal, I use Opal) or give your phone to your parents or leave it in another room so you can't hear any notifications or buzzing. This is crucial if your phone is a distraction.
Anyways, hope that helps and let me know if you have any questions you want to clarify.
