4 ways to stay motivated to revise

I'm on exam leave right now which is very exciting but very weird. It's odd to think that I don't have to go Sixth Form until September, and that feels ages away! But for the next month, I will have to dedicate my time to revision before I can spend the rest of that time carefree. Sometimes the motivation to revise is so difficult to find, we've all been there, and you may be experiencing  that lack of motivation at this very moment! But with exams coming up it's so important for us to revise and get ourselves in gear because we do not want to look back months from now wanting to hit ourselves for not working hard enough. That's my biggest fear. But I have found many ways to keep myself motivated to revise that I would love to share with the lovely lot of you who are either taking or are about to take your exams.

1. Follow "Studyblr" accounts on Instagram and Tumblr. A "studyblr" account is someone on social media who shares pictures of their pretty study notes, their revision hacks, share pictures of their daily progress through "100 days of productivity" and so much more. My favourite Studyblr account is called "Elkstudies" by an 18-year-old girl named Ella from Ireland. I really suggest that if you have Tumblr you follow her account, or at least stalk her feed when you need the motivation to revise. I find studyblr's so helpful because not only do they give you some great advice, but all the pretty notes and stationary really make you want to make revision a habit that you're proud of. Take a look for yourself, as I've included some pictures as an example of what you can find on a studyblr and I've included all their accounts too so you can go over and give them a follow!

Photo by: http://fuckstudy.tumblr.com/

Photo by: http://arcane-sonder.tumblr.com/

Photo by: http://studyparadise.tumblr.com/

Those are only a few of many amazing photos that can be found for inspiration, just search the #studyblr hashtag and you'll be greeted by greatness! But as a starting point, here are some other people to follow on Instagram:

@lycheestudy

@peachystudy

@studeying

@tbhstudying

@studybreakdwn

@elkstudies

2. Write a revision plan before you go to bed and tell people about it. For example, say I wanted to do 5 hours of revision tomorrow. I'd write down a plan like this:

• Complete a past business paper
• Revise urban and coats case studies
• Do half of a maths paper
• Do a character analysis on Candy & Curley's wife
• Write up notes on the poem "The Manhunt"

Having a plan gives you something to work towards, and if you share it with someone you'll feel even more motivated as you've set yourself the expectation to finish it all! Furthermore, if they asked you "how did your revision go today?" and you didn't do it all, knowing well that you told them you were going to do however much revision, you may feel kind of embarrassed. I know I would anyway, so for me this trick really works wonders. Also ticking each thing off is super satisfying, trust me.

3. Set yourself something to look forward to! That could be a shopping trip at the weekend, a meal out at that restaurant you've been wanting to go to, or even just a night in with your friends! Rewarding yourself for all that hard work is super important because we all know how stressful revising can be sometimes. We need that bit of stress relief to keep us sane, so the idea of having something to do later can be very motivational. I especially recommend setting something to do straight after you've finished revising, so you can think to yourself "only two more hours" until you do that exciting thing!  

4. Remember why you started, and why you're doing this. Whenever you feel a lack of motivation to do some revision, just take a moment to picture the day you get your results back. You want to be happy and proud of yourself right? You don't want to turn up to results day knowing deep down that could have, and should have, done a lot more revision to prepare yourself. At the end of the day, it's your future lying in your hands, but it's not the be all end all.

I really hope that if you're in exam season that you're not too stressed! I wish you all the best of luck and believe in you all! I know everyone says it, but all you can do is try your best! Remember to have regular breaks, to drink loads of water, and find time to relaaaaxxx. You'll be great.

Lauren xx

A letter to my younger self

Dear Lauren,

I'm finishing high school next week! That might be crazy for you to hear, as I know we always felt like school seems to have no end. But on Friday the 13th of May, it will be over. It's scary you know, but you'll be fine. You may feel as if that day is ages away, but trust me it will come so quick, that by the time you're my age you'll wonder how everything managed to go by so quickly. You have a boyfriend too you know, and you have for a while. Make sure you look after him and treat him right. Make sure also that you thank your parents daily as well, that skiing trip to Bulgaria was expensive, but they'll always make sure that you're happy.

I know how much you love Nan. She spoils you rotten and treats you like a little princess. Cherish those nights at her house, those chippies on a Saturday night, the trips to the garden centre, days at the nail salon and everything that she does for you. Tell her you love her every time you see her. One day you'll be too big to sit on her lap, so sit on her lap while you can and hug her oh so tight. When's she's in the hospital, please be brave. I know how scary it will be for you, but she will need you because she hates it there. Talk to her, hold her hand, tell her about your day, and never ever complain about having to go to the hospital. Spend as much time with her as you can, because when she's gone, you're going to miss her so incredibly much.

