Originally posted by InfiniteQ
drolle says that it is possible for anything to be relatively easy. I disagree... work has to be put in to get out.
I guess the problem here is that we have different ideas of what we mean by "work" and "easy". For me, I used to do maths problems all the time, and still do, because I find them fun and stimulating, and that was basically my only study for maths. For some people, doing the stuff I did would have been "work", for me it was what I wanted to do anyway, and it was "easy".
So I'm not saying you can do nothing all year and expect to get high marks by any means, I'm just saying there's no reason you have to "push" or "force" yourself -- just find what you enjoy doing and nurture that enjoyment until it motivates you sufficiently! This only failed for me
Also, someone said you can't get in the top 1% without doing work. I worked for my HSC, and didn't get into the top 1%; but conversely I've achieved in the top 1% in compititions quite a few times (including 1st in NSW in the Aust. Science Comp this year), without doing any preparation work. You can't make blanket statements about these kinds of things.
I know what your saying about feeling guilty about not studying -- that was a constant thing for me because everyone is constantly saying STUDY STUDY STUDY and I didn't think I was doing enough. Well having a balanced lifestyle is more important than the amount of study you do, esp. for 4u, because it keeps your brain fresh and you can think of things on the spot. In 4u, you either have to have done A LOT of practice so you're familiar with all the questions they could ask, or be able to adapt really well to new stuff (I prefer the latter, because it serves you well later in life as well).
So instead of studying by practicing the same type of questions over and over, I find new problems, often not really related to the syllabus, that will stretch my mind. I really only did this because it was more interesting to me, but in hindsight I see that it was extremly helpful (this ability to adapt I found especially useful for the UNSW maths comp, which I forgot to enter this year, grrrrr I'm so absent minded sometimes!)