working too hard (1 Viewer)

[-pari-]

i've just come across a staggering realisation.

i'm wrking blood sweat and bone and its not getting me anywhere...
i'm doing all this "hard" work...but its all pointless.

i realise i need to change my style of working, where smart study>hard study....i convinced myself if i study HARD enough it'd be just as good as studying "smart" but all it seems to be doing is wearing down any spark of brightness i might have possessed at any point in time.

so.

i now need to change my style of studying and i thought it'd be goood to get ideas, feedback - whats your style of studying, how much per day do you do on average?

 

[ari89]

Effective study is studying smart but that still requires you study hard at it...
Don't worry about how much other people study per day...you have to work out whats best for you? Eg, how long each study block, do you rotate subs alot during hte night or stay on one per day...etc etc

 

[pritnep]

Study harder not smart.

Use the search type in study and you will be bombarded with answers to all your study questions.

Surely you wouldn't have that much to study right now though? I guess if you have tests then you would. It really is up to you to develop your own style and how many hours you want to spend on it. Each person is different in not only how they study but how they retain and recall that knowledge.

 

[m0ofin]

A teacher of mine suggested that we study hard during the year so then by the time exams come up, you've got all the notes to help you study smart.

Hmm, not sure if many people are actually gonna do that.

 

[the pospinator]

A teacher of mine suggested that we study hard during the year so then by the time exams come up, you've got all the notes to help you study smart.

Hmm, not sure if many people are actually gonna do that.

that final line raises a very good point, and again, the singles out the greatest obstacle to be overcome by any HSCer, procrastination ><"

 

[basketcase89]

Working hard is never a bad thing ... as long as you don't burn yourself out.

 

[Testpilot]

Our teachers told us anywhere from 1-6 hours per night. I think 6 hours is unrealistic and too much. If you get home at 4pm you wouldn't finish studying until 10pm (if there was no breaks). Ultimately it depends on your goal, if you want a high UAI you will have to work harder than if you wanted a lower UAI. But if want to get 95 for example you will need to do more than 1 hour. I would suggest 2.5-3 hours.

Here is some links that may be helpful.

Thread: How did you study?

Stazi's HSC tips and tricks

Studying before and during HSC exams

 

[Nakashima]

You really have to learn your stuff during the year, so you'll have material to study off at the end. You'd be surprised how much you eventually forget even if you knew it all at the time.

 

[airie]

What's your studying method now? How do you consider it to be "hard" but not "smart"?

How about learning your stuff by making notes and solidify it by doing questions in the textbook? Not necessarily all of them, just pick a few from each section until you're sure that you've grasped it Or, look for more in other textbook if you feel the need to do so

 

[vg_woz_here]

you guys are gonna have a helluva year. hope you have fun. just do some notes over the holidays.

goin through year 12 was painful.

 

[littlewing69]

I don't think it's really possible to do homework, assignments and study on top of that during the year. I wouldn't stress it, if I were you.

 

[Sam.]

I was incredibly lazy throughout the entire year, even when it actually came to actually studying for the final exams. Some people were studying 8-10 hours a day during Stuvac. Let's just say that... I wasn't.

Some tips:

- Don't leave assignments until the last minute, particularly major works. Sounds trite and tried, I know, but it's important. It feels fantastic to get a good mark back and know that that mark is going somewhere, particularly when you've put the hard work into it.

- Work on everything throughout the year. The more you do throughout the year, the easier it will be at the end. Don't burn yourself out before the HSC, but make sure you've done enough so that you know the work before Stuvac.

- The important thing is not to "just study", but to understand the work. Understanding how to structure an essay, how to build a thesis statement, why the motor effect occurs, why certain chemical reactions occur, how to integrate/differentiate etc. etc. Studying at the end of the year shouldn't be the time for you to begin learning information; it should be you perfecting everything that you've learnt so that you know it upside down and back to front.

- Don't spend all your time studying. Having a social life is incredibly important and is perhaps the best thing about your last year of school. Make sure you get plenty of exercise and eat well, as that will help you concentrate.

- Work out your "study threshold". The level of tolerance people have to working hard is different for each person, so you have to tread the line. For instance, one of my friends was studying for about 6 hours a night (out of exam time) and coped with those hours well. Another friend started studying for about 2 or 3 hours a night and started to get really depressed and unsociable. It just depends on who you are.

- Find something to motivate you to study. A particular course, a certain UAI. My friend even convinced his parents to promise to chip in half the money to buy him a car if he got a UAI over 90. At the start of the year he was getting 60s and 70s in almost all his subjects. By the end, he was getting high 80s and even some mid 90s. It works, believe me.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

^ Sam is right. If you're still learning new stuff come Stuvac, then you've done something wrong. Consolidate everything as you go along.

 

[Shrikar]

I was incredibly lazy throughout the entire year, even when it actually came to actually studying for the final exams. Some people were studying 8-10 hours a day during Stuvac. Let's just say that... I wasn't.

Some tips:

- Don't leave assignments until the last minute, particularly major works. Sounds trite and tried, I know, but it's important. It feels fantastic to get a good mark back and know that that mark is going somewhere, particularly when you've put the hard work into it.

- Work on everything throughout the year. The more you do throughout the year, the easier it will be at the end. Don't burn yourself out before the HSC, but make sure you've done enough so that you know the work before Stuvac.

- The important thing is not to "just study", but to understand the work. Understanding how to structure an essay, how to build a thesis statement, why the motor effect occurs, why certain chemical reactions occur, how to integrate/differentiate etc. etc. Studying at the end of the year shouldn't be the time for you to begin learning information; it should be you perfecting everything that you've learnt so that you know it upside down and back to front.

- Don't spend all your time studying. Having a social life is incredibly important and is perhaps the best thing about your last year of school. Make sure you get plenty of exercise and eat well, as that will help you concentrate.

- Work out your "study threshold". The level of tolerance people have to working hard is different for each person, so you have to tread the line. For instance, one of my friends was studying for about 6 hours a night (out of exam time) and coped with those hours well. Another friend started studying for about 2 or 3 hours a night and started to get really depressed and unsociable. It just depends on who you are.

- Find something to motivate you to study. A particular course, a certain UAI. My friend even convinced his parents to promise to chip in half the money to buy him a car if he got a UAI over 90. At the start of the year he was getting 60s and 70s in almost all his subjects. By the end, he was getting high 80s and even some mid 90s. It works, believe me.

Good Advice. I am going to use it.

 

[vizman]

can someone clarify wat STUVAC is?

 

[chocolate_lover]

can someone clarify wat STUVAC is?

STUdy VACation

Its where we get a couple of weeks off school, to study and prepare for the HSC.

 

[pritnep]

This year we got a week off before the HSC and the two week September October Term 3 holidays.

 

[Loz_metalhead]

Student Vocation. Time period between the HSC and when you break up from school. About 2-3 weeks.

If I were you, I would just be making notes and reading over them. It's only your first term of year 12. I found study cards to be so helpful for biology. I made them myself. I didn't even have to make notes, I just studied the 2 folders worth of notes my teacher gave me and the cards were a summary. I came first in the trial for bio, so that worked for me, but may not work for others.

At this stage, I would just suggest reading over what you have done that day at school in the night time. On the weekend you can revise what you have learnt during the week and maybe even go ahead and read next weeks work.

I think the key is understand, which was mentioned above. Expecially for science's and subjects like economics and math.

 

[vulgarfraction]

What's your current method of studying?

 

[the pospinator]

reading, writing and reviewing notes,
completing practice questions
past papers - possibly the best way to study