1. Start early - most students (myself included) generally leave all their work until the last few days of the holidays, then they panic about not having enough time. As soon as you’re able, get started with your schedule. The sooner you start, the sooner all your work is done and you’re free to have a study free holiday. Plus starting early means that you will remember things from your last few classes. If you’ve been off for two weeks and not thought about school, you’ll have to review everything you did before school finish in order to jog your memory!
2. Write down everything that needs to be done - create a list of everything that you need to finish before you go back to school. I find it easiest to write everything in chronological order and separated by subject. For example, I’d write ‘read chapter 2′, then ‘summarises chapter 2′, then ‘complete review questions’. This way you can see everything you need to cover in the study plan.
3. Decide how long it will take - estimate how much time all your to-dos will take - maybe a day to type up your class notes, an afternoon to write an essay or an hour to finish a worksheet you didn’t complete. Start fitting in each task around your holiday plans. If you have a spare hour, you could draft that essay you need to write. If you’re spending two hours in the car, print your notes and revise them. Before bed, read the flashcards that you made!
4. Plan it out - using a calendar or excel, make a schedule for your holiday. It could be daily, weekly, or monthly depending on which way you find it best to plan. Include all the tasks you’d want to complete in that time period. If you get bored easily, break it up into small time periods or change subjects after a few hours! Vary the tasks you need to complete. For instance, no-one wants to spend a day writing essay after essay. Spread them out across a few days and add other small, more fun tasks in between. Here is a study schedule I created which you can download and print! Here is an example of how to fill it out. Design it to what suits you the best, illustrate it or highlight it! Make it something you want to follow.
5. Take charge of improving your productivity - By planning out your time and setting up a schedule you’re attempting to improve your productivity. Since it is the holidays you don’t want to be spending hours on end finishing work or revising. Find ways to keep yourself accountable for your time. Applications such as Forest or RescueTime are great for helping you stay focused. I also created a post with 10 small tips to improve your productivity. Have a read and try to apply some of them to your studying!
6. Stick with it - the best way to actually follow your study plan is by being motivated to use it. Put it in a place you see often, for instance near your bed or above your desk. Each morning, see what you need to do and try to get it done. Reward yourself for completing the tasks you need to and cross them off your schedule. However, don’t be afraid to make changes to it. If you can get something do sooner, go ahead but if you miss a day, don’t fret. Either reprint or retype your schedule with new plan!
7. Take time out - remember that it is your holiday and you don’t need to work 24/7. Have a break, have ten. Take a day to binge watch your favourite show or read that book you’ve wanted too. Don’t feel bad about having some down time, you deserve it! 

End goal: To make 20 mp by the end of May

Hello, people! The time has come: I will teach you the secret to study for three days and remember everything for your test. This is a hardcore studying session so I would recommend to only do it when you are truly freaking the fuck out. Now, I must tell you: It’s gonna involve some hard work, so sit comfortably because we’re about to start:

1. First reading of your main textbook
2. Second reading + highlighting 
3. Research more about the topic (internet, other books, talk to your friends, etc)
4. Resume everything (notes)
5. Do a mind map of main points 
6. If what you’re studying needs something to be memorized “word by word” (such as: meanings, processes, references, chemical reactions, etc), write it down and put it on your wall. You’re gonna read it several times during the day. 
7. Write down the topics and key words on a reference paper (you’re gonna take this paper everywhere, forcing your memory to expand from those simple key words) 
8. Review your notes 
9. Do ten exercises (questions)
10. Review your notes + exercises 
11. Watch a video class 
12. You’re done for today. Good job. Now rest, tomorrow is a new day. 

1. Review your notes
2. Read them out loud
3. Read them again, but this time record yourself
4. Listen to it. Twice. 
5. Review your notes before bed

1. Review your notes + listen to your recordings from yesterday
2. Do 30 exercises (questions)
3. Review notes + exercises 
4. Listen to your recordings again
5. Review your notes one more time.
6. FANTASTIC JOB! Now it’s your time to rest. If you’re feeling like it, read your notes one more time before bed. 

One more time, this is a heavy studying session, and not supposed to be done all the time. Remember to take care of your health and take several breaks during the day. If you don’t need, there is no need to do everything listed here. 

Good luck!!! 

•  what are things you do over and over again and never go wrong with it. These are your strengths
• What are things you hate doing because you never can do it right,no matter how much you try. These are your weaknesses.

