Time Management

[Kili-ng Me Softly]

How should I study this summer holiday? Like what should I do to ensure I get 40 points by the end of IB2?

[dragn]

Hi I was wondering if there was any point in reviewing or self-teaching some chapters in subjects like Physics, Chemistry or Math during the summer? Would it just be a waste of time (I find it impossible to study without the pressure of tests coming up) or would it be good to get ahead?

[-._._.-]

Hi I was wondering if there was any point in reviewing or self-teaching some chapters in subjects like Physics, Chemistry or Math during the summer? Would it just be a waste of time (I find it impossible to study without the pressure of tests coming up) or would it be good to get ahead?

Hey do your EE over the summer. And any outstanding IA's/assignments. TOK essay? TOK presentation? If you're done with everything that was assigned, see if you can plan for those that have not been assigned yet like TOK. If not, and all outstanding work is done, then revise. Subjects you are weak in, topics you're unsure about. Physics, chemistry, maths, make sure you know the concepts.

I believe these are better ways to spend your summer instead of self teaching. That should be a lot already. Once you are done with these, take a break or you can start self teaching. Self teaching before your teacher teaches is actually a good idea as you'll not be so lost in class. But maybe more of a "pre-read" rather than a "self-teach". So in the future, once you're done with your work and feel that IB is not giving you enough things to do ( ) then feel free to pre-read the topics. Oh and make sure you take some time off sometimes.

Edited June 13, 2013 by -._._.-

[Nicole Woo]

Thank you for compiling these ideas here. I've been using the Pomodoro technique but I didnt know there was a name for it. Since my phone timer only makes me want to use my phone, I'm going to start using the kitchen timer instead.

[Guest LeSuricate]

My school does EE during the summer...atleast they try and make you. If you don't follow the dealines they set apart then you get trouble but it's all to keep us on task and not to drive our mentor/teachers crazy. lol

In any case I get distracted easily (either that or I just over whelm myself by htinking of all the stuff I have to do), so I'm thankful for you guys posting the tips for time management.

Thank you for compiling these ideas here. I've been using the Pomodoro technique but I didnt know there was a name for it. Since my phone timer only makes me want to use my phone, I'm going to start using the kitchen timer instead. 

Yeah...I'm going to have to find another timer too. I've used my phone as a timer before and I ended up looking at my phone and checking apps and stuff.

[Subhasree K]

thnk u soooo much!!! You felt like my very close friend when i was going throu......

so kind of you to post such these priceless advise which will definitely be helpfull not only in DP but also all along our life!!!!

Waiting for many moreee from youu!! Mind blowing and entirely refreshing!! :clap:

Once again thnk you soo much!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[turtle turtle]

i procrastinate here but it feels productive, urg! i know it's a bad idea

[Schrodinger's CAS]

Our school makes us do our HI and EE over the summer. Every single grade 12 that I've talked to preached the importance of working on your EE during the summer.

[justoutsim]

Just my two cents on the Pomodoro technique: I find that although my concentration improves, my knowledge of the material seems somewhat fragmented, and it's slightly more difficult to understand how things are linked together, even after such a short break. Starting work at 9-11 seems to be the best time for me to absorb all the information in front of me, but of course, everyone learns differently so to each his own!

Edited May 31, 2015 by justoutsim

[Basty Schwinte]

Sup people of the IB. I found a short guide that I wrote a while ago that deals with stress and procrastination. I'll add more to it later (the irony but it is late ) so hopefully it's helpful. There's more to come if I remember

Stress

Firstly stress at school is mainly caused by lack of organisation. So sorting that out could half or even eliminate your 'i want to rip the hair out of my head' feeling!

How to organise work:

• Invest in a folder if you write notes with a note book and use folder separators to make things easier.
• This makes losing notes a lot less likely because they are in a named folder. Plus it makes you feel really professional

If you're feeling that things are getting to you, just step back for a little bit and think. You don't need to be getting overly stressed because that hinders your work and can result in tears, this isn't helpful to your development because it lowers your confidence. Try drinking some water, taking a short break from revision or going for a walk. Clear your mind.

Procrastination

This thing is horrible. I hate it loads and i have a half decent way of sorting it out. Just know that you cannot get rid of it completely otherwise you'll probably end up not enjoying life. No one can seize EVERY SINGLE opportunity they have to work. It's just not realistic haha

The reason why procrastination happens is because there are two parts of your brain that helps this. ( I cannot remember their names, forgive me for that)

One part see's the short term benefit of everything, like going on facebook or staring into the sky. This part is much bigger than the part that see's the long term benefit of working now. Plus the long term benfit part (the determined one) gets tired quickly.

Ok, imagine yourself as two people. 'present' you, and 'future' you.

