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Hi everyone! 

 

So my first year of IB Diploma Program is about to end, and I have a lot to do over this summer.

 

I just want to know if anyone has any time management tips, advice, or any sort of system of how you juggle school work, house work, socializing, exercising and everything else...

 

Thank you! :)

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In my opinion, best thing to do is work your ass off in the early parts of the holidays and then chill. If that doesn't seem appealing, I would say put aside 1-2 hours a day, and just work.

If you absolutely cannot do that, just spend the last week locked up and work.

I'm probably gonna do the first option, but hey, life changes :P

Hope this helps,

King112

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In my opinion, best thing to do is work your ass off in the early parts of the holidays and then chill. If that doesn't seem appealing, I would say put aside 1-2 hours a day, and just work.

If you absolutely cannot do that, just spend the last week locked up and work.

I'm probably gonna do the first option, but hey, life changes :P

Hope this helps,

King112

 

Haha, thanks for the advice!

 

Thing is, I want to do an early revision of all the subjects, plus writing the EE, plus studying and taking the SAT, while I have other things to do, so I'm freaking out!

 

Hope your IB1 year is going well :)

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Well depending on what courses you take, your plan of action will be different. 

 

For me, I like to finish some of my homework at school during lunch (with friends, so it's not completely dull). So I'll complete anything that includes textbook work, worksheets, reading notes...etc. By doing this at school, I save time at home (commuting time is about 1-1.5 hours for me). If I have a book to read, I'll read that on the bus home, again to save time. So when I get home, I'll take a little break because school is pretty tiring most days, and then I'll finish any calculation type homework that I have (i.e. chemistry, physics, math). Depending on how much time I spend on that, I'll give myself a 10-15 minute break where I eat a snack or something then go back to work on writing and reading subjects (i.e. history, english, french, biology). After that, I like to exercise (sometimes, I'll try to exercise right after school so I am refreshed and ready to study) so I eat a proper dinner :P  Then more studying! 

 

Socializing: I try to do most of my socializing either AT school or during weekends/holidays. With my friends, it's difficult sometimes because most of us don't drive yet and we live so far from each other (different ends of the city) so making regular plans is challenging. With family, I tend to have social gatherings every once in a while so I try to go to as many of those as I can, unless it's exam time. What I like to do is make plans with friends and then set a goal to finish (insert task here) and Step 1 and 2 of (insert task here) so I'll feel like I actually achieved the relaxation time. I don't spend that much time on social media (I'm not counting IBS :P) because it's too distracting. 

 

House work: I love baking, and cooking so I like helping my mom in the kitchen but it's hard to do so during weekdays so I like making lunches and/or dinner on weekends so she can take a break. Most of my house chores are over the weekend (laundry, cleaning rooms..etc.) but if there's anything throughout the week, I'll take those as a break too. I try to make them a little more enjoyable by playing music and singing the songs ridiculously. But again, I'll make sure I'll have finished something prior to completing house work so I am satisfied that I deserve the break. 

 

Preparing for courses ahead of time: Read the syllabus. That is, what I would say, one of the best ways of understanding what you'll be doing for every course you've taken. If you have a good textbook for those subjects, I would suggest sitting down and reading that too, or skimming it so you get an idea of what you'll be up against. What I would suggest when working on school work over the summer is not to finish it in one sitting, you'll tire yourself out and never want to do it again. Finish each major task step-by-step so you can improve it along the way and maybe even enjoy it. :)

 

I hope this helps!

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If you can afford it time wise, I would suggest taking maybe the first week off. If you finish school, and move on to full time study mode at home, stress and a burn-out might follow. Just do anything you want during that first week, socialise, get some exercise, relax and maximise sleep. Once you've unwound, start with a flexible schedule for your studying. I found for me, setting rigid school-like schedules dictating my daily time allocations did not work whatsoever. I would take a more achievement-based approach.

 

Start by outlining what it is you want to achieve, try to determine how much of your time each goal will take, and then allocate sufficient time to complete them. Efficiency also depends on how you like to work, if you prefer doing a little bit of every subject daily, or if you prefer to crack down and finish something in one go. Though things like reading and studying certain subjects can be a bit daunting if you attempt to get through the whole syllabus in one block. (Speaking from experience, think revising for Biology exams in the past weeks :D ) I really agree with IbTrojan though, the syllabi are an invaluable tool to use and they definitely do allow you to form a general understanding of the things to come, even if you don't study it all in detail at this point yet. 

 

Useful reading for developing your examination skills in general, is the subject reports from past examination sessions. These are question-specific comments that the head-examiner for each subject makes on the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates as a whole in answering questions. Obviously this is much more useful once you have completed the course, and if you have access to the exam papers themselves. You would need to be in touch with your teachers to obtain them. 

