Differences Between Year 11 In The Past vs. Year 11 Now

Some differences are that previously, Year 11s would not have to catch up with lots of work, would not have certain restrictions around school and also have to retake exams. Now in Year 11, my school has been focusing on doing catch-up lessons for some subjects and also there are hand sanitisers around the building. Also, we have to wear face masks outside of the classroom. For some subjects, some students are retaking exams. We also have to take our tests seriously as it may contribute to our GCSE grade if public exams get cancelled.

In my school, we are also taking mocks in January.

Workload

I have been getting a bit more work than Year 10 but it isn’t a really big difference. As there are tests that should be taken seriously, there is revision to do. The teachers are quite helpful with the work.

Social Life

My friends and I have been chatting at break times and lunchtimes and sometimes in classes and via text. When it comes to family, I do chat with my family, and they have been quite supportive in terms of helping me adjust to this new routine.

Obviously due to the COVID-19 pandemic I don’t really go too far and I am quite busy on the weekends. I have found alternatives to have fun such as working on extracurriculars and self-care. I think the holidays are a good time to really go out.

New Habits

Some new habits that I have incorporated into my life is: using my phone less, drinking more water and EXERCISE! These habits have helped me quite a lot.

Some Other Highlights

I finished my Drama Component 1 performance that my class was supposed to do months ago but due to the lockdown, we couldn’t do it earlier.

I also have finished a few tests and I am quite happy so far with the work.

We have also received our mock timetable and some people may be taking their education a bit more seriously now.

I have incorporated some things into my life as part of my self-growth journey.

Extra-Curriculars

I have nearly consistently been posting website articles on this website and also posted on my podcast ‘The Chat Library’. These have helped me to manage my time. Fun fact: a lot of people in my school know about these and some people are quite rude, while others are supportive. Just ignore the hate and look at the positives! :)))

Stress

I have dealt with some stress due to personal reasons, a bit of academia and other things. But it’s absolutely fine, everyone has low days and it is good to accept it. I am grateful for everything that I have as I do live a privileged life.

Thank you so much for clicking on this article. This was a bit of a glimpse into my life. Please remember to share this article.  

Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

And you may intend for this holiday to be productive.

What does it mean to have a productive holiday? Can you really do everything that you want to do during the holidays? And most importantly, how can you be productive this holiday?

In this article, I will be answering all those questions so make sure you scroll down and read the secret steps to success.

What Does It Mean To Have A ‘Productive’ Holiday?

Productive – achieving a significant amount or result. (By Google)

When you have a productive holiday, it doesn’t mean that you are working at your desk 24/7. It means that you are doing things that will add value to your life. Some of the things that I like to do in my holidays which makes me feel productive are focusing on academia, extracurriculars but also on self-care and relaxation.

Can You Really Be ‘Productive’ During The Holidays?

Of course you can. The key to being able to achieve your goals during the holiday and stay productive is time management. If you can manage your time, you can get it all done.

How Can You Be Productive During The Holidays?

Create A Holiday Plan

On your first day of the holiday or the night before, take a piece of paper and create different mind maps. For me, I like to make mind maps respectively for ‘Homework’ ‘Revision’ ‘Free Time’ and ‘Extracurriculars’. This can vary from holiday to holiday. Make all these mind maps in one sheet of paper and write down all the tasks on each mind map. This helps you to visualise what you want to get done this holiday.

Create Daily To Do Lists

After creating your holiday plan, you should know now what you have to do. Now, every single day, pick out a few tasks from each mind map and add them to your daily to do list. By having a variety of tasks, you are less likely to get bored and more likely to get them done. Make sure to follow those to do lists and you will realise some progress happening.

Work And Have Fun At Your Optimum Times

If you are a night owl, you may realise that during the holidays, you are getting academic work mostly in the night. Try to use your optimum times to your advantage. If you like doing academia in the morning, extracurriculars in the afternoon and fun activities in the evening then follow that.

Try To Wake Up And Sleep Around The Same Time

Now that you know which times you work best at, try to also wake up and sleep at around the same time. For instance, if you are a night owl, perhaps, you may wake up at 10am and sleep at around 11:30pm. Make sure it fits you.

Reward Yourself

Please remember to reward yourself as the holidays are a time for relaxation. Relaxation can also sometimes be productive if done in limits. If you have a 10 day holiday, maybe you spend 6-7 days of that holiday staying at home and then the remaining 3-4 days may be spent lazing around fully. Do what works best for you.