As I told you earlier, I'm finishing school next week. That means my GCSEs are coming up. Don't panic! As long as you stick to revising then everything will be fine! However, you'll probably want to start revising a bit earlier than I did, and avoid just revising science because there are other subjects too. Just keep that in mind. Your coursework will go without a hitch so don't stress about it too much. I wish you the best of luck and please try your hardest.

Look, you're going to go through some crap and that's going to be expected. It's just the cold hard truth. You're going to get through a lot of tears but that's okay! Please don't hold back! Middle school is absolute garbage, the majority of people there won't matter in high school so don't even give them your time! Don't trust anyone in middle school. Anyone. BUT. Do enjoy being young and playing with dolls and playing pretend and all those sorts of things. Don't rush yourself to grow up, go outside more, play out with your friends, care less about what people think of you! Your hopes and dreams for the future will always be changing, don't let that confuse you, and don't let anyone hold you back.

When I'm writing this, on Sunday the 8th of May 2016, I'd say you're a pretty cool gal. Okay maybe not the coolest, but you've done some great things and have even greater things to come. We've both got things to look forward to; prom (you're on prom committee by the way), Centre Parcs, Canada, blogging projects and many more exciting things! Who knows what the future has in store for us? I'm willing to put the hard work in if you will! Of course you will.

All my love,
Lauren

Feeling all the feels

Deary me. How do I feel in this moment in time? To be honest, today I don't feel too bad. I've given myself this day to rest. But I can tell you I haven't been able to say that for the past few weeks and I won't be saying that the following weeks to come. GCSE's my friend. But the thing is, I know I shouldn't feel as stressed as I do. I mean heck, I ain't doing no A Levels or dissertations in University. However, I still feel the immense pressure that is put upon me by my teachers, my peers, and most of all, myself. Of course, these exams are important, but so is my mental health.

Just thinking about the next few weeks has started giving me a headache.

I'm stuck between collapsing under the workload and trying to be as positive as I can. Being positive is something I'm known for within my friendship group; I try to find the bright side of things and be everyone's cheerleader. But even though I still manage it, oh it is so difficult. Sometimes I feel like snapping and ripping people's head off with my teeth (pleasant), but I still put a smile on my face (or at least settle with my resting bitch face).

Every second of revision I hate, but every second I don't revise is even worse. It's like voices are floating inside my head, eerily whispering "hey Lauren, why aren't you revising? You're going to fail your exams! You don't want that do you?". I want to just grab that voice and dispose of it so I can actually relax, but it doesn't go away. Even now I feel guilty for putting revision to the side. I'm stressed about revising as much as I'm stressed about not revising. *Internal screaming*

But do you know what's funny? I'm pretty sure I'm going to do well. I'm projecting my target grade in every subject, and all of my mock exams are piling up in grade A results. So even though I shouldn't have much too fear, I panic none the less. (a lot more than I should!) It's weird how the brain works.

I feel such a deep guilt inside of me for complaining, because at least I have an education, at least I have a chance for a bright future. There are much worse things going on in this world right and I feel so selfish that I'm constantly thinking about me me me. I should be grateful. I just can't believe it's going to get worse in the years to come.

Let us on a positive note; next week I will have finished high school, knowing that I value my right to an education. I value the fact that females in this country are allowed to learn. Even though I've not exactly enjoyed school, I have made a lot of memories, and have learnt a lot of lessons (pun not intended) and in fact, I am grateful. On May 13th ,I will be free from high school and on June 17th, I will be free from GCSEs.

Now I'm getting emotional.

I've never felt so ready.

How are you feeling recently? I'd love to know!
Lauren xx

My Birthday Wishlist!

It's my birthday this month and I'm so excited! Not because I'm turning a year older, and not because of presents, but because I'm hosting a big party! Okay well not that big, but as someone who is working towards becoming an events manager, I absolutely love the whole aspect of planning a party and making it epic! The theme is going to be "Coachella" and you can imagine how wild I can go with the decorations, food, music and clothes! But I'll save that for a completely different blog post.

Even though I'm not exactly fussed about getting any presents, it is my birthday and I can't help but secretly wish for a few things can I?  I mean I might as well share them with you.

1. The first thing on my list is the tartelette in bloom clay palette! I'm not going to lie, the first thing that caught my eye was the packaging, I mean just look how beautiful it is! I'm also in love with all of the shades as they're all colours I would actually use whereas in most palettes there are always one or two colours I would just never touch. All of Tarte's makeup is cruelty-free too, and that straight away is something I look for in a makeup product. 

