De-stressing

After a long week, you know the kind I mean; three tests, an essay and two extra sports trainings, collapsing on the couch and basically lying there for the whole weekend is often what we tend to do, however, there are certainly better ways to de-stress.

Take care of yourself: Wash your hair, moisturise, put on a face mask. Doing these things will make you feel clean which will help you feel less stressed. I personally have one night a week where I do my full on shower, I wash my hair, shave my legs, have a Disney singalong using my hairbrush as a microphone (we’ve all done it!) It’s good to take care of yourself and your hygiene plus you’ll feel amazing afterwards!

Treat yourself!: Have a little ‘you time’ binge-watch Brooklyn nine-nine and all the Harry Potter movies, or any other movie or show you like they’re just my personal favourites! Read a book. Eat your favourite food, even if it is a little unhealthy. After a week of self-restraint from Netflix and chocolate, we surely deserve to be a little indulgent!

Do something creative: Forget all those math equations for a couple of hours, don’t forget them altogether or else that math test you have next week might not go all that well! Instead, put your brain power towards something creative you enjoy doing; bullet journal, do some calligraphy, write a song (if you’re musically gifted, unlike me) or even scrapbook! Doing something artsy will get your mind off everything going on for a little while.

Exercise: Look, I’m a pretty honest person so I’m not going to pretend I do this as much as I should but exercise is proven to have positive benefits on your mood and is definitely a good way to get out the stress. Head out for a jog, swim a few laps, invite your friends over for a game of volleyball or kick a football with your brother or sister. Exercising will help you feel less stressed.

“When in doubt go to the library,”-Hermione Granger

 

 

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The Best Study Techniques

You get your healthy, ‘brain food’, the study tea, coloured pens, palm cards, paper and the perfect focus playlist. You sit down at your desk, headphones on, ready for an intense study session. I usually get this far before realising, hang on, how am I actually going to do this? Sure, highlighting texts in a million different colours is fun, and looks productive when you post it online but is it really helping you? Everybody tells you to study but nobody actually tells you how to study, it sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Everybody overlooks studying, they assume it’s simple enough to work out but in reality, without guidance, we can all get a little lost.

In my first year of high school I was overwhelmed, teachers telling me to study, leaving me on my own to work my way through the jungle that is school and tests. I eventually worked it out but it took me a while and a few disappointing test scores until I got the hang of it.

There are many different methods of studying, but I usually use three different methods, I vary my techniques depending on the subject I’m studying for.

My favourite and hence most used method is to write a page or two of notes, I like to pretend I’m writing a cheat sheet for the test and make sure I only include key points. It always helps me to make my notes pretty, eg. calligraphy titles and colour schemes but this isn’t necessary, I just like to make my notes ‘aesthetically pleasing’ so that I can actually stand to look at them! This method is helpful for subjects where you need to remember a lot of information, such as science or history.

Flash cards! They’re a lot of fun and you can use them to study with friends, which is always a lot of fun. When using flash cards, I like to write down a word on one side, then a definition on the opposite side. When studying with these, I’ll get a friend or family member to show me either the word or definition, and I have to remember what’s on the other side, this is definitely the most enjoyable form of studying!

The last way I like to study is  practice, I know, I’m crying too. This is most helpful for maths, I like to do equations multiple times until they’re stuck in my head. This method can also be helpful if you’re studying for an essay or report that you have to write in class, set a timer for the amount of time you will have, and then practise writing it out, in the exact conditions you will be required to do it in. This is the least fun form of studying but often the way to get information permanently in your head.

There are other study methods I like to use but these are my top three, anyway have a great day!

“When in doubt go to the library,”-Hermione Granger