Limitless Learning: A New Beginning.

Hello everyone and welcome back to a new Limitless Learning post! So, September is here and it looks like most of you are on the verge of starting a new academic year, whether you're in university or at school. But, I assure you, this academic year is not going to be like any other academic year.. it will be special, meaningful and shining with success and achievement. Because of that, I am here to give you some tips to make sure you start your academic year in the best way possible to ensure success and most importantly, joy.

Here are 6 tips you can start implementing to kick start the new academic year in the best way!

1. Set Goals!

The best way to start your academic year is to set goals that you'd like to achieve for the year, at least for the first term or semester. I'm not talking about normal goals but holistic ones which encompass your whole school experience. What grades do you want to achieve in your tests and quizzes? How do you want to study? What kind of project-experience do you want to have with your team? What about your friendship? Hobbies? Lifestyle? Free-time? New skills to learn? Take every element of your school life into consideration. To make that more clear, let me tell you my own goals for my fourth year in university. I have set the goals to achieve 93%+ in my midterm and final exams, meet my friends 3+ times, read 6+ books, prioritise university-life over work, play guitar and write songs on weekends and lastly, keep hustling and enjoying the process. I always write down my goals on a nice piece of paper and hang it on my bulletin board so that I can make sure that everything I do every single day makes me reach those goals. Create a direction for yourself and design a driven, ambitious life!

2. Lead Your Time!

I've already talked about this in my last Limitless Learning post, but I am here to shine a brighter light on this concept. Your time during your academic year is precious and it would make a huge difference if you use some tools to organise your time so that you are efficient during studying and maximising your free time to practise your hobbies and interests. As soon as you start your new year, adopt some tools to organise your time. For example, use a to-do list in which you write down every single task that you need to do for the day. Make sure your to-do list is reasonable for the time you have for the day and feel free to include responsibilities which do not involve studying like home chores, training sessions and whatnot. To-do lists are made to encompass all responsibilities for the day so that you do not over or under-estimate the time available for studying!

Another tool would be customising your week to follow some kind of routine. I personally really recommend that because it keeps you aligned, organised and somehow safe. To illustrate this, start your day at home by finishing your homework which is different every day. Then, choose a subject for every single day of the week in which you revise, do extra excersises and even read beyond what you have taken at school. For example, let's say that on Mondays you pick English (2nd language) while Tuesdays are for math. That means, every Monday, once you're done with your homework and assignments, you spend an hour or so revising what you have taken at school, reading from your textbook or do extra excerises in your workbooks. This is an amazing tool because it makes you prepped for any upcoming quizzes or exams and doesn't make you fall behind in schoolwork. Once I have adopted this technique, my grades soared and I found myself not needing to study before final exams because everything was already in my head! Wouldn't you love to experience the same?

Another point is to truly have meaningful free time. Once you're done with your to-do list, take some time for yourself to do anything that winds you down. Use every single moment to be inspired and uplifted. Also, keep in mind that to-do lists and studying schedules are meant to be adjusted and changed according to circumstances. Some days, you'll have emergency situations, exams or feel so tired to study. Keep making amends but do not forget to organise yourself each time.

3. Your Teachers Are Key.

Because I work as a teacher, I am now very aware of how we make relationships with our learners. Most teachers gain information from other teachers on the overall behaviour of every single learner in their class before the year starts as a kind of background study of what they are going to face. Of course, professional teachers do not use this to form any judgements or labels and rely on the impression you make in the first few days of school to confirm the information they already have about your attitude. Thus, make sure that you are the best version of yourself in class the first week in order to break any assumptions that your teachers may have in order not to deal with consequences of any kind of attitudes you used to have in the past. In addition to that, befriend your teachers. Be active and engaged in discussions, ask questions and seek their support whenever necessary. This will allow you to always have their back whenever you need them, especially when you find difficulty dealing with the studying materials or even emotional support if you have issues at school. Having positive relationships with your teachers enhances your learning in the classroom because, as I mentioned before, learning is a human experience and we are social beings. Your brain will automatically be more receptive to information from your teachers and thus find no hardship remembering and understanding what you are assigned in your curriculum. This is scientifically proven because the greater the positive emotions you have with a person, the more seamless your nerves carry the information (you become more suggestible) because of the greater electromagnetic energy you create with those elevated emotions. It's all science!

Teachers' support is a valuable gem that you'll truly understand when in need. Don't take that opportunity for granted!

4. Resolve Your Issues.

This is an important point which will mostly suit learners of upper grades. If you're in grade 9 upwards or in university, the beginning of your academic year is mostly tense because there are many decisions to make like the different subjects to take, picking your teachers, whether you'll have to take additional private lessons or not, paperwork to fill and many other things. Thus, toughen up the first week or two of your academic year and brainstorm all of the alternatives of the decisions you'll have to make. What are the options? How good are they? What are the things you'll have to sacrifice or trade-off? How well are your decisions aligned to your long-term goals like your career choices? Keep considering all of the elements that may affect your decision and go ahead and do it. Don't wait for too long and procrasinate because the longer you wait, the longer it will keep you out of focus and make you fall behind in your studies. However, if you right away get it over with, you'll start off your new year with a clear conscience and a sharp focus. So go ahead and resolve all of your issues!

5. Sustain Your Energy.

Of course, we all want to start our academic year working hard and hustling. Or at least, that's what we write on our goal list. Many of rush to study very hard the first one or two months, finishing assignments on time, writing summaries for all of the chapters covered and whatnot. Yet, two months later, we get tired. We get bored and run out of motivation and energy to keep going with the same pace, which makes us fall behind and return to our old habits. An approach to manage this is to create a system to distribute your energy. Plan your weekday so that you have at least some time to wind down and refresh yourself. Organise your weekend to involve fun activities and outings that rejuvenate you inwardly, leaving you grateful and joyful. Sustain your energy and be aware of times in which you are too lax or too burned out so that you balance out your effort. This is important to keep you on the right track and at the same time, appreciative of every single day that passes by.

6. Reward Yourself Because You Deserve It!

Willpower is a muscle which when exhausted, needs time and energy to be refueled. So, if you are non-stop studying or doing things which do not feel like a heartfelt reward, you'll most probably find yourself alienated and drained. Now, how do we avoid that?

Take some time to yourself to note down what feels like a good reward. What are your passions and hobbies? What truly makes you feel alive? Imagine and visualise different situations and pick one or two activities that put a smile on your face. It could be practising sports, playing video games, hanging out with friends, shopping, painting, music or even reading a wonderful book. Design your week days and weekends to include some time in which you practise your favourite activities. I may have mentioned that in the point above, but what I am stressing on here is to truly think about what rewards you. Think twice if you choose scrolling down your social media accounts or consuming mindless content on your phone or TV over an activity like going outside or an engaging in an artistic expression. Prioritise the time you choose to reward yourself and even write it down on your to-do list because it truly is a means to compensate the effort you've put in to stick to a schedule and do the work that you're supposed to do. Be kind, compassionate and considerate when it comes to caring for your energy and humanity. Allow love to sprout in the time you choose to call free.

So, that's all I have for now! I hope those tips help you have the best academic year you could ever imagine. My sincere prayers to you in your limitless learning journey.

Have a wonderful journey!