Oh dear. You've run into the exact same problem that I did last semester - yes, even uni students do this!
What you have is the very real and vicious cycle of stress piled on even more stress, combined with falling behind in your subjects and using drastic solutions to rectify your issue. It's definitely a case where you feel like you're falling down an endless spiral of despair. Fortunately, we can help. (Apologies in advance for the long essay you're about to read.)
Part 1: Get some z's (aka sleep)First of all, let's address the biggest issue you have here. It's this one:
Additionally I have been grabbing all nighters in the current few days and currently loss all motivation for all my subjects.
Problem here is that you're losing sleep, which is actually crucial for your concentration, memory and mental development. (The latter continues well into your early adult years, typically agreed to be
around 25 years old. I'm going to take a good bet and say you're younger than that.) All nighters are
never a good solution. Instead, pin point times when you have SACs and stay organised. Keep tabs on the coming few days and make sure you get some rest.
This is something you will need to reinforce and reset yourself to a state in which you can function. For most VCE students, the amount of sleep will be about somewhere in the 8-10 hours range, mostly 9-10 hours per night. Getting a good night's rest will be beneficial in keeping up with daily life, not just school and regain your energy/ concentration.
It may also be the toughest thing to change; I myself am still not at normal circadian times (i.e. getting to bed at a reasonable hour), but am currently trying to change it for the better. You may likely have to force yourself to say 'stop' and go to bed at 10/10:30pm for a few weeks before it becomes a habit. Even though education seems like the most important thing at the moment,
sleep is necessary! Remember that if you're yawning quite a bit, that's a signal to halt and rest up early tonight. You shouldn't force exhaustion upon yourself. You are still human, meaning you have some limitations.
Part 2: Regaining Concentration and MotivationSecond issue is:
...currently loss all motivation for all my subjects. My concentration levels have also fell.
Although sleep will help to refocus and regain motivation/ concentration, there are other things that will also be beneficial. Here's a quick list off the top of my head:
1. Write a quick list on motivations for your subjects. Don't list just academic goals or future careers, but real world applications for them. Stick this list somewhere where you'll see it often. Keeping a
motivation/ inspiration board also does the trick in a similar manner.
2. Limit the time you're trying to concentrate for. Sometimes people try to study for several hours on end without a single break. It generally doesn't work for the majority of the population, at least not in one hit. How do we concentrate for long periods of time then? Reduce your workload to 45-60 minute slots and have a 5-15 minute break. You'll thank yourself later. (If you're an avid technology user and need a break, try
this website to cool off for 2 minutes.)
3. Use productivity apps, which have been a fairly common topic here on AN. Some great ones are described
here and
here. If that's not for you, try Excel to make a nice little study timetable or use the ol' pen and paper to get the job done.
4. Talk to a trusted teacher, friend, parent, etc. to see where your interests lie and what your motivations once were and if they're still applicable. Try to rediscover what you like about your subjects. I would recommend talking to your favourite teacher and asking them how to refocus and regain concentration once distracted; they may have some good advice. Also, have a nice rant while you're at it. It really does help to unload some of that stress!
5. Make goals into smaller realistic chunks. It's easier to "read a few chapters of
To Kill a Mockingbird every day for a week" than to just write "read
To Kill a Mockingbird" down on your to-do list.
6. Reduce your workload somehow. Again, find out how to study smarter or learn more efficiently. Perhaps you don't
really need to read that whole chapter of the Accounting textbook, but the summary to understand what's going on.
7. Take a night off. Sometimes it's because you're a little burnt out and having zero fun that your mind tends to wander a bit. You need to have regular times to just chillax and have some 'me time' to do something entertaining like catching up on the latest episode of GoT, playing your favourite sport/ instrument or just chatting with friends. Life isn't meant to be all work and no play - that just accumulates stress! Make this a regular thing, at the very least once a fortnight, to keep yourself sane.
I know it sounds kind of counter-intuitive that sleep and relaxation are actually necessities in life, whilst it already is super crammed what with VCE studies and excursions all over the place, but trust us - you'll need it. You can counter the amount of time spent studying, by learning how to study
smarter, rather than harder.
Part 3: Keeping up with the content (not the Kardashians)Thirdly, we need to take a look at how we're going to solve this:
our teachers are rushing every single chapter and I can't KEEP UP! For example in accounting unit3/4 we are doing one whole chapter per class!
Keeping up is something that will be a little annoying, but sometimes it's a case of seeing what's relevant in the near future and studying that. This is really just some short term advice, but nonetheless may be of some benefit to you.
I think the best advice is to catch up and then try to learn a little bit ahead. Checking out relevant websites, videos and study guides for your respective subjects might also aid in your journey to understand the content. Reviewing content regularly is also going to be of assistance. Again, studying smarter, rather than harder may be imperative to your success, which you can check up how to do so around AN and online.
There's lots of books out there that can help in learning and/or reviewing content for VCE: Checkpoints, Jacplus StudyOn series and AN's own ExamPro series. Aside from that, talk to your teachers and see if they can slow down, reteach a concept that's foreign to you or help you study. When you have questions; teachers are generally happy to help! If there's something you need extra assistance for, AN is also great.
(I'm terribly sorry if this section wasn't that good or helpful. I lost my train of thought halfway through.
)
Part 4: Eliminating Silly Mistakeswhen I try to do math problems and I write 14 as 41 or keep forgetting to right write a negative sign!
Now that the other parts have been mentioned, we can talk about the silly errors you're making and how to avoid them.
The general recommendation is to write all your silly mistakes into a book and basically make a catalogue of them. Practise makes perfect, so try a few more practise questions when you get stumped on a certain type of question. Also, learning to speed up during assessment will give you time to reread your work to catch any pesky mistakes that you made.
Once you have your concentration back, you'll be able to correct yourself from any silly errors. Definitely make sleep and relaxation a higher priority to give your mind and body the rest it needs, then re-motivating yourself will allow you to work positively. Next, productivity and concentration training will ensure you're able to function at a swifter rate. Finally, studying smarter and spending some time to keep/ catch up on lost time will help you to move forward and kick butt. In other words, follow these steps in order to refocus and reset your life.
Some pitfalls to be aware ofHere's a quick list of
'don't's to avoid as your start the recovery process:
1.
Don't let yourself recur or sleep too late! It'll undo all of your hard work.
2.
Don't give up! Perseverance will be key here.
3.
Don't try to study too hard. Find ways to do it in the most efficient ways possible.
I know my tips are not really short term ideas, but that's because you're dealing with a problem that requires long term effort to change. It's great that you recognised your issues; it's the first step towards recovery! Hopefully this is somewhat helpful to you.
I'm sure other people will have more to say about this, so I'll leave it up to them to give their two cents.
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