WAH ive just hit another follower milestone & my first day of school starts tomorrow! （○＾▽＾○） so may all of you accept these printables as a thanksgiving & a parting gift (well..maybe a semi hiatus gift) so heres a mini printable pack that contains the following! (*・∀-)☆

TY FOR FOLLOWING ME printable pack by Nicole of CMPSBLS:

thank you all again!! i hope you all have a wonderful summer & to my fellow pinoy studyblrs! i hope you have a great sy! THANK U AGAIN!! and may you hAVE a wonderful day and that you find time to print these !!! dont forget to tag me with #cmpsbls! y（^ヮ^）y

CMPSBLS’ Printables Form  / about my printables

Hello everyone!（＾▽＾●）I have collected some of your requests from my Google Form & have decided to make some printable packs!!! (*・∀-)☆ This is my first & as you can see its very very simple since I used the same layout for everything!! so just a few reminders about this pack before u download it!

also a smoll warning that it may take awhile to download/preview so pls be patient heh also!! my drafts on graphnics has an assignment tracker, i just replaced it with an exam sched but i’ll be releasing it with the next pack! o(^▽^)o  please hmu & drop me an ask if u have a concern I hope you find these useful & good luck w/ ur studies everyone! (＾▽＾)/ *also u can click the pictures for hd version to see it!*

CMPSBLS’ Printables Form // printables+ by Nicole

Important TED talks

Summer is time to relax but we should take the time to think. Here are my favorites ted talk videos that I think everyone should watch:

Here’s some weapons for your essay writing arsenal!

Reply with your favourite or other great websites I didn’t include!

A friend once asked me how I manage to do my tasks so efficiently. I wrote a 500-word essay in 20 minutes. I finished my math homework and studied for a quiz in the half hour before morning assembly. I sleep at 9 pm on most nights. But how can I possibly achieve that?

I’ve seen people, even good students, check their phone every minute or two as they’re studying. I’ve seen students “study” for six hours straight, meaning taking down some notes then watching a YouTube video then reading their textbook then opening Instagram… you know what I mean.

My advice is to commit to whatever you’re doing. Not too long ago, another friend asked me, “Jo, do you ever get distracted at home?” to which I replied, “Distracted by what?” They told me about how they always have the urge to check their phones, talk to their friends, or get some food.  I can’t say I never get distracted, but it very rarely happens to me because I focus on what I’m doing–and only what I’m doing. Here’s how:

1. During the time I allocate for working, I turn my phone to airplane mode (with WiFi switched off, of course). No messages or notifications will distract me from what I’m currently doing. Recently, though, I’ve left my phone on in case there’s anything important. There might an RMUN photoshoot tomorrow, or a Physics quiz, or a music showcase. I know myself well enough to know that I have the discipline to do nothing more than glance at the notification. However, if this isn’t true for you, then I suggest you keep your phone on airplane mode.

2. When I allocate time for relaxing, that’s all I do. No homework. No textbooks. No opening emails as they come. Just me and a good book or Photoshop or the piano or something. That way, I can satiate my thirst to relax within the half hour or so and not crave more when I start working

As for music, it’s been proven that music makes you less productive when trying to recall and absorb information (studying, in other words). Music only makes you happier when you’re doing things but not more productive.

By this, I don’t only mean which ones are most urgent, but which ones you can’t accomplish anywhere other than at home. For example, let’s say you have these three tasks: a) research about structural unemployment; b) write a poem with the theme of death; c) answer some questions about quantum physics; d) do a problem set about implicit functions; and e) memorize a set of chemical reactions. This is how I would do them:

If you saw the pattern, I assigned each task a time slot when I would be most productive. I also did them from easiest to most difficult to the easiest again. Because everyone works differently, I suggest you find out which types of tasks are the most difficult (memorizing, in my case) and which types of tasks require a certain environment (e.g. requiring WiFi for doing research).

I guess that’s pretty much self-explanatory. I like to nap right after I get home from school if I’m feeling especially tired. As for breaks, I prefer to take them between tasks instead of every 25 minutes because of my high study inertia.

And that’s it! Hope this guide to efficiency was helpful in some way. I do believe that by following these four steps, you can accomplish all your tasks in a much shorter amount of time. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to drop me an ask!

