coccinust Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Hi guys, so I'm (finally) starting a journal.I'm one week from taking my exams, so I'm forcing myself to revise for at least 4 hours a day.Hopefully, this journal will help me become more accountable whilst I'm on the net and after exam finish next month I'll hopefully be able to avoid the relapse.Goals: social aptitude, draw better, exercise more.I've been playing MMO's since I was 8, starting with Runescape. I'd get home everyday and play it I sleep. I used it as a way to escape life since I wasn't very popular (I just moved at the time). This persisted through the years, playing many more such as maplestory and LoL. I discovered Cam's YT channel from his Tedtalk, and that was the beginning of (hopefully)the end.Today:Run for 6kmDid around 5 hours of revisionWatched anime in between(this season is the best I've seen)Browsed internet for 1 hours ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) If you are "really bored" for a long time it'll greatly increase your chance of a relapse, so I think you should try hard to discover things you can do in your free time, that really interest you.From personal experience: I had some relapses and every single time i did, it was because i felt like i had nothing better to do, so why not play games. Edited April 25, 2016 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Pharmacist Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I agree with @asquerade.You did great with your revision! Even I'm impressed.What kind of exams are these?Btw. I also played Runescape in my life and I know how it can simulate almost everything just like in real life. But remember: in real life you have much more skills to improve, and the only person who can do it is you, so it's only on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Adair Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 Day 2:3 hours of revisionwatched deadpooldid 40 ish chemistry flashcardsbrowsed reddit for way too long, will try to read instead tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Day 3:ran 6km4 hours revisionbrowsed reddit again, maybe ill try blocking the site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Adair Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 When do you find yourself browsing reddit? Is it the same time every day? How are you feeling when you go to browse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) I can definitely relate to the reddit/internet browsing. I find that for me, I'm in states of low energy when that happens. Once you find your trigger, it will be a lot easier to avoid browsing, and replace that time with healthier habits! Edited April 28, 2016 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 When do you find yourself browsing reddit? Is it the same time every day? How are you feeling when you go to browse?I think I get the urge to browse after I finish a question/task, or when listening to music and certain words trigger it. Typically feeling a little bit worn down after revising, but once I start browsing it'll take me 20+minutes to get back on track which is the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Day 4:6 hours revisionDrew some really bad stick figures 5 days to go until exams. It's nice to see how not playing games have allowed me to concentrate on my studies whereas last year I was still playing 4h/day at this stage. Not playing games also allowed me to go to sleep earlier and wake up refreshed and energised.Have a nice day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorkInProgress Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 6hours is a nice achievement. Crush that exam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Adair Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Ok cool! So when you're tired from revising, consider taking a break that's non-digital. Go for a quick walk outside maybe or something else. Non-digital is key, because if you use reddit on your break that quickly snowballs into many hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 Day 5:5km run, got stitches in the last 1km and crawled home 5 hours revisionProbably will need to change the habit to getting out of the chair when I'm bored, but this will take some time.I feel very happy that I'm able to not think about gaming most of the time, which frees me up to know more about my surroundings and myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Pharmacist Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Hell yea, you're revising just like me (or even better) during examination time!Keep doing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 Oops missed yesterday's entry:Day 6Woke up 1 hour too early, sluggishly revised for 5 hours in between naps. Seen my friends after nearly 1 week of maximum isolation . Day 7ran 6 km. 3 hours revision b/c i went out w/parents for dinner/lunch. 2 days left for exam, and we still have school tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Adair Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Hope you have a good day at school tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 Missed yesterday's again Day 8: 6 hours revision, had to go to school for half a day even though they said it was only going to be one hour (school administration sucks)Day 9: 6km run, 7 hours revision. Tomorrow are the maths and chemistry exams. I revised to the best of my ability already, so I'm not really nervous. I just hope I do well because I want good grades to get into uni. It's going to be the hardest exams for me, as the other exams have like 7-10 days apart, but maths, chem and physics are within 2 days of each other. This journal has really helped me stop procrastinating so much (though I did spend an hour watching stuff exploding, but that's chemical reactions lol)Sleeping early tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 Day 10:First day of my exams.I have mixed feelings about today.I screwed up maths REALLY hard, even though it's meant to be my strongest subject. This was partly due to the fact that I didn't check how much time I had left and subsequently ran out of time. It's pretty worrying as I need it to get into uni. However we can only do it to the best of our abilities. I was afraid after I walked home after the maths exam. Fear that I was going to get the same result in other exams. I think I (and society) put too much focus into exams, when it's not a very good indicator of how well we learn. Thankfully, I was pleased with my chemistry because I studied it to death this week. I think I need a better mentality regarding this though. My mom has been VERY supportive of me these past few days, even though she has her own problems to deal with. I honestly can't thank her enough.Tomorrow is the first part of my