Matric is a milestone! It’s the culmination of your entire school career, and a huge achievement in itself. It is also a glimpse into what tertiary studies are like, so if that is something you are considering, how you approach Matric is especially important. However, regardless of what you want to do after school, this is the most important academic year of your life to date. While it can be daunting, if you follow this step-by-step plan, you will navigate your Matric year with calm and ease. It’s called the Three P’s Plan: Plan, pause, and prepare.
Planning and Time Management
Let’s start with planning. Your first step to Matric success relies on scheduling and managing your time. Either print out a calendar for the year, or just make one that you can stick on your wall as a visual reminder of all the important dates for the year, like school festivals, important family dates, exams and the Matric dance. Next, you are going to schedule your study and homework time for the week.
Make your weekly study schedule right at the beginning of the first term, as soon as you have your class timetable and extra-murals. Start with when school comes out, and divide your day into 30-minute blocks, let’s say from 14h00 to 20h00. First, schedule in meals, like lunch and dinner. Next, fill in your extramurals and time for any chores you have at home. Then, divide your subjects up so that you have at least an hour per week to summarise each. As you have more learning subjects than days in the week (excluding weekends), you will need to summarise two subjects per day on at least 3 days of the week. Decide which schoolday is most demanding, then schedule your easiest subject for that afternoon.
Start by summarising the work you learn in class right away, don’t wait until it has piled up. If you summarise the new work in each learning subject every day, or at least once a week, you will have your notes ready to start revising a month before your first test series. Now it is time for the next P, pause.
Pause and Self-regulate
If you feel that Matric is not the time to pause, that is exactly the reason why you need to do it! It is incredibly important that you maintain a healthy harmony in your life when the going gets tough. It is absolutely vital to take the time to rest, socialise with friends and engage in activities that you enjoy. Do things that give you the chance to get outside, get some fresh air and exercise, and decompress. You have to take care of yourself, physically, mentally and emotionally, in order to do your best academically and maintain your health throughout the year.
The way to accomplish this is to start working right at the beginning of the year, and show up for yourself every day. Take care of your basic needs first: Make sure you eat well, and fuel your body with breakfast every day. Protein is your best bet for sustained energy and to directly nourish your brain. Even a handful of nuts, a protein shake or eggs make a great start to the day. Balance the protein with fresh fruit and veg and some carbs, and you will stay healthy and energised. Aim to be in bed before 22h00 so that you get enough sleep every night. Try to avoid screens and anything stimulating before bed as this can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your quality of sleep. Get outside every day, do some exercise and take care of your emotional health.
One of the most important skills you can learn is to self-regulate. But what does this actually mean? Regulation is not just about being calm; none of us can be calm all the time. What it does mean is that you can find your emotional balance again after being excited, nervous, sad, depressed or angry. Walking is a great way to regulate, but what you can do right in the moment, and anywhere you are, is to take three really deep, steady breaths. Exhale longer than you inhale, and keep going until you feel more centred. Let’s now talk about how you can prepare for your Matric workload and exams.
Prepare and be Consistent
The best thing you can do for yourself is to work consistently right from the start of the year. After you have drawn up your study schedule, stick it up where you can see it every day and put it into practice. By making sure that you summarise the work you have learned in class every week, you stay on top of the workload. Keep all your notes together neatly so that you have complete summaries of all your learning subjects by the time you have to prepare for exams.
About a month before your exams, ask teachers for past papers, or use the questions at the end of each chapter in the textbook to draw up mock tests for yourself. Make sure you understand what you are learning in class; if something is unclear, ask the teacher to clarify right away or after class. If you are unsure what your learning preference is, or if you don’t know how to make good summaries and take class notes, reach out to a support learning specialist to help you.
At EduHelp, we offer support learning to learners of all grades, helping with time management, scheduling, study methods, summarising, exam prep, as well as emotional regulation. We also offer wellness counselling to anyone (not only learners), so if you need someone to talk to, we are here for you. All our services are available online or in person. Contact me at loudine@eduhelp.co.za, and let’s set up a free 15-minute consultation to see how I can best support you on your Matric journey.
This article originally appeared in the Oudtshoorn Courant Matric Supplement online.