These were some of the tips on how to be productive during the holidays. Comment below any tips that you have in order to stay productive in the holidays. Also, don’t forget to share this website article with your family and friends.

Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

In today’s article, I will be answering this question to ensure that you have a distraction-free zone to complete all your tasks.

What Is A Distraction?

A thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else. – Google

For example, if you are trying to do your math homework while also trying to talk to your friends unnecessarily, it may decrease your productivity and efficiency of that task or it may just take longer to complete the math homework. Everyone gets distracted but it’s about how you deal with it.

Examples Of Distractions:

• Phone 
• Social Media
• Unnecessary Noise 
• People Talking To You
• An Untidy Area
• Negative Thoughts
• Being Hungry
• Being Tired

How To Remove These Distractions:

Phone

If you are not using your phone for your work and you don’t need it while working, put it away.

Try not to place the phone in your work area. Put it in another room, give it to someone else in your family, put it in aeroplane mode or even use an app such as Forest to grow trees while you are studying. These are all pretty good ways to ensure that you are not using your phone while studying.

Social Media

Well let’s say that you need to use your laptop for your homework but you still have access to all your social media in your laptop…what do you do then? In that case, I would say to place an extension on your laptop. Use these at your own risk. With these extensions, you can block certain websites that distract you for a set period of time while you are working so you can’t access them. Problem solved.

Unnecessary Noise

If you are studying in a library, for example, and there are people talking which is distracting you and making it difficult for you to focus, I would suggest trying to block out the unnecessary noise by either playing white noise, listening to non-lyrical music or even moving to another area. If it is someone who you know making the noise, you could simply tell them to quiet down respectfully.

People Talking To You

If you are trying to study and your brother comes into your room and starts distracting you, you could simply try telling them to come back when you are free. Try to maybe have a notice on your door to let your family know when you are studying if needed to prevent them breaking your bubble of concentration. If your friend tries talking to you face-to-face, explain nicely that you are studying and they can come back after a set amount of time.

An Untidy Area

Sometimes, the distraction may lie in where you are studying. If you look at your study space and realise it is untidy before even starting to study, chances are you may feel like procrastinating. Therefore, if needed, spend 5-10 minutes before starting to study to tidy up. Not only does it make you feel put-together, but it may also increase your productivity for your next study sessions.

Negative Thoughts

If you are trying to study while having worries, it may decrease your productivity as the worry may take control of your focus. Instead, try to write down these negative thoughts and write the solutions next to it. If you don’t have a solution, then assign yourself time for when you will deal with that problem, either by thinking about it or talking to someone. This will ensure that you can give your full focus to your work.

Being Hungry

Some people cannot concentrate if they have not had their food. Therefore, in order to solve that problem, you could simply make sure you have proper meals during the days and also make some quick study snacks to have while you are studying. Mind you, I said ‘quick’ which means you can make the study snacks in 5-10 minutes, it should not cut out your studying time to make these.

Being Tired

If you have not had enough sleep the night before, it is more likely you will feel tired and lose focus very easily. Try to get the work done quickly and then have an early night to get the optimum hours of sleep you need. If you are just tired because you have had a long day, take regular breaks in between your study sessions so you have time to rejuvenate yourself.

There were some of the distractions that I could think of. Remember, it is okay to get distracted or even have a low day because it’s part of human nature and you can learn how to deal with it. But just keep working hard and don’t stress.

Comment down below what common distraction do you face. Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

Make a weekend to-do list.

I would recommend that on Friday after school, make a weekend to-do list with all the tasks that you want to do. This includes your homework, chores, events and also all the rest of the things on the list. Then, you can prioritise your tasks. I recommend leaving one day of the weekend for mostly studying and revising and the other day to do extracurriculars and have fun. 

Wake up early.

Try your best to stick to wake up around the same time at the weekends as you do in school. Not only will your body clock be used to waking up at that time, but you will also realise that you have time in the morning to be in that productive mode. A bonus is that of, for example, you wake up early on Saturday and do all your work in the morning, you might even have the rest of the weekend free.

Study and have breaks in between.

