How to Make This Study Season The Best Yet

With study season fast approaching and exams on the horizon, it’s time to hunker down and hit the books. I know personally that it takes a lot of motivation to get on with revision, especially at this time of the year when it’s finally getting warmer and outside looks increasingly inviting! This blog post is all about how to make studying a little easier, and hopefully a lot more bearable!

These days, our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Terrible, I know! But when it comes to studying, it’s a great idea to split your sessions into chunks of 50 minutes to an hour before taking a 15-minute break. During this break, get outside, grab a snack, or do a mindless task like folding washing etc just to give your brain a break. Note here that I’m not recommending that you spend this 15 minutes scrolling on Instagram! That’s hardly a break for your brain or your eyes! So get up, try to get a little active and then settle back into another session.

Another great idea to help with this is the Pomodoro Method. It’s rather similar but is structured slightly different. There are great apps on the App Store to help you keep track and to remind you to take breaks - I would highly recommend this!

Secondly, I have to have a plan. It’s easy to set time aside for study, but getting into a state of flow and focus can be the difficult bit. I love using my Planner from the Complete Collection Printable Set to help structure my study and lay out what I’m going to do and when. On the day, I’ll use the Study Session Planner to write up a game plan for the day or slot of time I have available to study. This Study Session Planner also has a Pomodoro Timer section in it to remind you to take breaks!

Once I’ve identified what I’m studying, made a game plan and am getting into the flow of my work, I love to simplify my topics but using the Revision Printable Set from the Revision Queen Printable Guide. This allows me to easily visualise my key terms, formulas, and definitions that I need to remember and helps me record them visually. I love sticking these up on my walls, in my bathroom and even on the mirrors around the house during exam season to help remind me!

Self-care and fulfilling your basic needs should be a really key focus during exam or study season. Make sure you’re getting to bed early (ideally before 10pm) and are avoiding screens at least an hour before bed to help your brain rest. Sleep is super important when you’re trying to revise as your brain moves memories from short term to long term memories overnight so you want to maximise the amount and the quality of sleep you can get! Forget staying up late cramming! Making sure you fuel yourself well is super important. Support your body with good, nutritious food and plenty of water to stay hydrated. Aim for 2 litres during the day, and try to avoid naughty snacks if you’re at home studying! I find I ‘bored eat’ a lot when I’m procrastinating, so I love this healthy slice recipe by Chelsea Winter as it gives you an awesome boost of natural sweetness while still being packed with fibre!

Good Energy Slice by Chelsea Winter
Makes 25 pieces
Prep Time: 20 minutes

• 2 cups mixed chopped nuts (raw almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, brazil nuts, pecans)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded or desiccated coconut
• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 cups pitted dates, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apricots)
• pinch of salt

Preheat over to 160C. Line two slice tins with baking paper.
Spread the nuts in a roasting tray along with the coconut, pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until just golden, mixing it up once or twice. Remove and set aside. Add the dates to a large saucepan with the coconut oil, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and water. Cover and simmer gently for around 10 minutes until soft and mushy, stirring a few times. Add the toasted ingredients, dried fruit, and salt. Mix well to combine. Press into the tins, pushing down to compact the slice. Refrigerate for about an hour or until set and cut into pieces. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for approximately a month (but trust me, it won’t last that long!)

If you’re still being taught new content in lectures or classes, it’s not too late to look into the ‘Curve of Forgetting’. This is a science-backed theory which is designed to help our brains retain information through repeated exposure. Basically, it encourages you to review your topic content 15 minutes after learning it, that afternoon, in two days and again in a week. Check out our blog post here for a free printable download to help simplify everything!!

What are some of your favourite study tips or hacks? Share them with me below on via our social media accounts!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out some of our great study resources available as free printables or via our collections in our shop!

All the best for study season, go out and smash those exams!

From our home to yours,