Study Shark Blog #1 The Set-Up to Study Smart

To kickstart our Study Shark Blogs let me introduce you to Sean.  I’m his number 1 fan!  I met him on SC through bants and chats and he attended our LC Dublin Workshops last year (H1 in French of course!).  When he obtained 625 points in the LC last year I knew we needed his brain!  He agreed to join our EF team and take part in our Dublin Workshops this past year – sharing his tips/tricks to study at the workshops and in our exclusive FB live streaming as part of the workshop programme.  We are thrilled that he is taking part again this coming year.

Over to you Sean! ( Ps he loves pizza!) 

Bonjour/Bonsoir/Bon-whatevertimeyouarereadingthis mes amis!! My name is Seán. For those of you who have been watching EssentialFrench on Snapchat and Instagram long enough, you will know that I give study tips and tricks at the LC Dublin Workshops. Last year I got 625 points in my Leaving Cert.

À mon avis, one of the best things I ever did throughout sixth year was have a balance in my timetable. I did my homework, study, and then something fun so that my life didn’t revolve around the Leaving Cert. My top tip is to find something you love doing. Maybe it’s watching a Netflix show, playing a sport, or singing in the shower. Find something and incorporate it into your weekly timetable.

For me, I always left my Saturday evening free so if I wasn’t going out (shock horror…you can go out during the year if you work your time properly) I’d meet up with a few of my friends, order a takeaway, and watch a movie. You might think that your next year will consist of you being locked in your room 24/7 studying, but it really shouldn’t. Once you make sure some study is done throughout the week, it is more than alright to take a break when you need it. I mean, if you really want to get into an argument…it’s important to have good social skills for your orals in April so why not practice them with friends on a Saturday night?!

Doing this every week will also help alleviate stress and leave you feeling refreshed in between your study sessions. It’s almost like when you wake up in the middle of the night on the warm side of the pillow (we all know how it feels!!) Then, once you flip back to the cool side, you love life again, and are ready to head back to sleep.

Another great thing to do, and something you can do right now (well…wait till you finish reading this), is make goals. Make a goal for how many points you want to get, what grade you want to get in Maths, or what topics you want to have studied by the end of your first month back to school. Just make sure they are achievable and in line with how much study you plan to do throughout the year.

You may be asking but why should I have a goal? Well, if any of you guys watched the World Cup, it was kind of important that there were goals on the pitch. Without a goal, the players would’ve just been running endlessly until they burned out and couldn’t go any further.

Did that make sense? Basically, what I’m trying to say is, if you have a goal…your year will have a focus. You know whatever study you do is making a difference. You know that you aren’t just studying for the thrill of it, you are studying so that you can reach your end goal (Maybe that’s a H1 in French, 487 points, or studying photosynthesis before the end of the month!!)

One last tip I’ll give you is to try and be as organised as you can be throughout the next year. I once saw a blogger use “tidy desk, tidy mind” as an Instagram caption. Now, that I’m an official Blogger I might as well use it too. It is extremely important that you have an organised space to study. If possible, don’t have it in your bedroom, so that you can sleep (on the cool side of the pillow) in peace without having nightmares about the B rule, or writing une carte postale!!!

Some tips for creating an organised study space…

1. Have a place to put books that you can organise by subject (i.e. have a pile for English, Irish, etc…). They don’t have to be organised by subject but trust me, it makes throwing out books at the end of the year much more satisfying because you can simply throw each pile in the bin you finish the exam!!
2. Have a wall or a whiteboard where you can put post-its/study cards with important information you want to remember. My wall also had clippings of One Direction too…just for that extra bit of motivation.
3. Have folders (Lidl currently have them for €1.50 #notspon) to organise any sheets you are given/notes you make. It will make life so much easier, trust me!

So, hopefully you found this blogpost helpful. I wish you all the best throughout the next year. Whether it’s first year, or sixth year – try and enjoy yourself!! Although I can’t promise you’ll have a ball learning off Romeo and Juliet quotes, I do know you can have fun in your learning. Do it with friends, use Snapchat or Instagram, just find what works for you.

Anyways, I better say ‘au revoir’ and let you make your study goals.

Here’s hoping I end up on Bloggers Unveiled 2.0…

Sean