I’ve seen a lot of curious people wanting to dive into classical music but don’t know where to start, so I have written out a list of pieces to listen to depending on mood. I’ve only put out a few, but please add more if you want to. hope this helps y’all out. :)

stereotypical delightful classical music:

if you need to chill:

if you need to sleep:

if you need to wake up:

if you are feeling very proud:

if you feel really excited:

if you are angry and you want to take a baseball bat and start hitting a bush:

if you want to cry for a really long time:

if you want to feel like you’re on an adventure:

if you want chills:

if you want to study:

if you really want to dance:

if you want to start bouncing in your chair:

if you’re about to pass out and you need energy:

if you want to hear suspense within music:

if you want a jazzy/classical feel:

if you want to feel emotional with no explanation:

if you want to sit back and have a nice cup of tea:

pieces that don’t really have a valid explanation:

pieces that just sound really cool:

if you feel like listening to concertos all day (I do not recommend doing that):

and if you really just hate classical music in general:

a lot of these pieces apply in multiple categories, but I sorted them by which I think they match the most. have fun exploring classical music!

also, thank you to viola-ology and iwillsavemyworld for adding on! if you would like to add on your own suggestions, please reblog and add on or message me so I can give you credit for the suggestion!

To be honest, I’m not the type of person to follow a strict schedule and have their entire day together. However, scheduling has allowed me to maximize my time and have more productive revision sessions. Aside from compelling you to actually start studying, scheduling takes into account your ability to retain information and sustain focus. Because they organize your revision according to your needs, studying becomes less threatening and less draining, ultimately making your study sessions more enjoyable.  

What should I study first?

The first step might seem obvious, but it is also one that’s often overlooked: list down all the subjects you need to study and what exactly you’ll need to do for each of them. Are you simply going to revise the theory, practice from past papers, or both? At this point, you should probably have notes, flashcards, or other study materials ready to be revised, but if not, make sure that you schedule some time to write them. By identifying the specific tasks you have to accomplish, you’ll have a rough idea of how much load you’ll have.

The next thing you want to do is sort the subjects in order of priority, such as

Tackling your weakest subjects first would be the better option if there are topics you don’t fully understand yet. Because you have to spend time developing your understanding of the topics, your study sessions won’t comprise pure revision. This is perfectly fine; you should always make sure you’ve studied the topics before you revise them. The difference between studying and revising—although some people use the two interchangeably—is that revising serves to train your memory and ability to do the actual examination, while studying means obtaining knowledge about a particular subject.

If you’re sure you understand all the material on which you’ll be tested, you could opt for revising heavier subjects first. For example, I chose to revise Chemistry first because I need to memorize a lot of reactions. Earlier revision for chemistry also allows me to apply the technique of spaced repetition to enhance my memory. This also leaves me with plenty of time to do past papers to test my memory and knowledge.

How long should I spend revising?

Now you know what and how you need to revise, but how long do you need, exactly, to complete each of your tasks? The best way to do this is to try it out! If it’s not too late, have a ‘trial hour’, where you revise any subject/topic for an hour and see how much you can get done. This way, you can allocate suitable lengths of time to revise each topic in all the subjects you’re taking. For example, in a trial hour for physics, I managed to finish nuclear physics in 30 minutes, and 2/3 chapters of electricity. This means that longer topics like electricity would take me around 45 minutes, while shorter ones like nuclear physics would take me 30 minutes.

Time-blocking this way is great for when you’re under a time constraint, but if you still have a lot of time before your exams, I recommend allocating ‘study sessions’ in general (i.e. not for specific subjects/topics), which will be covered later.

You’ll also want to consider how long it normally takes you to do past papers if you plan on doing any. Maybe you’ve done past papers before and you’ve always finished ahead of time. I usually take 45 minutes to 1 hour to finish my Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics paper, even though their allocated times are longer than that. I usually spend the rest of the time to mark the papers and analyze my mistakes. I believe it’s better to allocate time according to your speed in order to maximize your time, instead of using the actual time of the examination.

Ok, but when should I do these things?