physics exam though. Whilst I didn't study as much for it, I should be able to get the grades I need. Really sleepy from the revising and the tests.Thanks guys for reading I guess this is another outlet for my thoughts and concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Adair Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks for sharing. Enjoy following your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 Welp skipped like a weekI've been sleeping pretty early, so I keep forgetting to make a post until i shut off my PC (habits I guess)Day 11:Relaxed for a few days, watching anime, then got back to studying. Have my english exam then Geography the day after.Been starting to draw a little bit during breaks.Used pomodoro very effectively, however I need to focus on actually starting the timer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kortheo Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Hey coccinust! Seems like you're off to a great start here. Sleep + prioritizing studying is a great combo. Sometimes the simplest things work great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 Day 12:Screwed up today pretty hard.Was studying at friend's house, but they were playing video games (I was studying b/c i uninstalled all my apps), even though they said it was a "study" session.However this morning I decided to check out the game they were playing agar.iorelapsed and ended up straight up playing for 5 hours instead. damn that sucked.I think I should've left early, as that event triggered me. I want to find some new friends, but most of the other people in my class are either connected by something I have no interest in (football) or aren't better any better than my current friends. Thankfully I got a hold of myself in the afternoon and was able to do a few hours of revision, so that was my only saving grace today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primmulla Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Good luck with your exams, I keep my fingers crossed for you I am sure you will make it. When do you get the results of the exams, do you have to wait long before you know whether you passed or not? Waiting for exam results is a terribly stressful time, maybe even worse than the exams themselves.As for studying, I believe you should not study at the computer as research shows it is much less effective than off-line study, if you have materials you have to learn in form of computer files, PDF, Word documents or whatever, it is very advisable to have them printed and study them on paper. I used to type the notes I took during lectures on my laptop because of my bad handwriting, but then I printed it all out, which also allowed me to use the highlighter. I am a visual learner, so I marked various sections of the material with different colours, which enabled me to remember it better during the test (I could associate information with a colour in which it was highlighted). You can also try rewriting the printed notes by hand, since there was a research showing that we retain more information if we write it by hand instead of on our computers. I used this method also and it is quite effective. Generally, I do not support learning on the computer, I am from the older generation who learned mostly from paper, and for me computer is still considered rather a toy It does not support concentration and focus as paper books and notes do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coccinust Posted May 18, 2016 Author Share Posted May 18, 2016 Good luck with your exams, I keep my fingers crossed for you I am sure you will make it. When do you get the results of the exams, do you have to wait long before you know whether you passed or not? Waiting for exam results is a terribly stressful time, maybe even worse than the exams themselves.As for studying, I believe you should not study at the computer as research shows it is much less effective than off-line study, if you have materials you have to learn in form of computer files, PDF, Word documents or whatever, it is very advisable to have them printed and study them on paper. I used to type the notes I took during lectures on my laptop because of my bad handwriting, but then I printed it all out, which also allowed me to use the highlighter. I am a visual learner, so I marked various sections of the material with different colours, which enabled me to remember it better during the test (I could associate information with a colour in which it was highlighted). You can also try rewriting the printed notes by hand, since there was a research showing that we retain more information if we write it by hand instead of on our computers. I used this method also and it is quite effective. Generally, I do not support learning on the computer, I am from the older generation who learned mostly from paper, and for me computer is still considered rather a toy It does not support concentration and focus as paper books and notes do. Thank you! I'm trying my best . Yes, I try to do most of my answers on paper. I'm taking public high school exams atm, so I get past papers online. I don't really want to print out the questions as the ink is pretty expensive here ($25 USD for a black cartridge). Highlighting words doesn't work for me because I tend to highlight the entire section , so I typically study by understanding the core concepts first (seeing examples of how/why it happens), then looking at the questions and finding out specifics that I don't know on the internet. The books/notes I have unfortunately only cover the basic information, and usually doesn't explain the material to the depth that I'm comfortable with.The exams results come back in middle of august though, so I have to wait 2 months for the results... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Adair Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Day 12:Screwed up today pretty hard.Was studying at friend's house, but they were playing video games (I was studying b/c i uninstalled all my apps), even though they said it was a "study" session.However this morning I decided to check out the game they were playing agar.iorelapsed and ended up straight up playing for 5 hours instead. damn that sucked.I think I should've left early, as that event triggered me. I want to find some new friends, but most of the other people in my class are either connected by something I have no interest in (football) or aren't better any better than my current friends. Thankfully I got a hold of myself in the afternoon and was able to do a few hours of revision, so that was my only saving grace today.Good job catching yourself before it got worse. Being aware of your triggers is really important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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