2. Everyone is in love with the Kylie Jenner lip kits at the moment, and even though I think that's great, I personally don't want to go through the stress of actually trying to get my hands on one. However, Too Faced have recently brought out their own range of liquid lipsticks called the Melted Matte Liquified Matte Lipstick, which look just as great. The shade I'm lusting over is "Cool Girl" shown above. Who needs a Kylie Jenner lip kit aye?

3. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera! I have been asking for a bloody polaroid camera for the longest time! I remember asking for one when they first started becoming cool again, but I was told there was no point. But I did not care and still do not care to this date! Yes, I know that now you can get your photos printed in a polaroid style but that's not the same! I need one in my life, okay?

4. Aren't these Zara Martin Rose Gold Kitty Headphones dreamy? I can just imagine myself pulling them out my bag, putting them on, and everyone thinking I'm the coolest person around because my headphones have cat ears. If I saw them on someone else I'd think that at least. I actually don't even own headphones, only a crappy pair of Apple earphones that only play out of one speaker. Therefore, these headphones are a necessity rather than a want. I'm totally joking I just really want them. Pretty please.

5. I left the most expensive till last. Look me in the eye and tell me that these Zoeva brushes are ugly. Well, 1. You can't because you're reading this through a screen and 2. You'd be lying to yourself and we both know it. I'd also like to point out that all the cool beauty bloggers have a set, and beauty bloggers know what they're on about. I do actually need some makeup brushes through and I'd be more than happy to receive them as a birthday gift! 

So that's my top 5 on my birthday wish list! Some of you may be thinking "But Lauren, a lot of these things aren't that expensive and you can buy them yourself!". Well although that is true, I really struggle to spend money on things I don't need, and treating myself is something I have real trouble with doing. However, I am saving up so I'll work on it!

Have a great week lovelies, and tell me which one on the list is your favourite!

Lauren xx

How I Revise: Science

Since I've got my GCSE's coming up in the next month, (which may be a shock to some of you as a lot of people think I'm a lot older than I actually am and a lot of my readers are older than me) I've decided to do a revision series. I'm also going to aim more of my posts at teenagers around my age. I realised I haven't been doing that and it would make a lot of sense for me to do so! However, I'll still be writing posts for all of you who don't fit in that category too, so don't give up on me just yet! I  feel like switching things up this way will make blogging a bit easier! Anyways, here is the first post in my revision series!

How I revise: Science

Science is one of my least favourite subjects, and the fact that it's split into three different subjects, with nine lessons across my two-week timetable, makes it that much worse. However, it's the subject that I find myself revising for the most due to the fact that it includes the most material to remember. When revising science I like to do an hour at a time and have breaks in between, however sometimes when I'm on a roll I can revise for two hours straight. That only happens on really good days, though.

I always make sure I've got the following things with me when I revise for science:

• A cup of decaf coffee
• A snack (today I chose smarties, I hope it helps)
• A lit candle (right now I'm burning one from Primark that smells of oriental spice and ginger)
• Some highlighters
• My notebook, revision guide, and a pen
• Optional: sometimes I'll play my revision playlist, it's completely instrumental so I'm not distracted.

I recently bought a notebook with plastic dividers to separate each subject (biology, chemistry and physics) from each other. What I like to do is go through all the different sub-topics in my revision guide, and write up each page as a shortened down version. This way I save myself the pain of writing down every single word so that I'm focused on the key points! Right now I'm writing up all of B4 (which might make sense if you take OCR science). After that, I'll write up C4 and P4!

Once everything is written up I will go back through my notes and highlight all the important key points that I must remember, such as equations, keywords, definitions and so on. This means that I return back to my work and recap all the information.

Once again I will go over my notes, but this time, I will summarise it all on an A3 mind map! I like revisiting my notes in a hope that somehow the information will find itself stored in my brain, to be remembered when I sit down for my actual test. Hopefully, it will all work out for me.

I also make myself a contents page at the front of my notebook, so that I can find the information I need quickly.

 With subjects full of so much information, my main technique is repetition. Everyone revises differently, and this is my preferred way of revising science!

If you're taking your GCSE's soon, I hope this has been interesting for you! Maybe you'll try this way yourself, or maybe you think your way of revising is better! But if you're reading this and have already done your GCSE's, how did you revise science? I'd love to know!