 

Don't be too tough on yourself either. You are already doing more than most (trust me) by dedicating a significant portion of your time during holidays to working, so keep that in mind. And with the EE, don't stress about it too much. You will have considerable time to work on it during the fall of your second year. Any progress you make is just less time you have to think about it during the school year, even if you don't finish it completely during the summer. Keep in mind supervisor feedback is very important, you don't want to work very hard on a section of the essay, only to be told your essay could do without it.

 

Finally, I would try to create some variety in your daily routine by changing up your 'schedule'. You could work early one day, then have more free time in the afternoon/evening and vice versa, so you aren't bound as you are with normal school hours. This allows for more adaptability to what you want to achieve in terms of relaxing, socialising, housework and exercising as well. Try to give yourself some days off as well, you are on holiday after all. ;) You don't even have to plan these ahead, you can go by how you feel on any particular day. 

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Well depending on what courses you take, your plan of action will be different. 

 

For me, I like to finish some of my homework at school during lunch (with friends, so it's not completely dull). So I'll complete anything that includes textbook work, worksheets, reading notes...etc. By doing this at school, I save time at home (commuting time is about 1-1.5 hours for me). If I have a book to read, I'll read that on the bus home, again to save time. So when I get home, I'll take a little break because school is pretty tiring most days, and then I'll finish any calculation type homework that I have (i.e. chemistry, physics, math). Depending on how much time I spend on that, I'll give myself a 10-15 minute break where I eat a snack or something then go back to work on writing and reading subjects (i.e. history, english, french, biology). After that, I like to exercise (sometimes, I'll try to exercise right after school so I am refreshed and ready to study) so I eat a proper dinner :P  Then more studying! 

 

Socializing: I try to do most of my socializing either AT school or during weekends/holidays. With my friends, it's difficult sometimes because most of us don't drive yet and we live so far from each other (different ends of the city) so making regular plans is challenging. With family, I tend to have social gatherings every once in a while so I try to go to as many of those as I can, unless it's exam time. What I like to do is make plans with friends and then set a goal to finish (insert task here) and Step 1 and 2 of (insert task here) so I'll feel like I actually achieved the relaxation time. I don't spend that much time on social media (I'm not counting IBS :P) because it's too distracting. 

 

House work: I love baking, and cooking so I like helping my mom in the kitchen but it's hard to do so during weekdays so I like making lunches and/or dinner on weekends so she can take a break. Most of my house chores are over the weekend (laundry, cleaning rooms..etc.) but if there's anything throughout the week, I'll take those as a break too. I try to make them a little more enjoyable by playing music and singing the songs ridiculously. But again, I'll make sure I'll have finished something prior to completing house work so I am satisfied that I deserve the break. 

 

Preparing for courses ahead of time: Read the syllabus. That is, what I would say, one of the best ways of understanding what you'll be doing for every course you've taken. If you have a good textbook for those subjects, I would suggest sitting down and reading that too, or skimming it so you get an idea of what you'll be up against. What I would suggest when working on school work over the summer is not to finish it in one sitting, you'll tire yourself out and never want to do it again. Finish each major task step-by-step so you can improve it along the way and maybe even enjoy it. :)

 

I hope this helps!

 

Wow... You're incredible! I wouldn't complain about having no time to do anything if I could be productive like you. When does school start and end for you though? I'm very curious about how you could divide your time at home for everything like that. I struggle, a lot.

 

Yes, I've printed the syllabi and am about to begin reading through them over the summer. 

 

Thanks for the tip! :)

 

If you can afford it time wise, I would suggest taking maybe the first week off. If you finish school, and move on to full time study mode at home, stress and a burn-out might follow. Just do anything you want during that first week, socialise, get some exercise, relax and maximise sleep. Once you've unwound, start with a flexible schedule for your studying. I found for me, setting rigid school-like schedules dictating my daily time allocations did not work whatsoever. I would take a more achievement-based approach.

 

Start by outlining what it is you want to achieve, try to determine how much of your time each goal will take, and then allocate sufficient time to complete them. Efficiency also depends on how you like to work, if you prefer doing a little bit of every subject daily, or if you prefer to crack down and finish something in one go. Though things like reading and studying certain subjects can be a bit daunting if you attempt to get through the whole syllabus in one block. (Speaking from experience, think revising for Biology exams in the past weeks :D ) I really agree with IbTrojan though, the syllabi are an invaluable tool to use and they definitely do allow you to form a general understanding of the things to come, even if you don't study it all in detail at this point yet. 

 

Useful reading for developing your examination skills in general, is the subject reports from past examination sessions. These are question-specific comments that the head-examiner for each subject makes on the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates as a whole in answering questions. Obviously this is much more useful once you have completed the course, and if you have access to the exam papers themselves. You would need to be in touch with your teachers to obtain them. 

