Help with Stress and Chem

[Megan]

BACKGROUND INFO: I am entering my second half of my first year of IB DP and i am starting to feel the impact of the work of all my classes. I used to be really good with doing my homework, studying etc. But now im getting to the point where procrastination is settling in, and especially for my work in chem. I find that it is really hard to grasp the content and my teacher is not very kind when it comes to help so id prefer to not go to her for help, as she doesnt help but instead make you feel bad and then just tell you the answer..... Anyways off of my Chem rant, im finding it hard to focus when it comes down to studying and i end up procrastinating now because of it and now i am super stressed and overloaded....

 

SO BASICALLY any tips on how to avoid procrastination, deal with stress and anxiety, and get help for HL Chem (w/o going directly to the teacher)

[kw0573]

One thing is to be more thick-skinned and keep asking your chem teacher or other students for help. Think about it. if you get better grades in test, you will get a good predicted grade; it doesn't matter if you ask a million questions to get there.

To combat procrastination, you should try some of the following
1) Find something quick you can do once every day to relieve stress. For example go to the gym for 20 minutes, or doodle, or read some magazine (in print).
2) Start assignments early--even if means do a 10 min outline for your paper the night it's assigned. Once you start something, set a reasonable goal every day or few days (eg, finish the introduction for this essay; find 5 websites I can use for my paper). If it helps, write the goal down. Once you reach the goal, move on to something completely different.
3) When you take breaks between study session, use a 15 min timer so you don't spend too long not being productive.
4) In an ideal world, prioritize important and non-urgent things (eg, the assignment due in a month) over somewhat important, urgent things (eg the math homework that your teacher's not gonna check). But, do the important and non-urgent stuff a tiny bit nearly every day, and build consistency.
5) Every time you find yourself not sure what to do for an assignment. Do whatever you can to convince yourself that it's not impossible. If you are ever stuck, ask a helping friend on how to start (but don't wander off chatting for too long!)
6) Sleep early. Don't give yourself to sleep late because of IB.

[Elc]

Since I really can't help with procrastination myself, here are some chemistry tips:

• Write notes: pull the syllabus apart. For every topic and sub-topics, thoroughly read and make sure you understand all the UNDERSTANDINGS, APPLICATIONS and SKILLS, and understand what NATURE OF SCIENCE is trying to say. This way, you won't leave out any minor aspects that was not covered in class / was confusion. Refer to textbooks, study guides and online materials (if you still can't understand a specific point; recommend Chemguide and videos by Richard Thornley) to learn every point one by one, not trying to get the whole thing at the first go. Also, you are less likely to have a mental breakdown if you known what you are learning in class. 

 

• Stay calm: this is obvious, but I find being calm improves my ability to..well, learn. Remember that the IB syllabus was designed for high school students. It is not university level. It, therefore, should not be that hard to understand on a basic level. Well, sure, it may be "hard", but it was built over decades for teenage students. Can be worse. Just remind yourself you'd probably get it sooner or later and do not try to over complicate stuff. Speaking of over complication, this is really important because most of the times I get confused is when I try to do this. 

Edited February 2, 2016 by Elca