Akhi22
GENERAL ADVICE
o Treat school like a job, not a hobby.
For me, this meant adhering to a study schedule and resigning from my position at XXX. If you have a job, I would recommend resigning or, at a minimum, significantly reducing the number of hours you work.
o Seek as much feedback as possible and always question why you received ‘xyz’ mark.
Once you input your FA marks into (QCE ATAR Calculator | ATAR Notes) you will understand the significance between a 24/25 and a 25/25.
• Each subject has a glossary which defines the verbs on the ISMGs. For example, in Legal Studies, for the Evaluating criterion, the submitted work must be ‘insightful,’ as opposed to ‘effective.’ The difference between these is not self-evident; the glossary helps you navigate problems of this nature.
o Self-mark.
This keeps you accountable. If I’d given myself 24/25 for an assignment, I found that the steps to attaining a 25/25 became self-evident.
• Likewise, I found that once I self-marked, my motivation to achieve top marks significantly increased.
o Read subject syllabi and print out information relevant to Units 3 & 4.
o Consider purchasing QCE Checkpoints and/or Oxford Study Buddy books for your subjects.
o Create in-depth class notes during Units 3 & 4.
Most EAs require a superficial (or comprehensive) understanding of subject ALL content.
• E.g., the EA for Study of Religion requires a thorough understanding of Units 1, 2, 3, and 4.
o Students must understand that anything can be achieved but not everything can be achieved. Thus, one must optimise for a particular outcome and proactively choose what it is they will regret.
o Unless you are the School Captain, being on the SRC is most likely a poor use of your time.
Likewise, school assemblies provide negligible value.
• In Years 11 and 12, I didn’t attend assembly – If it’s important enough, it’ll make the daily notices and/or school newsletter.
o Avoid burning out.
Once you reach EAs, approximately 95% of the cohort will have given up. Creating some semblance of a healthy work-life balance is key to avoiding burnout.
• Also, dopamine detoxes and clear goals help (no doubt the reader has already formulated these).
STUDYING
o Both Trello and Gantt charts are useful for tracking progress/important information.
Eventually, Trello replaced my school diary because of its versatility and convenience. I found the user-interface and ability to track work helped with accountability.
o Spaced repetition through supermemo.com or an associated platform.
The only downside to spaced repetition is that the data entry component takes a significant amount of time. In revising for my EAs, I spent about 20 hours entering data which, unsurprisingly, was a tedious exercise.
o Create a study timetable and daily schedule.
Split this into morning, afternoon and evening study sessions. See Appendix 1.
o Consider using Forest (mobile application) or pomofocus.io to track study sessions.
If tired, I may use the pomodoro technique, otherwise, I will do 90- or 180-minute deep work sessions (The Ideal Length of Time for Focused Work | Dr. Andrew Huberman - YouTube)
• Likewise, I might do a 10-minute NSDR to reenergise myself (Huberman has some videos on the benefits of this).
o Read as widely as possible – this will increase your vocab and improve your writing, editing and eloquence. For editing, I have adopted the techniques from Jordan Peterson’s essay writing guide (Essay_Writing_Guide.docx (google.com)).
Peterson and Chris Williamson’s reading lists are a good place to start.
• To briefly touch on Peterson’s guide, I found the information on technology and writing/editing equally useful. If you don’t have a monitor, purchase one. If you already have one, considering purchasing a second monitor, and an ergonomic keyboard and mouse setup.
o You will want to elevate monitors to eyelevel – I’ve found this helps with focus.
o Consider creating audio recordings of your notes. These can be listened to whilst exercising.
o Listen to the content of Andrew Huberman and Cal Newport on maximising productivity and focus.
I have found Huberman’s exercises such as NSDR, physiological sighs, low-angle sun viewing and delaying caffeine intake to be useful.
o Use your time effectively.
Consistency and quality trump quantity.
• If you are consistently ‘studying’ for more than 6 hours per day or, are ‘pulling all-nighters,’ this is probably a good indicator of poor time-management skills.
o By tracking your time using a mobile or online application you can: (1) see how much time is actually spent ‘studying,’ and; (2) determine what percentage of this is ‘deep work.’
o Minimise phone and social media usage.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
