99.95 ATAR Tina’s Study Tips: 1-Minute Trials and Fake Deadlines

In this article, Matrix Scholarship student Tina reveals her study tips for overcoming procrastination and boosting productivity. Kickstart your study sessions with confidence!

Me, Myself and I

Name: Tina Wang

School: Northern Beaches Secondary College (Manly Campus)

ATAR goal: 99.95 ATAR

University Goal: UNSW Engineering Co-op Program

HSC Subjects: Maths Advanced (Accelerated), Maths Extension 1, English Advanced, Chemistry, Physics, Japanese Continuers, and Engineering

Year 11 was a big jump up from Year 10 in terms of workload, and adapting my mindset to this change proved to be challenging. Balancing school, hobbies, and social life, all while having multiple assignments, never felt more stressful. Throughout this journey of high school, I have tried, changed, and maintained many study strategies that I’ve learned over the years. Some worked for me but others did not, and now, as I get further into my senior years, I realise that my Year 7 self had it so easy.

Starting study sessions was always the most difficult step for me. It felt like a mountain was looming over me, not allowing me to see past. Not to mention, making time for hobbies, extracurriculars, and your social life made this metaphorical mountain seem even more large. 

Struggling to Break the Ice?

The biggest hurdle in studying for a lot of students is having the drive to sit down and start your work. Seeing all the tasks you have to do in front of you in an endless list of terror makes us stray from getting into the study mindset. Throughout my years in high school, this has been the biggest struggle that prevented me from studying.

Whenever I remember I have a task to do, my room conveniently “needs” a spring clean, or I just have to watch a video that pops on my recommended page. It’s a convenient excuse and a way to avoid all of the problems that are currently facing you. Seeing the sheer magnitude of things you need to do adds to the pressure. It may seem easier to just ignore the feeling of needing to complete them. However, if you put off the work you could have done earlier, the workload will keep on increasing and the pressure will continue to mount. 

That is why I have collected a few study tips to help you kickstart your study session!

Study Tip #1: Do a ‘1-Minute Free Trial’

I know this might sound nonsensical, but just pretend to study for 1 minute, and if you do not like it, stop. Most of the time, it’s your mindset that makes you feel too lazy to start. It’s easier to flow into studying once you get started. 

“Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into the water, the actions of individuals can have a far-reaching effect.” — Dalai Lama

Once you do this, you will naturally want to continue and effectively flow into the study groove. Often, the hardest thing about studying is that looming mountain that seems impossible to see over. The magnitude of your workload can frighten you. However, this 1-minute free trial can be that small push that allows you to keep on studying. It doesn’t matter if this 1-minute free trial is not structured. What needs to happen is the action of getting started. For example, try jotting down your ideas on a piece of paper, whether they will be in your final draft or not. 

Study Tip #2: Set Multiple ‘Fake Deadlines’

If you are like me in the past and always left things to the last minute, you will know how much deadlines affect your work speed. The closer to this specific date you get, the more work you do and the more productive you seem to be. For me, deadlines are a way to hold myself accountable for the work I have to do. It motivates me to work and allows me to complete my tasks on time. 

If you struggle with procrastination, then listen up! I want you to do this: set “fake” or smaller deadlines for any assignments or tasks you have to complete some time before they are due. For example, if you have an English essay due in two weeks, set a fake deadline in 2 days to complete the planning, another 5 days to complete the draft, and 4 days to finalise and edit the essay. After all of this, you have a comfortable 3 days left to look over your essay thoroughly and enjoy time to relax while others might not have even started.

Having multiple smaller deadlines allows you to turn the task at hand into more manageable chunks. It makes the process seem less daunting and more systematic.

Study Tip #3: Take Breaks!

The Pomodoro Method is a famous method of study that can both be loved or hated, but I enjoy it. It’s important to structure your routine to allow for ample breaks between study blocks to prevent yourself from burning out. This is the essence of Pomodoro and one of the reasons why I enjoy using it. 

However, sometimes those 5-minute breaks can turn into a 1-hour YouTube true crime documentary. Now, this is not what we want. So, I recommend during the intervals where you take a break, do a quick activity that won’t get you distracted. Try taking a quick walk outside, grabbing a light snack to keep you going, or similar. What I’m saying is: try to avoid touching your phone or any activities that you know can become extremely distracting during the breaks.

Also, respect the timers. Going beyond the 5-minute break even once will convince you that you can break the next and the next, until you are in an eternal break interval.

A nice studying website that has a Pomodoro feature is called life.at (https://lifeat.io/app). It has multiple useful features that aid you when studying using this method. The website’s features include a Pomodoro timer, task list, and music player.

Study Tip #4: Use your Breaks!

If you find that your workload from school is too much and learning all of the content within the term is too difficult, I suggest attending a Matrix Holiday Course! I tried the Matrix Holiday Course for the first time this year, and I can say that I have entered my classes with more confidence and knowledge than I had before.

The Matrix Holiday Program provides Years 11 and 12 courses for English, Maths, and Science that are a term or two ahead of school (e.g. they start Module 1 of Chemistry in Term 4 of Year 10). The Science Holiday Courses include an intensive 5-day course in which every day students do 2 lessons coupled with 2 quizzes on the previous lessons. They provide the same Theory Book and Work Books provided during the term and focus on teaching you all the content of the course material during the school holidays.

Getting ahead of the cohort in the holidays and leaving the term for more revision-based studying not only saves time but also allows you to strengthen your foundations during the term when your school is teaching it. Furthermore, the Matrix textbooks provide quality exam-style questions that can develop your skills in preparation of any assignments. By attending a Matrix Holiday Course, you ensure that you are ahead of your studies, which allows time for other activities. Having less work to do during the school term allows studying to be less overwhelming and more achievable.

Additionally, attending Matrix classes in general allows you to stay accountable in your studies. If you find yourself being a person who does not have strong self-discipline, attending classes that have a definite deadline for tasks will slightly pressure you into completing your homework, resulting in healthier study habits that will become the foundations of your routine in Year 12.

Looking Back

If I had to list my regrets this year, it would be not utilising my time effectively enough during the summer holidays and not putting in the effort to start studying. The January summer holiday period is the perfect time to get ahead of schoolmates, either by yourself or through a holiday course such as those that Matrix provides.

Once again, initiating your study groove is the most difficult part of studying, but can be an easy fix and allows some very helpful habits to grow. So, if there is one thing I’d recommend, that is to utilise your school holidays effectively and make sure you don’t regret your actions (or lack thereof!)

The Takeaway

While making a start and getting into that study groove is the hardest part of studying, you can make it easier by:

• Do a 1-minute “free trial.”
• Set multiple “fake deadlines.”
• Reward yourself!
• Utilise your holidays to the maximum.

It’s always important to stay focused on your goal and stick to it. Hope you learned something helpful from my study tips, and happy studying!