Study Tips

Study Work Grow have put together some useful tips to help you to study successfully. Follow this link for more.

Overcoming Procrastination and Strategies for Students


Are you tired of falling into the clutches of procrastination, constantly battling against looming deadlines? You’re not alone! Procrastination can be a common struggle among high school students, but fear not – in this blog, we’ll provide you with some effective strategies for overcoming procrastination once and for all. Let’s get started.

Why do we procrastinate?

There isn’t really one single reason. Procrastination often stems from various factors, such as:

Strategies for overcoming procrastination

Thankfully, there are plenty of tried-and-true methods out there to stop procrastination and boost your studies. Here are some you might like to try:

Break it down

Divide daunting tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. Tackling one small step at a time makes the overall task more approachable and less overwhelming.

Set SMART Goals

Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals for each task. Clear goals provide a sense of direction and motivation.

Create a study schedule

Design a realistic study schedule that incorporates designated time slots for each subject or task. Stick to the schedule to develop consistency and combat procrastination.

Find your productivity zone

Identify the time of day when you feel most focused and energised. Use these peak hours for challenging or important tasks to optimise productivity.

Practice the Pomodoro Technique

Work in focused bursts of 25 minutes, followed by a short break. Repeat this cycle several times, allowing yourself longer breaks after completing multiple cycles. This technique helps maintain concentration and prevents burnout.

Eliminate distractions

Minimise potential distractions by turning off notifications on your phone, using website blockers, or studying in a quiet space away from temptations.

Use positive reinforcement

Reward yourself after completing tasks or reaching milestones. Treat yourself to something enjoyable, like a favourite snack or a short break, as a motivation boost.

Cultivate accountability

Share your goals and progress with a friend, family member, or study group. Being accountable to someone else adds a sense of responsibility and can help keep you on track.

Practice self-compassion

Remember that perfection isn’t attainable. Embrace the learning process and be kind to yourself. Accept that mistakes happen, and use them as opportunities for growth.

Overcoming procrastination requires self-awareness, discipline, and a toolbox of effective strategies. By understanding the reasons behind procrastination and implementing the suggested techniques, you can reclaim control over your time and boost your productivity. Remember, everyone is different, so try different techniques until you find something that works for you.

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Past HSC Exams Papers

Higher School Certificate exam papers, with marking guidelines and HSC marking feedback , are available

for each course. Select a learning area from clicking the link below to see exam paper packs by course for

each HSC year.

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/resources/hsc-exam-papers

Why You Should Set Goals.

Planning for your future or just wanting to get the most out of your year? Gain long-term vision and short-term motivation by setting some goals. Whether you’re thinking about subject selection, post-school pathways, gap year options, your next holiday destination, or how to get fitter and healthier, you’re already forming goals. They don’t always have to be hugely monumental and life changing events either – here are some reasons why you should set goals.

Provide focus and find your passion

Spending some time thinking about what you’d like to achieve in the future (either in a year, five years, or even ten years) can help you work out what’s really important to you. If you care about something, you’re more likely to stick with it and feel a sense of achievement when you follow through. Writing down your goals and putting an action plan in place are the first steps to finding your passion.

See and measure your progress

No matter how big, challenging, or daunting your aspirations are, goals can help you break them down into manageable steps and plan ways to work around obstacles. Eventually, lots of small goals will lead you to your ultimate destination (plus, it feels good to celebrate milestones along the way).

Overcome procrastination

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”

Earl of Chesterfield

Putting things off is so easy to do, but it means you’ll probably end up achieving less.

Setting goals helps you be more accountable to yourself. Instead of brushing it off and thinking “I’ll do it tomorrow”, your goals will stick in your mind. If you don’t complete an action or step, it might nag at you. Goals can work as a constant reminder of what you should be doing, and prompt you into action.

Increase your motivation

Once you’ve gone through all the effort to discover, plan, and set goals, statistically there is a much higher chance you’ll be more motivated than ever to see them through to the end. You don’t want all that hard work to be for nothing, right?

Take control of your future

The last few years have been a bit crazy and lots of us had plans changed or written-off – sometimes more than once. So it’s understandable that you might be feeling hesitant to start new goals.

But actually, goals can help to keep you productive and preserve your sanity by making you feel a bit more in control. Planning our futures can help us to feel less stressed, and even improve our mental health. Despite the unknowns of the future, goal setting still has great value – so try not to get sucked into the “why bother” attitude and instead opt for making the best out of what you have to work with.

You can set goals anytime

If you haven’t set any goals yet, don’t stress! It’s never too late and there’s no perfect time or deadline. You could take some time to think about what you’d like to achieve right now, or book it in for this weekend. Then you can get stuck in and start taking action once you have a bit of direction.

