The Three P’s Plan to navigating matric with ease

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OUDTSHOORN NEWS - Matric is a milestone! It’s the culmination of your entire school career, and a huge achievement in itself. It is also a glimpse into what tertiary studies are like, so if that is something you are considering, how you approach matric is especially important.

However, regardless of what you want to do after school, this is the most important academic year of your life to date.

While it can be daunting, if you follow this step-by-step plan, you will navigate your matric year with calm and ease.

It’s called the Three P’s Plan: Plan, Pause, and Prepare.

Planning and time management

Let’s start with planning. Your first step to success relies on scheduling and managing your time. Either print out a calendar for the year, or just make one that you can stick on your wall as a visual reminder of all the important dates for the year, like school festivals, important family dates, exams and the matric farewell.Next, schedule your study and homework time for the week.

Create your weekly study schedule at the very start of the first term, as soon as you have your class timetable and extra-mural commitments. Begin with the time school ends and divide your afternoons into 30-minute blocks, for example, from 14:00 to 20:00.

Start by filling in times for meals, including lunch and dinner. Then add your extracurriculars and any household chores. Once these are in place, allocate time to your subjects, ensuring that you have at least one hour per week for summarising each.

Because you have more learning subjects than weekdays (excluding weekends), you will need to summarise two subjects on at least three afternoons each week. Identify your most demanding school day and schedule your easiest subject for that afternoon to keep the workload manageable.

Start by summarising the work you learn in class right away, don’t wait until it has piled up. If you summarise the new work in each learning subject every day, or at least once a week, you will have your notes ready to start revising a month before your first test series.

Pause and self-regulate

Photo: Vitaly Gariev

You may feel that matric is not the time to pause, but as the pressure builds, maintaining a healthy balance in your life becomes more important than ever.

Make time to rest, connect with friends and take part in activities you truly enjoy. Go outside, breathe in fresh air, move your body and give yourself space to unwind.

Taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally is not a luxury; it is essential. By taking care of your well-being, you give yourself the best chance to perform academically while staying healthy and strong throughout the year.

The way to accomplish this is to start working right at the beginning of the year and show up for yourself every day. Take care of your basic needs first: Make sure you eat well and fuel your body with breakfast every day.

Protein is key to sustained energy and plays an important role in nourishing the brain. Simple options such as a handful of nuts, eggs, or a protein shake provide a strong start to the day. Pair protein with fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as healthy carbohydrates, to keep your body fueled and energised.

Aim to be in bed before 22:00 to ensure you get enough sleep each night. Limit screen time and other stimulating activities before bed, as these interfere with your natural sleep cycle and reduce sleep quality.Make a habit of getting outside daily, staying active and paying attention to your emotional well-being, as all of these play a vital role in maintaining overall health and focus.

One of the most valuable skills you can develop is self-regulation – but what does this really mean?

Self-regulation is not about being calm all the time. Instead, it is the ability to return to emotional balance after feeling excited, nervous, sad, overwhelmed or angry.

Movement, such as walking, is an excellent way to help regulate your emotions. Another excellent way to regulate your emotions, no matter where you are, is to pause and take three slow, deep breaths.

Focus on making your exhale longer than your inhale, and continue until you feel more grounded and centred. When you are prepared and work consistently, feeling calm and in control comes more naturally.

Prepare and be consistent

Photo: Desolo Lanre Ologun

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to work consistently from the very beginning of the year.

Once you have created your study schedule, put it on the wall where you usually study and commit to following it every day. By ensuring that you summarise the work you have learned in class every week, you can stay on top of the workload.

Keep all your notes neatly together so that you have complete summaries of all your learning subjects by the time you have to prepare for exams.

About a month before your exams, ask teachers for past papers, or use the questions at the end of each chapter in the textbook to draw up mock tests for yourself.

Make sure you understand what you learn in class. If something is unclear, ask the teacher to clarify right away or after class. If you are unsure what your learning preference is, or if you don’t know how to make good summaries and take class notes, reach out to a support learning specialist to help you.

EduHelp is here for you

At EduHelp, we offer support learning to learners of all grades, helping with time management, scheduling, study methods, summarising, exam prep, and emotional regulation. I also offer wellness counselling to anyone, so if you need someone to talk to, I am here for you.

All my services are available online, in person at my home office, or in Oudtshoorn every Friday.

Follow our podcast, Spilling the Educational Tea, and contact me at [email protected] for a free 15-minute consultation to see how I can best support you on your matric journey.

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