How to beat procrastination to study for the DP exams

How to stop procrastinating and how to motivate yourself to study for the IB DP exams.

As a grade 12 student you are at the end of a two year program that is very arduous. It is not uncommon that once students hit April of grade 12 they find themselves lacking motivation to study effectively. So how can you beat procrastination and study effectively?

Procrastination is often a result of feeling overwhelmed. You have two years of content to study, so where to start?

Follow these steps:

1. Organize your study space and your notebooks, subject by subject, so that you have an idea of what you actually need to do.
2. Don’t focus on the long-term goal of getting into “X” university. Focus on getting a “6” or above on Economics paper 1 or Chemistry paper 2.
3. Use the course syllabus to traffic-light the content for each course. Green = you know it. Yellow = you think you know it. Red = you know you don’t know it!
4. Make a study schedule. Begin by working backwards. The day before an exam you know you will be reviewing that course, but what are you going to do on April 26th during study leave?
5. Divide the day into three sections: morning, afternoon and evening with a focus for each based on your traffic-lighting of the syllabus.
6. Use past papers but not as a starting point. Pick questions that are related to the content you have just studied. Write bullet-pointed answers if necessary to check your understanding against the mark scheme.
7. Do not simply read your notes - Sit with your textbook, class notes and revision guide → pick out the most important information → turn it into concise bullet points, insert pictures / diagrams, colour and bold to make things stand out.
8. Put your phone in the fridge.
9. Give yourself regular breaks→ treat yourself for 15 minutes after every hour of studying.
10. If you do 1 to 10 you have every opportunity of fulfilling you potential.