The methods of the cracks to succeed in the school year.?

In the first year of prep, Léa thought she would never be able to do it. After a few weeks, she was even seriously considering giving up. The young girl confessed at the time: “I have never really worked until now, I don’t think I will be able to do everything that is asked of me” . Today, the young woman who is about to join Centrale Supélec cannot believe the path she has taken in two years. She would never have imagined working whole days at her desk. How did she do it?.

1. Work the same hours every day

Antoinette Champclos is the working methods specialist.Antoinette Champclos is the working methods specialist.

“The habits that you will adopt from the first days will determine whether, in the end, you will pass your exams or not ,” says Antoinette Champclos, who recalls this quote from the Greek philosopher Aristotle to pin in capital letters above your desk: ” We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is therefore not an action, but a habit”. Establishing a work routine is the essential phase for successful studies. What is it about? You have to get your brain used to working every day, and at the same times.

2. Plan the start and end of the session

The brain is a real rebel. If he does not know in advance when this effort will end, he risks making a bad head. This is why you need to time your work. You will see that if at the beginning, he struggles a little, he will quickly understand that it is not negotiable. But above all it will reassure him.

3. Learn in batches

“Repetition is the basis of memorization ,” wrote psychologist Alain Lieury, author of Memory and Academic Success (Dunod). We often oppose rote learning and comprehension. In reality, all learning, even at the highest level, requires a lot of repetition. The greatest pianists know this, as do athletes. No Olympics without hours of training. “But all the studies show that what is even more effective is to learn several times, this is called distributed learning ,” wrote Alain Lieury. So to learn a text for example, the most effective is to learn it over two or three days (even ten minutes), rather than devoting your Sunday afternoon to it.

4. Take into account the comments of your teachers

Which methodology does he prefer?

5. Choose a network of friends you trust

The more complicated the studies, the more you will need a network of friends. It will first constitute a valuable working group. Mathilde, now a doctor, remembers her first year of Paces (first year of health studies).

6. Go to bed early

To memorize well, the first method is to get enough sleep. It seems obvious but too many teenagers forget the time, immersed in the screen of their phone. The problem is that the screen will keep you awake, unlike reading a good book which will make it easier to fall asleep. So, from 10:30 am, turn off the screens, and have a Balzac! Another important point: try to always go to bed at the same times. You will fall asleep more easily.