Using Empty Spaces

So today I did the second of 7 my AS exams - which went pretty well apart from misreading the last question! - and am straight back onto revising. No time to binge-watch Netflix as a reward like I did with my last exam because I have another two on Thursday and Friday. And taking on the task of summarising topics and absorbing information with very little motivation and energy got me thinking about the ways I use different spaces for revision.

I’ve never been one of those people who can picture houses in their heads to remember facts, but I do use windows, surfaces and places in my house to actually absorb the information.

My absolute favourite way to learn diagrams or the path a substance takes would be my ‘stained glass windows’. I get tracing paper, draw or trace out the outline of my relevant diagram onto it with a felt tip, colour it in and annotate around it. Sticking it up on my window lets the light into my room still, but catches my eye whenever I look outside and means I absorb the information without having to think about it. The process of making the ‘stained glass windows’ is therapeutic and doesn’t feel much like revising, and using the resource is pretty passive. Only tip I’d give is not to use Staedtler fineliners, because they’ve faded very quickly when I’ve used them.

Another space I use for revision notes is the surfaces in my room. I have Ikea drawers by my bed with a pane of glass on top, and so I slot in pictures or notes underneath so I look at them when I pick something up from the side. It’s not quite as effective at the windows, but it’s a better home for anything wordy or too difficult to absorb easily.

A big issue I have is actually using the resources I create. I make lots of summaries and maps, but they go straight into my revision folders and rarely come out again. With cue cards, I’ve found a good place to store them so they’re accessible is a toast rack. I keep mine on the shelf above my desk, and now I’m much more likely to just have a flip through them because they’re right in front of me.

This next one is not so much a hack in terms of spaces to revise, but since I can be massively lazy it really helps me. My bin is across the room from my desk (first world problems, I know) so instead of getting up to throw away a piece of scrap paper every five minutes I keep a shoebox on the side, next to my desk. I throw all my rubbish in there and at the end of a study session empty it into the recycling, and because it has a lid I can use it as a surface to put my revision guides when I’m not using them! It saves me getting up for things too much; this means I get more time sat still actually focusing.

I hope some of these ideas are useful to you, everyone is different but if they work for me they’re likely to work for someone else too. And of course - PostIt notes are your best friend when revising!