The Day Academia Stopped Working Against Me
I graduated high school a few months back, and I still get flashbacks of those long late night study sessions I’d do, even miss them sometimes because learning had become so natural and easy for me after adapting to smart studying methods.Then there was also a time about 2 years ago when I had to give my IGCSE exams in just 4 months and I had little to no awareness about my weak areas or where to get the right guidance.
The day after registering for the exams, I started looking up quick revision notes, quizzes, flashcards and watching YouTube videos like “Complete IGCSE Physics in 6 hours” even “How to absorb textbooks like a sponge”. I ended up becoming overwhelmed because either the notes would be paid, or have information missing, or just didn't make sense at all.
"I did have faith in myself, but I was slowly losing it because I wasn't a born genius and I knew that I needed to work really hard for the grades I was aiming for."
I started by paying more attention in class, taking notes, and increasing my study hours at home. It ended up with me getting burnt out and forgetting everything I had studied in the previous days. I realized making notes wasn't the only thing required, I needed to in some way maximise productivity in less time. I ended up breaking down my tasks into smaller chunks, adding it to a notion tracker to make the tasks seem more doable as well. Procrastination was a known enemy, so I tried out the trending Pomodoro method and sure enough the tasks were getting done on time, without me getting burnt out.
The hunt for good revision notes still wasn't over. I’d ask my seniors as well as peers for guidance hoping to find a solution to this issue. Until one day, I was venting to one of my peers about how all the websites I’ve tried for notes aren’t upto the mark, “It’s either I have to pay for them or they just don’t make any sense to me”. She then told me about a website she came across, that’s not only free but the notes are made accurately in accordance with the syllabus, just what I was looking for? After a quick overview of the website, I knew a comeback was on its way. These notes were easy to navigate through since they were divided according to syllabus.
However, there was one last thing missing, which was, how do I retain all this information and apply it. I started using flashcards and solving quizzes, taking note of topics I struggled with the most. After having a quick refresher, using the revision notes as part of active recall on the website, along with solving quiz styled questions that provided detailed explanation on there, it gave me targeted support allowing me to ace my exams. This platform, ZNotes, was not just a regular website providing free, high quality resources but many other features like quizzes, integrated AI, which I used for further clarity on concepts and later found out about their study scheduler, that helped me make up a study routine based off what I needed support in the most, all this at one place.
It's true that just a single resource is not responsible for where I am now, it took multiple resources to shape and improve my learning journey, one step at a time and I appreciate ZNotes being a part of it.
"Not only did it save my grades but sparked a sense of benevolence in me to bring about the same change in students' lives that I got to experience."