This article would not be complete if I did not mention something that all students do and that is to study. Of course, when I say study, make sure it is adapted to you. Some people like to work for 8 hours straight (which may not be healthy) and they finish all their work and others like to spread their work out and have regular breaks. Regardless of what type of person you are, ensure to put your phone away while studying if you don’t need it and work in a clean environment.

Practise some self-care.

A lot of students forget to do this in the midst of their busy lives but remember to incorporate some self-care into your routine. For example, you might have a spa routine on Sunday mornings or write down your feelings. Remember the weekend is the time to study and relax.

Exercise.

Another thing that you can definitely do in the weekends is to exercise. Whether it’s by doing a workout at home or going to your local park or gym, getting some form of exercise is really good.

Do an extra-curricular.

Extra-curriculars are so important to ensure that we all are learning things even outside of school. Your extra-curricular at the weekends could be joining a club, writing an article for your website (like what I am doing right now) or even learning something for a course or YouTube video.

Talk to your family.

If you are busy during the weekdays, chances are that you don’t have enough time in the weekdays to talk to your family who literally lives under the same roof as you. Make sure to spend at least 2 minutes to greet everyone in your family and catch up with them.

Do chores.

Cleaning your environment can actually make you feel so organised. Ensure to clean your desk, for example, and see how you feel afterwards.

Reward yourself e.g. hobby.

It is important to reward yourself every now and then because it gives us motivation for the future. Make sure to reward yourself by either performing a hobby or even going out with your friends (stay safe though!)

Get ready for the next week of school.

On Sunday evening, when your weekend is just about to end, start to prepare for the next week of school. Ensure you have completed all your homework, packed your bag and tidied your outfit for Monday, and maybe even done some meal prep.

I hope that this article will help you to have more of a productive but fun weekend. Make sure to take these one step as a go and incorporate them into your routine and you will realise that you won’t get that bored at the weekends. 

As always, please comment down below your thoughts on this article and feel free to check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

So in today’s article, I will be discussing some habits you need to incorporate into your routine for this school year.

Make a to do list every day.

Making to do lists can help to prioritise and manage tasks. It can also prevent you from procrastinating. I use three planning systems. Find what works for you and make it a habit

Have a time in the day for reflection.

Amongst our busy lives; it can be extremely easy to just get caught up into it and not have the time to stop, breathe and relax. Having a time in the day set to either pray to God, meditate, perform yoga or even just recite positive affirmations really helps. As a Muslim, there are 5 prayers a day to do this.

Read books/listen to podcasts and audiobooks

Even if you dislike reading, you can still try to do this. Whether you do this as soon as you wake up or before you go to bed, it is a means of seeking knowledge. Other alternatives are listening to podcasts or audiobooks.

Exercise regularly.

Exercise is so important yet many teen students tell themselves ‘they don’t have enough time.’ It may be the reason why some teenagers end up feeling lazy. Even exercising twice a week (once in PE lessons and once in the weekend for example) can really help.

Have a good skincare routine.

Some students neglect the importance of skincare while others try way too many products and cause acne for themselves. Instead, use a few producers that actually work for you and keep it sustainable so you can perform it regularly. This skincare routine should be for your face, arms and legs.

Pack your backpack and tidy your uniform the night before.

Have you ever been in that situation where you forgot a book for class because you were packing your bag in a hurry in the morning? Make sure you are not in that situation by spending some time the night before to pack your bag and tidying your school uniform/outfit the night before school. It will save you time in the morning.

Drink enough water every day.

This is surely something that not everyone does. Drinking enough water is necessary to keep you going but it can be hard to maintain. If you drink one litre of water at home and one litre of water at school, that is pretty good.

Study at least one hour every day.

If you don’t feel like studying some day, try to study at least one hour. It will make so much more difference and it is better than doing nothing. Little but consistent revision is better than doing everything last minute. 

Have a limited screen time.

If you are using your phone 5 hours a day for using social media, chances are you are not being productive in those 5 hours. If you have an iPhone, check your settings and then screen time or download a screen time app on your phone. Check how many hours you use your phone and on which app. Then give yourself a screen time goal of how many hours you want to use your phone. 

Build some good tidying habits.

Did you just tidy your room what literally felt like 5 minutes ago, only to see that ‘a typhoon hit it’ and you have to tidy it again? Maybe it is time to regularly tidy your room. You could do this by tidying your room every night and doing a clean and disinfecting on the weekends for 15-20 minutes. It can leave you feeling like your life is together.