• Competitive  ≠ being an asshole. Just because you’re trying to be better than a person does not mean you have to hate the person. Hating a person means jealousy, and that’s not good. When the person asks for some help, more often than not they do need it. And who says you have to project the competitive attitude into talk? Let your work speak for you.
• Not everyone is your mortal enemy. This is where people often mistake it for competitiveness. I repeat: being competitive is not a race. There’s no finish line, there’s an infinite amount of steps to build, and it’s okay if it’s with a friend. It’s more than okay to ask for some help,and definitely okay to help others.

Okay, shit’s fucked. You have a test in less than 24 hours and you’re freaking out. But fear not! This study plan is made for you to retain the biggest amout of information you can and practice what you know. Let’s start: 

1. Get water and something to eat.
2. Get your books, your class notes, everything,  + something to highlight. 
3. Mark what’s important (things your teacher talked about over and over, the main points of the chapter etc)
4. Write down formulas, chemical reactions, basically anything you need to memorize step by step and put it up your wall. Read it several times during the day. 
5. Read everything again and record yourself.
6. Listen while writing down key words. 
7. Now, you’re going to calm down. Take a deep breath. Start off by asking yourself “what?” answer with the main point. “Why?” explain. “Why?” explain. Keep going like that until you get to the point where you don’t know. Look at your books and get your answer. Keep asking “why?” (same thing with math and physics: “why did I get this result?”) 
8. Get your materials and answer at least 10 questions. This way, you’ll be learning both the subject and how the questions are usually made. Don’t get nervous if you don’t get anything right at first, just keep doing it. 
9. Repeat number 5 (don’t need to write down anything) 
10. +10 questions and explain them to yourself after
11. Listen to your recordings.(+ one more time before you go to sleep) 
12. Calm down, you did it. If you want to (or still have time), read everything over again. 

• The key is to do one thing at a time.
• You won’t be able to remember everything if you read something fast over and over. Take it easy and you’ll get more information. 
•  It’s easy to get stressed in this situation, but you need to keep in mind that you CAN do it. 
• Do a favor for yourself and don’t procrastinate. This is something important and you’ll feel much better knowing that you did something. 
• GOOD LUCK!! 

• Print & stick pictures of things & scenery you’d want to have and see in the near future – guaranteed to remind you of just how hard you have to work to get there!
• Print & stick motivational quotes – Grab a pastel coloured background and simply enter your desired quote using a funky font on preview (Mac). Spread these across your walls; especially in places you usually look at. (e.g: next to your light switch!) (I will post the motivational quotes I’ve made for myself eventually, for all of you to use if you’d like)
• Leave an open area for sticky notes – Use your sticky notes to write (literally) anything. Short revision notes, 3AM thoughts, night doodles, those ingenious ideas you get at 4.53AM; anything. This can be next to your bed, in front of your desk, next to your mirror, anywhere. 
•  Print & stick a calendar next to your bed – I find myself feeling at ease whenever I take a glance at the calendar next to my bed and drift off thinking about my plans for the week. This will help you feel productive when you wake up & go to bed! (Calendar printable on picture)
• Fill empty space with posters of movies, TV shows, bands you love – I cannot stress enough how essential this is (for me), as it is important for you to remind yourself of what you enjoy during your spare time. Treat yourself by searching “__(band/movie/TV show name here)__ tumblr” on google images and printing out the sickest bunch of posters you can find.
• Use magnetic & cork boards – These are your best friends. They will help your keep receipts, notices, bills, anything, organised. You’ll thank them one day for when you find that receipt for the shirt you bought. 

• Buy a whiteboard marker & make notes on your mirror – Right, so let’s admit it. When you take breaks, you give your mirror a couple of glances… right? Well, make use of it! I make pre-exam notes on my mirror the night & morning before my exam. It’s really helpful as I’m forced to revise while getting ready. 
• Write possible exam questions on a sticky note – I find this really effective as I’m eventually forced to quickly think of an answer on the spot when I see one of my exam question sticky note on my mirror. This also trains the speed of your thinking skills.

1. Around when you first start studying for exams
2. Near your actual exam times 
3. Day before your exams if you know when they are
4. Random dates throughout the year for a nice surprise
5. At specific times such as the middle of the year if you know you get into a bit of a slump then.
6. After your exams for a congratulatory email 

1. Your fave motivational quote/song
2. Why you want to study and do well
3. Advice that you might overlook/forget about
4. A challenge, eg: When you read this email, go put 10 out of place things in your room back to where they belong
5. A nice message wishing yourself good luck!

