Different schools have different criteria, so right from before, I want to point out as a caveat, that I am not an expert on this and also that you should pick what you think is right for you.

For those who are wondering, I did my GCSEs on 2021 (got teacher-assessed grades) and here are the subjects I did: English Literature, English Language, Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics as Triple Science, RE, Spanish, Geography, Drama and Photography. It was a pretty good experience overall! I feel grateful to have know most/all of this wisdom from before.

Now here are my tips:

Know which subjects your schools offer and how many you have to choose

The first tip is the most straightforward one yet so many people fail to do this – look at what subjects your school offers. In my school, for example, they had a somewhat limited range of subjects. We had to pick one language, one humanity and then two other subjects. I was selected to do Triple Science and it was compulsory to do RE. Make sure you know all the options available and what you have to choose.

Explore the course curriculum and assessments for each subject.

Now that you know which subjects you are allowed to pick from, you now want to start reading further into each subject. For example, for GCSE Music, do you need to know how to play an instrument? For Drama, do you have to do group work? How many exams do you need to take for GCSE Sociology? Are the exams coursework-based or linear? Ensure you dig into this, but don’t spend hours delving into this. 

Know the deadline for picking your options

Now of course, if you keep researching into this, you might end up taking hours and hours. And remember, that choosing what subjects you will do is important but shouldn’t be stressful. Make sure you know what subjects you will do one week before submitting your options to ensure that you are not stressing about it.

Pick subjects that you enjoy and are relatively good at

This is something that teachers say and is so true – pick the subjects that you currently enjoy and you are relatively good at. Don’t pick Computer Science when you know you hate it but you want it to look good on Results Day. This is because the grades are what matters at the end of the day, so it is better to get a 9 in GCSE Food than getting a 6 in Computer Science. Sixth forms and universities generally look at the grades, not the subjects. 

Don’t pick subjects because of a specific teacher or friend.

Again, this is something that must be emphasised. Don’t pick a subject purely because your best friend is doing it and you want to be in the same class as them. Also, don’t pick a subject just because your favourite Ms Williams (no hate to Ms Williams’s out there) is teaching it. That friend or that teacher will be sitting your exams for you in Year 11, and remember that you will find friends in your new classes.

Discuss with your family and teachers.

I would highly recommend discussing your options with your family and teachers. They want the best for you. But also, don’t let them pressure you into picking a GCSE subject that you know you dislike. E.G. I had a teacher who wanted me to do Computer Science but I knew it wasn’t my favourite so I didn’t pick it and that is okay! 

Don’t discuss what you will choose with your friends.

I cannot reiterate this tip enough! Please do not tell your friends what you have chosen until after you have submitted your GCSE options form in and you can no longer change your subjects. Why? Because it is very easy for you to get influenced by your friends’ options or even feel bad that you will not be in the same classes as them.

Make sure you choose carefully before submitting the form.

Make sure that you even make your back up subjects choices that you don’t mind doing in the worst case scenario. And then give in the form with confidence!

Listen to yourself.

Follow your gut and listen to what you want to do. It is that simple.

Remember that this is not the end of the world.

These GCSE subjects generally do not determine which career or degree you will get into. Really, the main ones that count are English, Maths and Science, and luckily for you, they are already compulsory! You must know this, that it is okay, and that these subjects you choose are not the end all be all.

Those were my 10 tips for picking the right options for you! 

Happy Subjects Choosing!

Please share this article with anyone who is picking their subjects right now.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

This is the second article I will be making in this series. And that is all about the organisation.You may have heard of the quote ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ Organisation is you planning out your life and clearing out your environment around you. Feeling peaceful, right? In today’s article, I will be discussing this so here are my 10 tips:

1. Keep two different planners.

Now you may be scratching your head wondering: WHY? Well, I recommend having one planner only from school where you write down all your homeworks. And then when you come home, incorporate those homeworks into your second planner which is for life. My homework planner was given by school while my life planner is my trusty bullet journal! Check out more about this here.

2. You don’t need to do back to school shopping.

This might sound very controversial bearing in mind that there are thousands of posts all about this. What I mean is you should not buy unnecessary stationery that will not help you, that your school does not require you to buy or just to make everything look Instagrammable. Focus on it being practical rather than pretty.

3. Have the essential stationery in your pencil case.

Your pencil case should contain the essential stationery. This is what you take to school. Try to also go through this pencil case weekly to avoid clutter and to replace any stationery that may get lost. 

4. Don’t be afraid to say no.

This one is for all those people-pleasers out there. You may feel guilty if you say no to your friend who asked you to use your glue stick for the sixth time this week. But the more you keep letting people use up your items, the more people will keep doing it. If you realise you are wasting money buying new stationery too often, it may be time to say no to your friends who ask for your stationery.

