Hello friend!
I thought I’d drop in the study routine that I used in Year 12 for you to have a look. Keep in mind that I was preparing for undergrad med and hoping for a very high ATAR so my hours may not seem relatable.
Here’s my study schedule:
Each day, I woke up at 5. Then 5:30-7 am studied for UCAT, proceeded to get ready for school which ended at 3pm. I then had to pick up my brother from his school, travel back home, have food, etc. In terms of after school I studied from 5-7pm, had dinner and called it a night. If I had SACs, I’d also study from 8-9pm (I can’t study late at night so I chose mornings instead). Then I went to sleep around 9:30 pm and repeated the process for each day. On Weekends, I also studied from 10-12am then had lunch and resumed study from 3-4pm, took a break and again from 5-7pm. I didn’t study beyond this time usually.
Please don’t feel any pressure to replicate a study routine as packed as this if you don’t have to. My study timetable meant that I got enough sleep each day and was able to get adequate time for homework, revision, and UCAT. It worked for me but might not work for you.
In terms of your sleep schedule though, I’d recommend working yourself really hard (exercise, work, travelling). Usually when you’re super tired, you go to sleep much faster. Slowly try and get yourself to sleep at an earlier time by lying in bed at 11pm. Doesn’t matter if you can’t sleep just don’t turn on the lights. Eventually your sleep-wake cycle will regulate itself depending on what time you chose. But make sure that you wake up and go to sleep at the same time everyday. If you skip things on the weekend, you’ll have poorer sleep quality. Keep in mind, this will take some time (maybe a week) so be patient. Other than that, have fun at school, I hope you can find a study and sleep schedule that suits you best 🙂