Have a good week lovelies,
Lauren xx

5 favourite memories from my skiing trip in Bulgaria

On the 25th of March a I left for Bulgaria with about 60 students and teachers from my high school. On the trip were a mixture of different year groups, all of mixed abilities of skill in both skiing and snowboarding. We went for a week and it was such an amazing and unforgetabke trip that I decided to pick 5 of my favouite memories from the trip and share them with you. I could  have written an entire essay but luckily for you I've kept it as short, sweet and simple as I can. I hope you enjoy readind about my favourite experiences of my week in Bansko!

1. Learning how to ski in the beginner group is a great memory in itself. The opinion of our instructor Kosta was a bit mixed within the group, but personally, I found him to be such an amazing character and I completely vibed off his enthusiasm, humour and personality. I really thank him for giving me such great confidence and teaching me how to ski! At the beginning of the week, I didn't even see us going past the nursery slopes; and trust me the first few days of learning was dire and so dry. Yet on the last two days that we were up on the slopes and I managed to complete a red run, which I wouldn't have even dreamed of doing beforehand!

2. One of my favourite memories on the slopes was on a blue run. It was empty of people apart from our group, so as we were skiing along Kosta shouted from the front that for the stretch of snow ahead we should ski straight and feel the speed. I'm telling you now, feeling the wind blow straight through you at that speed, with you arms outstretched at your sides feels so exhilarating! I couldn't help but feel so alive. I'm a sucker for a good adrenaline rush and that was a feeling I will not forget. I almost started welling up from utter happiness.

3.On one of the nights, we had planned to travel down to some mineral baths. So that evening we headed on the coach to our destination. As we were driving and looking around, we couldn't help but feel that the area looked a bit dodgy. But never the less we pulled up feeling rather skeptical and got changed in what I can only call a changing room the size of a toilet room. It was not classy at all. It's safe to say that none of us wanted to be there, we had complained throughout the entire coach journey, and we couldn't believe that the three different sized pools that we saw outside were supposed to be "natural mineral baths". However, as soon as our bodies hit the water everything changed. IT WAS SO WARM! As well as so relaxing. All I can say is don't judge a book by its cover because the time we spent there was an absolute blast.

4. For the last night we spent in Bansko, we headed into the old village to have a traditional Bulgarian dinner. The town was absolutely beautiful, I just wish we had someone to explain its history, the beautiful buildings, and why the trees had string tied to the branches. The starter was delicious, however I wasn't too keen on the main course. I'm all for trying new food and learning about new cultures though, which is more than I can say for the majority of people I knew there! But my favourite memory from that night was the trio of men playing a harmonium, clarinet and drum. They played us a mixture of classic bulgaian songs as well as other well know tunes such as the macarena and the chicken dance song! I cheered them along the whole way and they brought with them so much entertainment and hapiness!

5. Last but not least, a highlight of my trip was getting to know everyone! In school everyone seems to stick to their own group of people, however when on a trip together people are a lot more laidback and open. I spoke to a variety of people younger and older than me and everyone seemed to get along! I spoke to people on the plane, in my ski group, and just in general, who I've seen around school but would have never thought of making conversation with before. For that week we spent together it was like we were one big family.

How I became productive.

Only recently have I seen a peak in my productivity. A few months ago, I was one of the laziest people when it came to doing homework and revising for tests. But thankfully, I came to the realisation that things needed to change. A lot of my friends have noticed my productivity increase, and often ask me how I did it. So I'm going to tell you some of the things which I have done to improve my productivity.

A couple of weeks ago, I printed off monthly calendars throughout the months March to June. I blue tacked them onto my wall above my desk and filled out all the dates when I have exams. This motivates me to get work done, as each time I cross out a day done, I can see how close I am to my next exam. This is really helping me realise how close they're actually becoming, resulting in me really knuckling down.

The next thing I do is something I don't think many people consider. I used to change straight into my pyjamas or a lazy outfit as soon as I got back from school. However, I've come to realise that for me the way I dress affects the way I work. If I'm dressed lazily, I'm likely to work lazily too. So I've started to change out of my uniform and into something comfy yet casual. I find this really helps.

To-do lists are my saviours. Writing down a list of things to do honestly makes productivity so much easier because watching each thing being crossed off the list is ever so satisfying to do. It's like releasing a wee that you've been holding in for a very long time, you know?

Lastly, what I like to do is work in a clean space. Clean room clean mind am I right? I shouldn't really be saying this right now actually, because as I'm writing this my room in an absolute WRECK. But!! I think I should be excused, as I had a 5-hour art exam and I'm using this evening wisely to do NOTHING. (Oh and to write this blog post).
On that note, I better get productive and clean my room!
What are your productivity tips that I could put to good use?
Lauren xx