The first thing you should consider is how your body’s energy levels change throughout the day, then you’ll be able to decide when to concentrate your most rigorous study. For example, I study best at around 9 – 11 am and 4 – 7 pm, during which I revise heavier subjects like Physics and Chemistry. On the other hand, my brain slows down at 1 – 3 pm, and during this period, I choose to practice Math or English, subjects that I believe I can still practice at a leisurely pace.

Next, think about your concentration habits. How long can you sustain focus before nothing gets into your head anymore? Before you feel drowsy and drained? This will determine how long you should study before you take a break. A lot of people use the Pomodoro method of studying for 25 minutes then taking a 5-minute break.

However, sometimes I just can’t stop studying or revising, and I would prefer to wrap up what I’m currently doing before taking a break and moving onto my next task. In other words, I prefer to divide my study content, as opposed to dividing my time. Luckily, revising a single topic usually takes me 40 minutes, after which I can take a 5-minute break.

Other people prefer to take more regular breaks, so that they may regain energy before continuing their revision. If you retain information better this way, then please do take regular breaks.

Should I study one subject the entire day or alternate every hour?

Again, this is entirely up to you. Sometimes people get tired of continuously studying a single subject, and their study sessions end up unproductive if they do so. If you feel the need for variety, then alternating would be best. But if you’re like me and have very high studying inertia, studying one subject the entire day would be better.

The same applies to studying theory and doing practice questions. Some people prefer to study some topics then do topical past papers, with the topics divided throughout the week. I prefer to revise all the topics in a day or two, then complete actual past papers the rest of the week.

What if I don’t stick to my schedule?

If you’re a P type (mbti) like me, you probably won’t. One of the most common problems I face is that when I’m supposed to be studying one subject, I feel like studying another. Well, let me tell you that this is alright, but to maximize your day, make sure that each activity has a flexible block. Alright, this is going to be a pain to explain, but I’ll try:

Let’s say you’re supposed to revise 5 chapters of physics today. 3 of these topics take 40 minutes to revise, and the other 2 take 15 minutes. You also want to take 5-minute breaks in between each chapter. This totals up to 170 minutes, or 2 hours and 50 minutes. I admit it’s pretty difficult to reschedule 2 hours and 50 minutes if nothing else on your schedule takes x hours and 10 minutes. The answer is simple: schedule a break. You’ll then have a whole number which is a lot easier to reschedule.

The second problem that could arise is that you fall behind. This is why you should always schedule a fallback hour or two at the end of the day in case your revision took longer than expected. I’ve also scheduled a fallback day in the past when I was studying for my IGCSEs, just because there was so much material to cover and I was reluctant that I could accomplish so much in so little time (a week).

If you don’t end up using your fallback hour/day to catch up, you could always use it for non-academic activities.

Recap/TLDR:

Now that you know how to schedule your revision, here’s a printable to help you out! It’s a simple, weekly planner with time slots, and an example of how to use it is shown in the photo below. I put 16 empty time slots because everyone has different active hours (e.g. mine is 7 am to 9 pm, others’ might be earlier or later), which makes this planner more flexible. Feel free to use it for other activities, too (aside from studying).

Download it here in my studyblr drive

Don’t forget to tag me (#eintsein) when you use it. Hope this post helps and best of luck in your studies!

Acing AS: The Ultimate Guide to Preparing for Exams

Just got my AS level results last week, and I gotta say, they were pretty great. For those that don’t know, AS levels are sort of Part 1 of the full Cambridge A-Level. I took 5 subjects—Math, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, and English—and scored high A’s for the first four subjects and a low A for English.

I thought I’d share with you guys the things I did throughout the year that helped me achieve those grades (and stay sane while doing so :p):

Classes

Don’t wait until the week before the exam to really start studying. Make sure you study for your topical tests and revise during your term and semester breaks. Ask your teachers whenever you don’t understand something in class. Ask your friends to help you with your homework if you really need help. Leaving things till the last minute will just increase your workload before your exams, meaning you won’t have time to fill in gaps (because there are too many) and do as many past papers as you should.

Of course, some of you might be tired and lazy after a long day of school. I follow these tips to maintain productivity so that I’ll get more things done!

Organization

Starting from the very beginning of the year, keep all your classwork, homework, and tests in a 2-inch binder. As you start to practice and complete past papers, include these in your binder as well. Having everything compiled together just makes it easier to study—you won’t be spending hours looking for your last couple of notes the night before the exam. You should also keep a printout of the syllabus and arrange all your papers according to the order in which the topics appear the syllabus.