 

Don't be too tough on yourself either. You are already doing more than most (trust me) by dedicating a significant portion of your time during holidays to working, so keep that in mind. And with the EE, don't stress about it too much. You will have considerable time to work on it during the fall of your second year. Any progress you make is just less time you have to think about it during the school year, even if you don't finish it completely during the summer. Keep in mind supervisor feedback is very important, you don't want to work very hard on a section of the essay, only to be told your essay could do without it.

 

Finally, I would try to create some variety in your daily routine by changing up your 'schedule'. You could work early one day, then have more free time in the afternoon/evening and vice versa, so you aren't bound as you are with normal school hours. This allows for more adaptability to what you want to achieve in terms of relaxing, socialising, housework and exercising as well. Try to give yourself some days off as well, you are on holiday after all. ;) You don't even have to plan these ahead, you can go by how you feel on any particular day. 

 

Haha, I know how it feels to be burned out so well! So I guess I'll follow your tip on loosening it up the first week :)

 

Hmm, about the past papers... I can hardly find them online. So yes, I'll try contacting my teachers to see how it goes.

 

Thanks for the tips :D

 

Great tips above! And also don't forget to reward yourself with some free time. Summer is meant for you to relax...a bit :)

 

Haha, of course I will :) 

 

I'm actually rather afraid of ending up procrastinating too much in the name of "relaxing because it is a holiday" type of thing.

 

cut out facebook, when you work, work quickly, don't pull allnighters b/c sleep deprivation will wear you out, making you less productive in the long run, don't eat fatty foods they make you lethargic

 

Haha, I think I'm doing everything opposite to what you're saying. Will take note of those and try to change myself :)

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Well depending on what courses you take, your plan of action will be different. 

 

For me, I like to finish some of my homework at school during lunch (with friends, so it's not completely dull). So I'll complete anything that includes textbook work, worksheets, reading notes...etc. By doing this at school, I save time at home (commuting time is about 1-1.5 hours for me). If I have a book to read, I'll read that on the bus home, again to save time. So when I get home, I'll take a little break because school is pretty tiring most days, and then I'll finish any calculation type homework that I have (i.e. chemistry, physics, math). Depending on how much time I spend on that, I'll give myself a 10-15 minute break where I eat a snack or something then go back to work on writing and reading subjects (i.e. history, english, french, biology). After that, I like to exercise (sometimes, I'll try to exercise right after school so I am refreshed and ready to study) so I eat a proper dinner :P  Then more studying! 

 

Socializing: I try to do most of my socializing either AT school or during weekends/holidays. With my friends, it's difficult sometimes because most of us don't drive yet and we live so far from each other (different ends of the city) so making regular plans is challenging. With family, I tend to have social gatherings every once in a while so I try to go to as many of those as I can, unless it's exam time. What I like to do is make plans with friends and then set a goal to finish (insert task here) and Step 1 and 2 of (insert task here) so I'll feel like I actually achieved the relaxation time. I don't spend that much time on social media (I'm not counting IBS :P) because it's too distracting. 

 

House work: I love baking, and cooking so I like helping my mom in the kitchen but it's hard to do so during weekdays so I like making lunches and/or dinner on weekends so she can take a break. Most of my house chores are over the weekend (laundry, cleaning rooms..etc.) but if there's anything throughout the week, I'll take those as a break too. I try to make them a little more enjoyable by playing music and singing the songs ridiculously. But again, I'll make sure I'll have finished something prior to completing house work so I am satisfied that I deserve the break. 

 

Preparing for courses ahead of time: Read the syllabus. That is, what I would say, one of the best ways of understanding what you'll be doing for every course you've taken. If you have a good textbook for those subjects, I would suggest sitting down and reading that too, or skimming it so you get an idea of what you'll be up against. What I would suggest when working on school work over the summer is not to finish it in one sitting, you'll tire yourself out and never want to do it again. Finish each major task step-by-step so you can improve it along the way and maybe even enjoy it. :)

 

I hope this helps!

 

Wow... You're incredible! I wouldn't complain about having no time to do anything if I could be productive like you. When does school start and end for you though? I'm very curious about how you could divide your time at home for everything like that. I struggle, a lot.

 

Yes, I've printed the syllabi and am about to begin reading through them over the summer. 

 

Thanks for the tip! :)

 

 

Haha, not really incredible to be honest...I keep up at school but my grades still aren't where I want them to be. Working on that though :P

Don't get me wrong, I still struggle but I try. That's all 

My school starts at 8:15 am and ends at 2:48 pm. I leave to get to school at 7:00 am and get home around 4:00 pm (if I have no clubs after school)

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