Hello loves!

For those of you in education at the minute, you’ve probably already been unfairly blessed with the beginning of the new School term.

I feel for you. (Although not because this is my first year of no school…ever…)

Likelihood is, you’re already starting to feel the burn of homework, deadlines, and never-ending reading lists. Stress is coming, right?

Well, not if we can help it. Today, I’m sharing the best back to School Tips that I’ve learned over my school career (all 18 years of it, my god) to help you get on the right track and get the most out of the coming year.

So let’s get into it!

(NOTE: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may earn a commission from your purchase. You are under no obligation to use these links. For more information, take a look at the Affiliate Disclaimer)

Get yourself organised

So we may be a month into the school year, but it’s not too late to get yourself properly organised with these back to school tips!

The key thing is to get yourself an organiser or a diary to keep track of things. Depending on the level of things you need to be keeping track of (homework, lecture times, assignment dates, etc), the type of planner you’ll need will vary.

If you’re sticking to the basics, a simple weekly diary will do to jot down homework and important dates. If you’ve got a bit more going on, such as extra study sessions or if you’re really involved with societies and clubs, a more substantial filofax-style organiser might be better suited to you.

Aside from this, always making sure you have what you need for the school day ahead is crucial. Pack your back the night before to ensure you have all the right books and any homework to hand in.

Bonus tip: always make sure you have a pen in your bag! Seriously. Double check now.

Find a place to study

Very few of us enjoy studying (and if you do, props to you!), and this can be made all the more taxing if you don’t have a proper place to get your work done.

A good study place can be anywhere that you have access to, as long as it’s quiet enough and comfortable enough. Maybe you have a favourite coffee shop or a nice library near you. Or maybe there’s a room in your house that gets barely used, so set up shop there. Even the kitchen table can be a great option if there isn’t a lot of traffic in your house.

My top tip: if at all possible, don’t study or do homework in your bedroom. That place is too full of distractions and it’s never helpful to have your cosy bed taunting you, right there in your peripheral vision!

Keep up to date

Along with getting yourself organised and having a proper planner, you need to make sure you keep a note of everything.

This might include homework assignments, deadlines, study groups, meetings, or rearrangements. Be sure to also keep a note of things going on outside of school, such as appointments, birthdays, and any other plans you might make.

By keeping all of this information in one place, your planner, you’ll have a better understanding of your entire schedule, not just what you’re getting up to at school, and can manage your time more effectively.

Another crucial point is to take proper notes during class. I know, note taking sucks, but trust me when I say your notes really don’t need to be legible. As long as you can read them, they can be a super quick squiggle for all anyone cares.

Make sure to pick up a new notebook if you haven’t already, preferably one with sections, such as a project book. To make sure your notes don’t get confused and jumbled up, be sure to allocate each section to a new subject or class.

Bonus tip: don’t take notes in full sentences, and don’t copy the teacher word for word (unless you’re planning on citing them verbatim). It’s unnecessary, you’ll probably end up missing the next thing said, and it wastes valuable note-taking time!

Ask for help

Now that we’ve got the logistical back to school tips out of the way, let’s move on to the even more important stuff. Making sure you don’t burn out.

Even before you ever get close to reaching a breaking point, a lot of strife can be avoided by asking for help. Whether this be from a teacher, lecturer, or a classmate, asking for help can be infinitely valuable.

In order to avoid burnout, asking for help as soon as you get stuck or struggle to understand something will prevent you from falling behind and getting into a bit of a rut. This way, instead of agonising over what was taught last week, you can contently move on to this week.

I know asking for help can sometimes feel wrong or embarrassing (believe me, I know!), but that’s simply not true. It can be difficult to admit defeat and ask for a helping hand, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Not to mention, my four years at university have taught me that educators love when you ask them questions or reach out for help. They’re teaching their subject for a reason, and they’d give anything to talk more about it!

It’s equally as important to ask for help when you are feeling burnt out, or if you’re having personal issues that you feel are affecting your study. This can be even harder, yes, but there is no shame in it. We all struggle from time to time, but sometimes these struggles can be made a little lighter by telling somebody about them.

Get enough (and good enough!) sleep

I know, this one is probably the most difficult tip on the list! But it’s still important.

Depending on your age, getting enough sleep might be an easy thing or a difficult feat. But regardless of where you’re at, there are a few tips to managing your sleep that are universal.

You first need to figure out how much sleep you need in order to function. This could be more or less than 8 hours, but you can adjust according as you figure out what works for you.

Next is the worst part of all of these back to school tips: setting alarms.

Give yourself a proper and consistent sleep routine by setting alarms for when you should be going to sleep and when you need to wake up. And stick to it. For those of us with less willpower, make sure your phone or alarm clock is on the other side of the room, forcing you to get out of bed.

But simply setting aside time to sleep isn’t always enough. You need good quality sleep as well as enough sleep. I talk more about getting a good rest in this post, but here’s the gist. Give yourself about an hour before bed time to wind down. Dim the lights, shut off all screens (if possible), read a book, have a nice herbal cuppa, and just chill out. Give your mind a rest and a chance to shut down.

Make regular time to relax

This final point on this list of back to school tips is probably the most valuable tip I’ve learned over the last four years.

Of course, I’m sure we all know that we need to take breaks from work or school in order to stop ourselves from going crazy, which is why we have school holidays.

But have you ever noticed that sometimes the school break just doesn’t cut it? And you end up feeling just as stressed when you get back? That’s because a long break after a long period of working, repeated over and over, simply isn’t the right way to take time off.

We need to give ourselves regular bite-sized breaks. Every week, I would say. A week can feel like a long time, especially if you’ve been cramming lots of work in. And we deserve (nay, need!) a break after all that effort. Just a small one.

Over the last four years, I’ve discovered the power of having one full day off each week, which usually ends up being a Sunday. Yes, I hear you, that’s what weekends are supposed to be for. But how often would you say you set aside time on the weekend specifically in order to take a literal break from everything?

That’s what I’ve found works best for me. I spend the week working and stressing etc, knowing that Sunday is my rest day. Then, come Sunday, I do literally nothing. No responsibilities (if I can help it!), no plans, and definitely no work. It’s a scheduled day to do whatever I feel like and nothing else.

And it usually stops me from going insane. The week is stressful, but I know I’ll have some respite in a few days. I don’t feel the need to work myself crazy until my next big holiday break. I can take some simple, short-term time off from everything and give myself time to process the last week while preparing for the next.

I’d highly suggest it!

The post Back to School Tips – Blogtober 2019 Day 6 appeared first on Emily Aagaard.