Another binder/folder you could have is for your notes, which will probably be smaller than your binder for worksheets and past papers. You can carry this wherever you go and revise whenever you have free time. In addition, you might want to check out my Guide to Note-Taking to help you out with the note-taking and studying process.

Coffee cup vector credits

Create a Revision Schedule

I recommend starting your revision in January if your exams are May. Take it one step at a time and make sure you have no gaps in your understanding of the subject. This means you might want to allocate 2-3 hours of study per day to re-digest the topics covered in the syllabus.

Make sure you know when each of your exams are and how many days you have to study. By creating a study plan, you’ll prevent yourself from being idle or too busy to do anything else. You’ll also be able to study at the right times. For example, I had all my structured questions papers the week after my study break, so during my study break, the structured questions papers were all I studied. I didn’t waste precious time by studying for my practical exams, which were, in fact, more than a week after my last structured questions papers.

You could create an even more specific revision timetable by scheduling your study days. Here’s a link to my post on How to Create an Efficient Study Schedule.

Practice Past Exam Papers

There’s no point in going over your notes a billion times. Just because you comprehensively understand every single bullet point in the syllabus doesn’t mean you can get a high A.

Past papers, in my opinion, are the main distinguishing factor between B students and A students, or low A students and high A students. By doing past papers, you’re wiring your brain to think the way the examiners think, allowing you to score higher marks. This is because the points your brain tells you to write in the exam script are concurrent with the answers in the marking scheme, such as stating explicitly the points you think are already obvious (like the fact that higher bond energy means that you need more energy to break the bond).

For science papers, practicing from past papers mainly helps in definition and explanation questions, e.g. “Define gravitational potential energy”. Chances are, if you understand these questions, you’ll end up writing a lot more than you need to. For example, for the physics question above, you might write something like “gravitational potential energy at a point is the force per unit mass acting on a small mass placed at that point” when really all you need is “force per unit mass”. This saves time both during and before the exam since it’s easier to memorize (which is extremely helpful if you’re not great at memorizing like me).

Practicing from past papers will engrave the answers (or at the very least the structures of the answers) to recycled/repeated questions in your brain. By doing a lot of past papers, the answers to these types of questions will come to you almost instinctively.

Doing past papers will also help you reduce careless mistakes, especially since you’ll be able to spot the common ways in which the examiners will try to trick you, such as providing the value for the object’s diameter instead of its radius.

After you’ve completed several past papers, you might want to summarize your mistakes as well as the answers to any theory (as opposed to calculation) questions. I answered all my physics past papers in a notebook, and I used sticky notes to summarize them. Here are some of the points I jotted down:

These notes can then be studied so that you don’t make the same mistakes again.

In addition, I recommend doing topical questions as you revise each section of the syllabus as this will ensure you understand that part before moving onto other parts. This will enable you to identify misinterpreted concepts and common mistakes.

Finally, it is important to set a target grade when doing your past papers so that you aren’t doing them just for the sake of doing them, but rather to improve your exam skills.

Get the Examiner’s Reports

This is crucial for essay subjects like English or Economics as they tell you what the examiners are looking for and what they don’t want to see. I like to print English examiner reports and highlight key points for commentaries, or print Economics examiner reports and make a brief outline on how to answer similar essay prompts.

Examiner’s reports generally prevent the problem of not knowing what points to include in your essay. For example, an essay on economic efficiency will require an explanation of allocative efficiency and productive efficiency including their respective diagrams. You’ll also need to provide a diagram for economic efficiency. Aside from that, you’ll usually need to explain the types of market failure and how they prevent economic efficiency, making sure to include diagrams in your answer. When you have an overall structure of your essay, it’ll be a lot easier to start writing.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Just because your exams are coming up, doesn’t mean you should neglect your own health.

So there you go, some of my tips and strategies for preparing for examinations, particularly Cambridge examinations. Hope you guys take these tips into consideration whenever you’re preparing for an exam. Best of luck in your studies!

3.20.16+5:20pm // 20/100 days of productivity // i wanted to show how i organized my notes, so i made a little reference page on the plane ride back home. zoom in for better quality!