'Present' you wants to put off work and say i'll do it tomorrow until your you've started everything too late. This would make you think, 'yea i promise i'll do it tomorrow but now i'll watch tv' or 'now i'll stare at pictures of yoda riding a cat'. Do you notice this trend? It happens a lot.

What you need to remember is that, it isn't now you that will be feeling the consequences of your procrastination, it'll be future you. (i hope this is making sense so far)

You need to look to future you and think that you want to have less work so you'll do it now.

Procrastination isn't because you're lazy, it's because you're weak in the sight of distractions (that sounds mean but everyone gets distracted for the reason i stated above)

• Keep your work neat.
  • You don't want to be revising and realise that you cannot read half of anything that you've written. Some care will go a long way.
  • You don't need to write full sentences when making notes, just something that can remind you what was taking place in class.
• Try organising your work daily.
  • This further reduces the chances of losing sheets and notes, hole punch it and keep it safe. You'd be surprised how much they can help

• Lessen the distractions!
• Disable facebook or move the facebook app from the homepage of your phone
• Mute your computer so you aren't hearing all sorts of notifications
• Clear the cookies from your computer so you have to enter your password in everytime you want to log into something (but make sure you remember them haha) This makes logging into stuff an added effort so you're more inclined to just not bother and start your work.
• And if you need to just ban yourself from IBS and TSR (if you use it too)

• Give yourself motivation!
• Put pictures up of what you want to achieve
• Plan a little treat you can have ONLY if you've completed a certain amount of work... not if you've done something for a specific time
• It's too easy to say 'i've read for half an hour, time to chill'. You could've just been sitting there

[*]Look into what you want to do and what you need to do to get there

My next point is that not all procrastination is bad!

So when you feel lazy instead of refreshing the facebook homepage, read an article from the news or a page from a book relating to your subjects.

Plus don't mistake procrastination for having a break, breaks are good! they keep your sanity in tact

Ok the end is here! After multiple facebook references, unnecessary emoticons, incomplete sentences and poor humour that is.

I really do hope someone finds this helpful as this took me a while to write but maybe it'll be worth it

Just remember, a little stress isn't bad and taking breaks isn't the same as procrastination.

I'll be adding more to this as things come to me.

****

Here is a prioritized to do list: PrioritizedToDolist.pdf

You list all your tasks and label them A - F, with A being the most important and anything after D generally something you can put off until you've finished everything before that.

Stay concentrated and it won't seem like that much of a daunting task!

Thanks for the tipps

Im starting the IB in august and i already bought a 5 inch binder and e lot of post its and notebooks, and ofcourse my kipling bag with a computer bag, because IB without a laptop is almost impossible

[Lixter]

Most of the time, I fail to properly manage my time because I tend to be a perfectionist and try to do everything as well as possible. At times, I will spend hours trying to work on the first few paragraphs of an essay. Does anyone know any tips or tricks to remove this bad habit? Thanks in advance!

[Thrype]

On 1/23/2018 at 11:47 PM, Lixter said:

Most of the time, I fail to properly manage my time because I tend to be a perfectionist and try to do everything as well as possible. At times, I will spend hours trying to work on the first few paragraphs of an essay. Does anyone know any tips or tricks to remove this bad habit? Thanks in advance!

Not sure if this is a habit that will work for others, but I write my first draft of an essay in the most informal tone I possibly can in order to avoid perfectionism. I treat it like a text convo with a friend at 2am and then the rough draft I finish absolutely needs polishing, but I've found I can edit the content much better and make significant changes since I'm not invested in the presentation of my ideas yet. Plus I find it really satisfying to  edit and change it all into formal writing 

[badstudent]

In all honesty, I'm really scared on starting the IBDP. I haven't exactly been the best student in my 9th to 10th grades. Although i'm not failing (i get mostly B's and some A's), I don't think i'm thriving either. In my opinion, I am the worst student ever. I don't take notes, I don't have a study routine, I don't even feel like i'm "studying" when I do. School for me is just a mess of cram-studying and revision. I don't feel like i'm learning anything, or getting strong base knowledge on the subjects i'm taking. Online learning has just worsened things for me, and I fear that I have gone to such a bad state that I wouldn't even be able to do the IB.

There is a lot of pressure to succeed on me, and I really want to be able to succeed in the IB and further in life, but I just can't start doing it. I tell myself that sometime in the future that I will fix myself and get my stuff together. But realistically, I'd probably just be repeating what i'm doing now during the IB. Right now, even the simplest task of organizing myself and my time seems like a massive task. If there's anyone out there whose been through the same thing, tell me, how did you get out of this?

Sorry if i'm not really coherent or making sense right now, but i've just been wracked thinking about this.

[ZBSA]

On 5/3/2013 at 9:43 AM, Icekacang00 said:

I deleted facebook app on my phone..but it didnt work because I would still access it in safari..><

I asked my dad to block a social media site (the only one I use and I'm the only one to use) from the main network. 

No way to access it now