Unique DIY study board; perfect for exam time!

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a productive holiday – if you’re studying in Australia that is. Either way I have had a super productive week at home and thought I’d love to share this ‘study-planner board.’

It’s a quirky DIY that aims to help you shape up for whatever big events you have planned. This was totally customised to my colour preferences, so whatever colours or materials I suggest feel free to drop them out and try your own colours/materials.

Things you will need:

-          Calendar with space to write details on

-          ‘Priority List’ Paper

-          A4 or bigger decorative paper

-          Staples or tape

-          Pins and decorations to match

-          Pens

-          Tape

-          Weekly planner/ note paper to make one

1.       The board itself

I have a large cork board from IKEA. It costs $8 AUD at press time, but you can usually purchase them from your local craft or discount store.

 These are better than canvas or paper boards because they hold the pins firmly.

2.       Priority list

Write out your top priorities and then order them according to time, difficulty to complete and desire to do them.

It is important that you don’t overwhelm yourself with work. You will quickly become demotivated if you see a long list of seemingly endless tasks.

I use a ‘Top Three Priorities’ List from Kikki K. This list allows me to pick three big tasks for the day and break them into smaller chunks. My work now is more streamlined, polished and focused because I’m not trying to complete twenty tasks in one day.

It is also important that you remain flexible and work intuitively. This means that you need to acknowledge how you are feeling – some days you may feel stressed or anxious. Then it is important to take care of yourself and not to push hard workloads. Doing so will only force your body to become run down and inefficient.

3.       Weekly Planner

This planner can come in any form, you can draw up a seven-day grid and divide it into three-hourly blocks. I bought a ‘Meal Planner’ from Kikki K, this breaks my day up into four sections. It also allows me to block out time for each of my subjects throughout the week.

It is important to use these overall planners because it helps you to gain a picture of how you intend to spend your time. I like to think of this planning like budgeting. Each task demands attention, but there is only so much to go around. By using planners, you can economically and efficiently spend your time. You can also realise where you can improve your time management.

When you create a weekly planner – as you can see on mine, use different colours.

For me;

Blue are the reminders,

Red are loose tasks that I would like to be working on during that time

Brown are items that I need to complete for heath and well being

Purple means it requires planning

Yellow are unavoidable and essential pre-planned events

When completing your weekly planner always fill in pre-planned events first as you need to work around these.

Also, don’t forget to remember your mental health and well-being. Plan in times to exercise, snack and relax. These are not optional because without these activities you will lose motivation and focus for your work.

4.       Monthly planner

Monthly planners are useful for those who have bigger tasks due in months or weeks. They help you to keep track of days and deadlines.

Those who are studying for exams or similar be aware that it is easy to fool yourself about how long you have left. Using monthly planners can help you to remain realistic and practical when organising

social events and breaks.

Studying, particularly for school, can be gruelling and at times demotivating. My article on ‘endurance studying’ may help you find some ideas to beat this challenging issue.

5.       Notes and key reminders

I like to pin on my board some go-packs. These are similar to snack packs that savvy school-moms make.

In each of your subjects write out the topics you have the most difficulty with and summarise each of these. You could put them in snaplock bags or I have included instruction below to DIY cute paper envelopes.

DIY STUDY GO PACK INSTRUCTIONS

1.       Make your materials, how big they are will depend on your envelope size. I fill mine with flash cards and mind maps folded in half. 

2.       Make a triangle shape with your square piece of paper and crease along the middle

3.       Open out your triangle and then turn the paper to make a diamond and fold the lower corner up to the centre.

4.       Roll your paper up so that you can no longer see the small triangle and instead there is a bigger triangle.

5.       Fold one bottom corner of the big triangle in roughly towards the middle. Repeat on the other side, creating two flaps.

6.       With the top flap, fold it back so that you have a backwards triangle and then push it forwards to create another diamond.

7.       Fold down the top triangle and tuck it into the diamond to complete your envelope

8.       Now slide in your materials and label it.

9.       You are now ready to take your go pack anywhere! Happy studying!

For a video and more information click here

On my vision board, I also included some

• -          Informative vocabulary sheets
• -          Tickets to a Geoffrey Robertson lecture who I aspire to meet and work for
• -          Pictures of friends and family
• -          Mind maps for things I am trying to remember
• -          Quotes that I find inspiring

Your vision board should include things that inspire you. I have in the past pinned up logos of universities that I wish to attend, scores I was proud of – or wanted to improve. Customise it to be something that inspires you and makes you feel confident in the future.

Next blog post will be giving you some tips on what to do before you enter the exam room.

Happy Creating!

The Underage Lawyer.

[[No products mentioned were endorsed products. I am not making any promise of quality or suitability.]]