My main revision tip is to start early. In the past I have done the typical leave-everything-until-the-last-minute situation and that is really horrible. So making sure I'm organised for the week or day makes me much more relaxed and I do this with the adorable planner I purchased in Paperchase recently.
I love the design and layout of this because I think it's perfect, not only is it colourful and has lovely fonts but it's fantastic for sorting out what I'm doing during the day and in the evening. Because let's be honest nobody likes the planners your school gives to you - they're rubbish.
I use the column on the left and section my evening hourly and then write in what revision/coursework I need to be doing. This gives my day more structure and makes me feel so much more productive. As you can see above I've planned to do product design coursework between 4 and 5, then science revision between 5 and 6pm. When revising I make sure to take regular breaks so I do 25 minutes of work, 5 minutes of rest and then repeat. After each hour I will have a slightly longer break to leave room for other things such as blogging and eating (my two favourite things).
Some extras I use to make my planner more fun and interesting are the productive stickers which came in the front of the planner and I also bought some separate stickers shown below also from Paperchase. I would just like to point out that this Woodland collection from Paperchase is my favourite design - the owls and the foxes are so cute. I also have the pencil case which featured in one of my favourites a little while ago. Something else I also wanted to mention were these bunny rabbit sticky notes. I have no words. I really like these thin sticky notes to mark significant pages in books or revision guides.
My other main purchase for this school year was this 10 subject a4 notebook also from Paperchase, Yes I'm one of those people - a dreaded notebook lover. Sorry. The reason I have this for school is because I can keep all of my revision notes in one organised and sectioned place. This is where the core of my revision happens; I use the Standler multi coloured biros to colour code keywords and facts, because the physical action of writing down main points in a neat fashion helps me to remember them (and it's slightly entertaining). Once I've written down detailed information in my revision book I condense and transfer these notes to coloured revision cards meaning that wherever I am I can whip them out and revise. I find the use of colour helpful because this is supposed to stimulate your brain and helps you remember things.
Whilst doing revision in general there are two other things I like to do; one of them is to have classical music on in the background. It is soothing and makes me feel more calmed, and as I'm a big stresser this is really important for me and prevents me just giving up. I prefer this music anyways because when I have my other music on I tend to sing along with the words and this completely distracts me - I know some people can do this but I can't. Additionally, make sure your music isn't too loud because again it will distract you.
The second thing is nibbles. We all love nibbles... well at least I do. Recently I've been munching on simple fruit sherbets because I can suck them and they last longer. If not then I like chewy sweets such as fruit pastilles, or little cheese bites.
I really hope some of these tips were useful and you enjoyed seeing my favourite school supplies. Whether you have exams this year or not - Good luck!
See you next time :)