1. Don’t leave your studying all to the last minute. I cannot stress this enough. Chemistry can be very confusing and therefore might take longer to study for then other classes. Five 1 hour study sessions beats one 5 hour session every time.
2. Use your textbook. Honestly, it’s surprising how many people just ignore their book and only use their notes. This is fine in some cases, but in most textbooks there are practice problems at the end of each chapter which may be very similar to the ones of the exam.
3. Double-check material. You may be tempted to only study the sections you don’t understand or forgot. Don’t do this. Seriously, I’ve done this before and when I got to the test I realized I had forgot the material I was confident with in the first place. Basically, review the hard things first, but don’t forget to go over the things you think you know already. 
4. Memorize the formulas and constants. This should be obvious but you should know formulas and constants backwards, forwards, and upside down (I’m joking, but seriously..). Looking at a problem and realizing you don’t know the formula is literally the worst thing.
5. Practice with the calculator you are going to use on the test. Again, this should be obvious but just in case I’m going to put it on here. 
6. Go over the steps.  Drawing Lewis structures and balancing equations take many steps so make sure you know all of them, and which order the steps go in. 
7. Watch videos. For auditory and visual learners (like myself), watching videos can be a helpful asset while studying for an exam. My favorites include Crash Course (more general) and Khan Academy (more specific). Pro Tip: I like to speed up Khan Academy videos 1.25x or 1.5x because they are a bit slow for me.
8. Use premade study guides. Sparknotes has some good ones, you can find a ton if you just google search. If you want the ones I make for myself just send me a message.
9. Don’t rely on flash cards too much. Flashcards can be useful but if your teacher is anything like mine, you will have to be able to understand and explain concepts, not just rattle off a bunch of definitions. I found that flashcards help me more on multiple choice tests, not so much on free-response ones. 
10. Review your labs. Concepts found on your labs will most likely appear on your final, and it’s good to have the fresh in your memory. This is also helpful for tactical learners because they might remember concept better that they have seen and experienced themselves. 

1. Keep track of your units. Always the unit on the end of an answer. There is usually a unit on everything. 
2. Look over all of the questions when you get the test. Do the easy ones first. This seems counterintuitive, but seriously, trust me. 
3. Proofread all of your free response questions before turning in the test. 
4. Check your math. Twice. Thee times. Make sure it’s right. Stupid math errors are usually what makes the difference between and A- and B+. 
5. Keep track of sig figs and don’t use rounded values. Rounding your answer should be the very last thing you do.
6. Write something. Usually you get some points for writing what you know, or guessing, rather than leaving the answer blank. 
7. Re-check all answers at the end. Honestly, I never used to do this but surprisingly it helps a lot.

• tons of downloadable content and notes
• online quizzes
• test where your weak areas are
• answered questions on just about any topic concerning chemistry
• calculator to balance equations
• unit conversion calculator
• list of constants
• a bunch of free online courseware
• all of my personal study guides (made by me featuring material from my awesome chemistry teacher) are now available for free HERE.

• I tend to study at least two weeks out the material that will be on the exam. If the exam covers chapter X-Z, I break up the chapters and review everyday.
• I DO NOT cram all my material in a day or pull all nighters. This has never worked for me and plus, I value my sanity and sleep too much.
• I review and do my homework problems as soon lecture get out.
• Any questions I have about the material, I go to my professor’s office hours during these couple of weeks before the exams because MOST students wait the day of the exam and I don’t have time to deal with people who waited last minute to ask questions.
• I do not study ALL day. Nope. I hate looking at the material all day and I spend about 2-4 hours on the material per day.

• All homework should be completed by this time and the only problem solving I will do is for practice exams/quizzes.
• I begin reviewing my material by either teaching it to other people, writing it all out, or rewriting important concepts over and over again.
• I begin winding down on material. I do not let up on studying, but I also don’t spend hours reviewing/studying

• I review a little bit that day and I try to relax that day. I have lots of test anxiety and I have to make sure I am stress-free on exam day.
• 1-2 hours before bed, I put my books and material down and do something fun before bed such as reading a book for fun.

• By this point, I hate looking at my material for the exam and I am so sick of looking at it so a lot of times I don’t bring it with me.
• I listen to music before the exam, something calming.
• I do not like to be near people before the exam. My chemistry friends were so negative and mean, I just didn’t bother with them during exam day. So I would isolate myself.
• I do a lot of deep breathing exercises to calm my nerves and think positive thoughts. It works so much for me especially with my test anxiety.

• I go home or do something constructive like exercise after the exam. I do not like to think about the exam at all and I vacate the testing area as soon as possible because I do not want to hear about how people did.
• I do other assignments for other classes if I have homework, but I won’t do anything for that class I took a test in. Again, I don’t like to look at the material after an exam.