5. Pack your bag and tidy up your uniform the night before.

This habit is one that I stuck to from Year 7 all the way to Year 11. This saves you energy in the morning, prevents you from getting late, makes you organised and can sometimes even save you from detentions.

6. Keep your notebooks neat.

I am sure that a lot of people go through that phase where they keep stuffing worksheets in their Math book telling themselves they will stick it in ‘later’. Later never comes and they end up with a thick notebook with disorganised sheets and you may find your science worksheet in your RE notebook. To prevent your documents from getting everywhere, keep them organised by putting them in a pocket/wallet or folder or maybe sticking them into your notebook.

7. Tidy up your room every night.

This is one that many people hate to do but if you want to save yourself from procrastination, unnecessary stress, demotivation and laziness, just do it. 

8. Have your own study space.

This is crucial to differentiate between study and play. Having one designated space for your studies allows you to keep all your school things in one place so when you get ready to work, you have everything in one place. If you don’t have a desk, you could also make a study caddy that you have with you when you are ready to study.

9. Create a routine.

You may need to wait until you get your timetable but having a general outline for the morning and the evening allows you to stay productive and reduce your decision fatigue. 

10. Have a digital declutter every now and then.

It is very easy to forget about your devices when organising but remember that we spend many hours on these phones and laptops. Check your emails (personal and school) regularly and delete those that are not needed. Do the same for your photos in your phone gallery. Also, delete apps that you don’t need.

That was my article all about how to keep organised. Organisation is a crucial part of school life as it will help you to feel put together. Please share this article with anyone who is going back to school or is in secondary school!

And look out for the next article on this series. You can stay updated by subscribing to my weekly newsletter for free. 

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

This is the first article I will be making in this series. And that is all about…FRIENDSHIPS! Making friends, especially in a new big school in Year 7, can be quite tough. It is also really important to make a good group of friends who will support and look out for you because one of the biggest influences of you growing up is the company you stay with. So here are my 10 tips that helped me to make good friends:

1. Don’t be afraid to speak up.

When starting school, you may meet many new faces and everyone may be shy. Don’t be afraid to be the first person to initiate a conversation with anyone. That person will thank you for it because otherwise they would have had to make the first move which can be difficult.

2. Know your boundaries.

This is so important! When I went through my first toxic friendship in Year 7, I realised the importance of speaking up. If you ever feel uncomfortable, whether it’s because your friends are cracking an offensive joke, or even if they are forcing you to go out, learn to speak up and tell them. You have control over your life!

3. Be kind and be yourself.

We all change throughout secondary school. But don’t let these changes be dictated by your friends. Be your authentic self because if you accept yourself the way you are, the right people will accept you too and you will end up having a great time. Also, kindness melts anyone’s heart, so be kind and if people don’t like that, they are not meant for you.

4. Don’t share everything with your friends.

This may be the most important tip! One of the biggest regrets of many teenagers (especially girls), is that they shared their deepest darkest secrets to their best friends and the next second, it is the latest gossip for the whole school. Even if it is your best friend in school, I still recommend keeping some things private because you can never predict what will happen. You may save yourself from a lot of embarrassment and unnecessary drama. 

5. It is okay to change friends.

When I was in Year 7, I had this misconception that the friends I would make in Year 7 would stay with me throughout the whole 5 years. Little did I know that I would end up going through a toxic friendship, move schools and make a whole new set of friends in another borough! It is okay to think like this but also if you feel that your friends are not making you feel good, it is okay to change them!

6. Learn to be independent.

Many people are also afraid of staying by themselves in the playground, as they are deemed to be lonely. Let me tell you loud and clear: staying by yourself does NOT make you lonely. It teaches you independence sometimes. You don’t need to force yourself to be glued to your friends and it is okay to sometimes study/stay by yourself.

7. Meet friends outside of school safely.

As you grow older, you may be allowed by your parents to go out with your friends. I have a group chat with my friends and we sometimes arrange trips together and then we have a girls’ day out! Obviously, remember to tell your parents before going out with your friends, and stay safe!

8. Never text secrets or beef by text.

This is yet another important one. People screenshotting texts and sending them to others is totally a thing. So if you do have something private to tell someone or you have to resolve an argument, do it in person.

9. Have common interests.

Common interests are a great way to connect with people. If you are struggling to make friends, common interests are the way to start a conversation. And if you and your friend have no common interests, your school and subjects you study are of common interest! Talk about them.

10. Make friends from different places.

You don’t need to restrict yourself to only making friends in school…you can also make friends in your local community, your parents’ friends’ children, in clubs and extracurriculars or even your neighbours!

That was my article about friendships! I hope you have enjoyed this article! Remember that you will be fine and it is both okay to have friends and to also not have any friends at all!

Please share this article with anyone you know who goes to secondary school. And look out for the next article on this series. You can stay updated by subscribing to my weekly newsletter for free. 