Those were 10 habits that I think are pretty useful. There may be more so feel free to comment below any habits that you think may boost your productivity. As always, please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

But now that I have finished my first week of Year 11, I wanted to compare my first week of Year 10 when there was no COVID-19 and I was starting my GCSE course, to now when it is quite different. 

Disclaimer: This is just my own personal experiences that I had, but it may not be similar to other GCSE students and other schools all over the UK as everyone has different lives. Please check and confirm certain details with your own school and do not rely on this article for information about your school.

Feelings:

• Before I started Year 10, I had some mixed feelings for many reasons. Some reasons on why I may have felt excited is because I would finally get to start the GCSE course and know how it feels like but I was also nervous for some reasons such as being able to bond and feel comfortable in my new classes.
• Before I started Year 11, I also had some mixed feelings. I may have felt elated to see everyone after 6 months of lockdown and get back into the school routine but also, I may have felt nervous for reasons like if I have really changed this lockdown.

Timetable Changes:

• For Year 10, my timetable did change quite a lot in comparison to Year 9. I only had my GCSE subjects, PSHE and PE while in Year 9, I was doing all the subjects. This means that I would have to focus more on each of my subjects and for some of the subjects, there were more lessons in the week for it. I also did not have to attend extra Triple Science classes after school as they were incorporated into my Year 10 timetable.
• For Year 11, my timetable also changed but because of COVID-19, everyone’s timings changed. School started and ended in different times so it was staggered. But I had a similar number of lessons for each of my subjects overall when comparing it to Year 10, so it wasn’t really a big jump.

Jumps:

• The jump from Year 9 to Year 10 was quite a big jump.
• The jump from Year 10 to Year 11 was not so big.

School:

• Because there was no COVID-19 when I was going into Year 10, there were no face coverings and big restrictions around school.
• Now in my first week of Year 11, there are some specific restrictions in my school. We are not allowed to wear face coverings inside the classroom but we are allowed to wear it in corridors and communal areas. However, not many people wear them in school. There are also hand sanitisers around the school building, and there are bubbles. For example, Year 11s are in a bubble with Year 10, Year 11 students and teachers. On the other hand, Year 7s, Year 8s and Year 9s have their own bubbles respectively. For books to be marked by teachers, they have to be quarantined for 3 days. There are some social distancing stickers. Of course, there are also staggered times, with form time being the last class I go to in the day.

Friends + Teachers + Seating Plans:

• In Year 10, friends and teachers were pretty good but the seating plans for most of the classes were quite fixed and chosen by the teacher.
• For Year 11, it is quite similar to Year 10 but I feel that for some of the classes, teachers have allowed us to choose our seats and then we have to stick to them probably.

Workload:

• As I said, the jump from Year 9 to Year 10 was quite big and the workload gradually increased, as there was more focus on each subject.
• When it comes to the workload in Year 11, it has been pretty okay so far but I think keeping on top of your work and starting from Day 1 is the best way to go forward.

Preparation:

• In the first week of Year 10, I was pretty productive and made a vague outline of my routine before and after school.
• In the first week of Year 11, I have also been quite productive and I have made quite a detailed revision timetable, a weekly list and I also created a website articles plan.

Those were some of the key highlights of school in Year 10 vs. Year 11 for me. I really hope you have enjoyed reading my article and I hope it gave you an insight into how it has been so far for me.

What year are you in and which country do you live in? Comment down below.

Check out my other articles, relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

If you live in an international country, you may have to move to a new school and make new friends and if you live in the UK, you have to start your GCSEs. Nonetheless, you want to get prepared and as I am a 15-year-old teenager who has just finished Year 10 in a pandemic, I think I am in a good position to tell you some tips on Year 10. Take the tips with a pinch of salt and at your own will.

Try to make notes or revision material as you go along.

Some people may underestimate Year 10 and think that they can just take all their notes and only revise in the last month of Year 11. This is too much pressure and stress. So especially if you have started your GCSE curriculum in school already, please start making notes, flashcards, mindmaps or whatever works for you from day 1.

Have other side projects.

A lot of teenagers say that ‘they don’t have enough time’. That is wrong as everyone has the same 24 hours in a day but it’s all about how you use it. Have extracurricular activities inside or outside of school or make your own platform such as a website. This will help build time management skills but also look good in your personal statement for college.

Keep on top of your work.