Make sure your goals are:



10 Ways to Study That Aren’t Boring


Sitting down at your desk and studying has probably never been any student’s favourite thing to do…ever. Sometimes there’s just no getting away from the fact that you have to knuckle down and do the hard yards. But there are ways that you can study and learn while having a bit of fun (or at least make the process a bit more enjoyable). If you’re searching for some ideas, here are our top 10 ways to study that aren’t boring:

Join homework clubs or study groups

Think of it a bit like going to the gym – some days you just don’t have the motivation, but joining a class and getting the motivation you need can be really helpful. You might also find it more fun and engaging than sitting alone at your desk.

Watch documentaries

Some people (like me) love nothing better than a great doco. If that’s the case for you, why not search out some documentaries in fields that you’re studying or are related to those subjects and settle in for a good watch.

If watching a documentary isn’t generally your idea of fun, why not give it a try? They could grow your knowledge of real-world issues and topics. They could help you to improve your interdisciplinary thinking by introducing you to subjects you might not usually think about, which in turn might improve your creativity, problem-solving, and social justice skills, as well as your general knowledge.

Watching a movie could also be helpful. For example, if you’re studying English Literature and there’s a movie about your book, or if you’re studying history and there’s a movie about the event or era that you’re studying, they could improve your comprehension and bring them to life for you.

Side note: watching any random TV show, documentary, or movie and telling yourself or your parents that it’s “study” won’t cut it – you’ll have to be selective and look for valuable content.

Deep dive into topics online

In September 2020, teens were reported to spend an average of 14.4 hours each week online. So why not make some of that time productive and help you get ahead in school?

Researching ideas, watching video explainers, and finding practice tests or exam questions can all be great ways of using the world wide web to your advantage.

You’ll just have overcome the temptations to go off track. Unfortunately, spending time scrolling through Instagram, watching videos on TikTok, and chatting to your mates on Snapchat don’t count.

Do projects or presentations

Researching and putting together a project or presentation won’t just help you to learn about the one topic. You’ll also be developing your:

If you find these kinds of activities motivating, why not incorporate them into your personal study time? You could write blogs, make videos, write a letter (such as to your local politician or council), create infographics, design a poster…the options are endless.

Competitions are also an easy way to put your knowledge to the test and challenge yourself. Plus, you’ll be able to add them to your resume and might win some cool prizes.

Go places

The classroom isn’t the only environment that’s designed for learning.

You could visit museums, libraries, art galleries, theatres, and go along to educational and careers events.

If you’re interested in politics, you could take a tour of Government or Parliament House. If law is more your scene, you could sit in the public gallery during a sitting too.

There are lots of ways you can expand your knowledge without staring at your books.

Sign up for things that interest you

You could get a lot out of going along to workshops, completing short courses and microcredentials, or joining in with holiday programs.

There are some that you might have to pay for, but others could be free. A great place to start looking is your local library.

Think outside the box

These days there are thousands of apps that are designed to make learning fun and engaging, so why not see what’s available and how much they cost.

You could also get a hold of some good old fashioned board games, or learn some card games. Depending on your choices, games could help you to:

Not that these should replace traditional study practices, but time spent on these games can be a fun way of winding down, spending time with family and friends, that also have additional benefits to your brain and skills development.

Work smarter

Sitting down to study for a solid stretch after a big day at school is not appealing to many people. So why not work smarter by utilising your downtime better and spreading out your study sessions?

You could use any time spent travelling to read over your notes, free periods at school could be helpful too (if you can resist the urge to chat to your mates). If you’re waiting for sports to start or waiting for an appointment, why not hit the books and do a little study?

That way, when you get home you’ll have more time to chill out, play some sport, catch up with friends and family, and generally spend more time doing what you enjoy.

Teach others

If you have solid skills in some subjects, you could earn some pocket money and revise everything you’ve been learning while tutoring your peers or younger kids who need a little help.

Teaching other people is a great way to determine how much you know and where the gaps are too. So even if you’re not keen to tutor, you could ask a parent, sibling, or even a friend to sit down and let you “teach” them something.

Gain skills

If you have a little time to spare, even if its just 10 minutes a day, why not start learning a new skill?

You could learn to touch type – this will be helpful for getting assignments done, taking notes, and in life generally.

Maybe you could learn the basics for a few coding languages, or start learning a foreign language – this could be useful in a gap year and attractive to potential employers.

Looking for more ideas?

Head over to our study tips page for ideas to help you get motivated and stay focused.