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

It has all come to an end. The 5 years that are known to be dramatic, developing or even dangerous – they have all come to an end. From waking up early in the morning for school to spending long hours in school to hanging out with friends to doing homework to revising to texting friends to bantering with teachers, secondary school can be chaotic. However, if you top that off with a pandemic, several lockdowns and numerous tests, it can get even harder. But we came out and realised that we can survive in the hardest of times, which gives hope for the future.

Today, which is Friday 7th May 2021, was my last day of formal education in secondary school which essentially means my last day having lessons with my whole year group in school. From next week, In Sha Allah, I will be starting my exams while on study leave.

In this article, I will write a somewhat unfiltered memoir of the last day of secondary school, some motivation for the exam season and some parting words.

My Last Day of Formal Education:

When I reached school, I hung out with my friends in form time. All of a sudden, I saw some individuals start to take out a seperate school shirt from the one they were wearing and pass it around to their friends for them to sign. As you can see from the photo above, I did the same and I started signing shirts. 

My first lesson Geography consisted of doing some work and hearing the roaring excitement from girls around me (I do go to an all-girls school after all). The second lesson Spanish had the same effect – everyone ran around signing shirts until the assistant headteacher had to tell everyone to calm down.

After chatting on break with my friends, I tripsed to science where no one did any revision whatsoever and instead indulged in taking photos and signing shirts. It was an overwhelming experience to ask for signatures and to also write inside jokes on others’ shirts and yearbooks.

My last porper lesson of secondary school was actually PE. We played a game and then rushed out for lunch to do – you guessed it – more signing shirts.

At 1:30pm, we rushed to maths, grabbed some worksheets (we do have exams after all) and walked to the hall for our end of year assembly, with some parting words from the staff. 

In the last 40 minutes, everyone spent time together with their shirts and I took some photos with my friends.

It was emotional, reflective and a learning experience.

Exams Next Week:

Next week is, In Sha Allah, exams. I have exams for about three weeks, all from multiple subjects.

This year has been detrimental to everyone’s grades, but I am proud that we have still reached here. All you could give was your best during a global pandemic so work hard but don’t beat yourself up about it. I want to prioritise my mental health, pray to God, revise and wish for the best.

Remember to talk to people if you require help.

Try to revise every day because little and often is better than nothing.

Journal – it helps to bring clarity to your thoughts.

Smile more often – be grateful you are still alive in this chaotic world.

Pray to God – He is the One who can make or break you.

And remember, work hard but these grades don’t define you

Thank you so much for reading today’s article. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I liked writing it. 

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Thank you again for reading, and have a lovely day!

Step 1: Find out what work you have missed

For each of your subjects, ask someone in your class or your teacher about what you have missed. They can show you and you can understand how much work you have to catch up with. 

Step 2: Try not to miss any more school

After seeing this huge amount of work, you may feel overwhelmed and confused on how you are supposed to catch up with previous lessons and stay on top of the current lessons. The best thing to do is not to add extra work on yourself and just try not to miss any more school. 

Step 3: Make a revision timetable and a routine

For the first few days or weeks of catching up, you may feel disorganised. My tip would be to create a routine with times designated to do work that is being set now but also times where you are completing tasks from the previous lessons that you missed. Try to focus on one or two different subjects every day and if you follow this, you will see progress. 

Step 4: Create to do lists with deadlines

Now that you have made a routine and know at which times you will study (remember to incorporate breaks!) you now want to start creating daily to-do lists with deadlines. I like to use my bullet journal and I can also migrate tasks for future dates. Plan every day and make sure what you have to do and this will keep you on track to finish the work. 

Step 5: Remove distractions

Now you may sit at your desk, your couch or the floor (wherever you study) but you don’t feel motivated to get started. Is it because you have your phone next to you? If so, remove your distractions and start being productive.

Step 6: Seek help from your teachers, friends and parents

Whether you are feeling stressed with this work, or you don’t understand the catch up work, I would advise you to seek help from your peers, teachers or parents. It is okay to share your feelings and get some help.

Step 7: Ask for a time extension

If your teacher has set a specific deadline for an assignment, and you feel that you cannot keep up with it, it may be worth asking for a time extension to your teacher so you have more time to complete it. 

Step 8: Don’t stress

Please do not stress. It is just not worth it and will end up wasting more time and energy than actually doing the work.

Step 9: Catch up on holidays

If you have a few tasks that are not urgent and you know you can delay, perhaps you could migrate it for the weekends or the holidays. Since lessons do not happen on the weekends or holidays, you won’t have the current lessons to go to and you can spend this time catching up. 

Step 10: Manage your time efficiently

Catching up is all about time management. When you make your routine, please do include some breaks and maybe some extracurriculars, skills or hobbies that you can also do alongside studying. This will ensure you are not getting bored with studying.

Those were some of my tips and advice on how to catch up. It is okay to catch up with work. As always, comment down below how you catch up with work when you miss school.

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!

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!