This links to my first point but keeping on top of your work meaning doing your homework and revision on time saves a lot of energy, time and unnecessary stress. Make sure to write down all your homework in a planner.

Make to-do lists every day.

Speaking of writing your homework in your planner, have a planning system that works for you and make to-do lists every day.

Don’t get involved in arguments/fights.

However juicy that argument between Susan and Chanelle may be, it’s just not worth your time and stress. The drama may be tempting to join but the cons are much higher than the pros so stay out of the drama.

Have a good support system.

This is extremely important especially as a teenager entering a new confusing phase of your life. Please have someone in your life who will guide and help you out. Avoid this person being a friend at school but instead make a teacher, counsellor, parent or older sibling your mentor.

Be yourself. 

Peer pressure can get high in secondary school but stick to your own values and the ones that will make you and your loved ones proud. If you don’t want to listen to music because of your religion, don’t listen to it. If you don’t want to go out late at night, then don’t.

Learn how to deal with stress.

Stress may be something that you see in these crucial years but please learn how to deal with it. Whether it’s telling someone how you are feeling, writing it down or taking a break, learn how to deal with it.

Learn from your corrections.

If you get a bad score in your exam paper or if you have committed a mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just learn from the corrections, have the intention not to repeat the same mistake again and move on. 

Stay healthy.

Many teenagers end up having wings and chips every day and then feeling tired and low afterwards. Every now and then, you can treat yourself, but please try to avoid unhealthy foods. With that being said, it also does not mean that you have to go on 20 different diets if it is not needed. Just make sure you exercise regularly and eat well.

Those were my top ten tips to survive freshman year of high school and Year 10. Comment down below which year of high school will you be going to. Please share this article with any of your secondary school friends. 

Please surf through my website for more related articles.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

So, in today’s article, I will be sharing a few tips on how to meet new people and make your best friends this year. There is no direct answer to this and these tips are not guaranteed so take these tips to a pinch of salt. But some of these tips worked for me when I moved schools back in Year 8.

Let’s get started:

Firstly, figure out which institutions you can make friends from.

School is not the only place you can make friends. You can make friends in extracurricular activities, online and also in the workplace. Try to find which are applicable to you. For example, if you attend a regular ballet class, try to make new friends from there this year.

Have a few conversation starters up your sleeve. 

If you are shy, introverted or you just want to know how to converse with someone, then make sure that you have a few conversation starters. Here are a few:

• Smile
• Introduce yourself
• Be yourself 
• Compliment them
• Try to find a similar interest e.g. if you see someone wearing a BTS t-shirt and you like BTS, then tell them you like it too and then talk to them about it
• Keep regular eye contact
• Adapt to others’ personalities (different people act a certain way)
• Ask a question about the topic or class you are in
• Keep the conversations going

Make sure not to overdo any of these. However, if you realise that the person you are talking to is not very interested, uncomfortable, or tries to move away, then chances are that they are not for you. 

Know your standards and what the characteristics are of a bad friend.

Sometimes, if you are new to making friends, you may not realise that people could trip you up. This is not always the case but just lookout for these signs.

• Making you feel uncomfortable (peer pressure or doing things you don’t like)
• Bullying you or making you feel bad about yourself
• Giving you fake promises with no justification 
• Tries to leave you out (especially in times of hardship) or refuses to be your friend

Again, don’t just judge a person if they only do any of these signs once or twice. Ensure that they have done these a couple of times and you then know that they are not for you.

After you feel like you are getting along with someone, know what to do next.

Take things slowly but if you, for example, if you are in a secondary school like me and you have a phone, possibly ask your parents if you can give them your phone number. This way, you can talk outside of school and keep in touch with them regularly. Some friends can be there to help you with your homework, while others may be there for you to go out. It is your choice of what you want to do. 

If you do go out with any of your friends, do tell your parents in advance for your safety and security especially if you are just a child or teenager.

Those were my tips on how to make good friends and possibly even meeting your best friends this year. Do not feel afraid to put yourself out there, however hard it may be.  Everyone is different and some people will like you and some won’t so just move on if needed.

Even if you are shy, don’t be afraid as they are just people like you. 

For more tips on how to make good friends, check out my podcast linktr.ee/TheChatLibrary, available in over 5 podcast platforms. 

These were my tips. Make sure to surf through my website for more information: http://surobiscribbles.com/category/advice/.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!