Let's Study Hard (or as it was formerly known, Scratch Study Camp) is all about motivating yourself to study for your exams - especially for those of us who like to be competitive and need competition or some other form of external motivation to make the endless task of studying and revising seem more fun. However, it is possible that this friendly competition can go too far, and so I thought I'd put this out here as a reminder to take care of yourself. Not everything is about your team winning - the competition is just a bit of fun <3 ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ Know yourself and your limits - don't set yourself unreasonable goals. It's completely okay to set yourself a high minute goal to push yourself, and there's nothing wrong with doing that. Having that little extra motivation to study hard is absolutely fine, if it helps you stay motivated. But don't set yourself unrealistic goals - if you know you can't study for more than an hour a day, then don't set yourself a minute goal of 2,500 minutes (~3 hours a day), set yourself a goal of 840 minutes (1 hour a day). Keep things achievable. Also, just because you /can/ study for 6+ hours a day, it doesn't mean that you /should/ study for 6+ hours a day, day in, day out. It could lead to burnout, and that is not a plesant experience. It's fine to push yourself on a couple of days, but make sure you're not doing this often and take regular breaks. If you find your minute goal is too unrealistic, then you can always lower it - there is nothing wrong with choosing to lower your minute goal if you find that maybe you didn't have as much time to study as you wanted. <3 ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ Know why you're working so hard. Every time you sit down to study, please remember that you are doing this for /yourself/. It shouldn't be that every minute you study is dedicated towards Let's Study Hard - the event was created as a way to help you study hard for your exams or school in general, and it shouldn't take over your life. If you do find that the session is taking over your life, then please take a step back. Lower your minute goal, maybe take a break from Scratch. Please don't burn out because you put too much effort into a competition that's ultimately for fun. <3 ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ Spread weeklies out over multiple days. By spreading them out over multiple days, you give yourself more time to complete them, especially as these weeklies can be particularly time-intensive. Don't try to rush them on the Sunday when they're due - try to start them on the Monday (or as early in the week when you can), as that'll give you lots of time to do the weekly and take care of yourself. Extensions are avaliable, so if you need one please feel free to ask <3 ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ Listen to your body and mind. We are ultimately creatures with limits - don't try to work yourself too hard. Finding yourself tired or unable to focus is a sign that you should stop and take a break. Don't force yourself to continue doing something that you can't. Remember to take breaks every so often - take a break from revising, maybe have an off day - you'll feel much better having rested and not studied. I know the temptation to do study can be really high sometimes, especially when you want to procrastinate doing something else - because I've been there before. But taking breaks and resting well is just as important and studying hard. ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈ ⋆ ⊹ ⋆ ┈┈┈ ⋆ That's about it for this notice! Please remember to take care of yourselves, especially if you've set yourself really high minute goals for the session. Take care of yourselves, and don't try to push yourselves too hard unless you know you can handle it <3
