🌞Congrats on completing another school year! Summer break is an exciting time to decompress, have fun, and sleep in. But did you know that summer is the most underrated opportunity in your entire school year? Most students close their binders in June and don't think about math again until September. By the time they sit down in their first class, weeks of momentum are gone. Here's what's actually happening — and what to do about it. The summer slide is real - There's a well-documented phenomenon called summer learning loss — the academic backslide that happens when students step away from structured learning for two to three months. Research consistently shows that students lose roughly one to three months of learning over the summer, and math is hit harder than almost any other subject. Why? Because math is cumulative. Every course builds on the one before it. If you coast through summer with zero review, you're not just starting fresh in September — you're starting behind. But here's what nobody tells you. You don't need to grind all summer. That's not the point and honestly it's not realistic. You just finished exams. You're burnt out. You need a break — a real one. And breaks are an important part of learning (remember our exam studying tips?). The goal isn't to study all summer. It's to not completely lose what you built. There's a difference between a student who takes the full summer off and a student who spends 20-30 minutes a few times a week keeping the concepts warm. By September, those two students are in completely different positions. What a smart summer actually looks like: 🏖️July — full break. You earned it. Don't touch math. Sleep in. Travel. Work. Spend time with people you like. A rested brain is a better learning brain. Guilt-free. 😎August — light review. Pick up 2-3 sessions per week. Nothing intense. Flip through your notes from last year, do a few practice problems from the units you found hardest, watch a YouTube video on a concept that never fully clicked. 30 minutes. That's it.

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Most students sit down, open their notes, and start reading. That's the wrong move. Here's the system that actually works. Step 1️⃣ — Figure out what's on the exam This sounds obvious but most students skip it. Before you study anything, get clear on what's actually being tested. Ask your teacher what units are covered, what types of questions to expect, and where the marks are weighted. Then build your study plan around that — not around everything you covered all semester. Don't study what isn't on the exam! Step 2️⃣ — Master topics first, then interleave Start by studying one unit at a time in isolation. This is called blocked practice — your brain is primed to use specific concepts because you know exactly which unit you're in. Master the techniques in that unit before moving on. Once you've worked through each unit, switch to interleaving — mixing questions from across all units randomly. This is harder, but that's the point. An exam doesn't tell you which chapter you're in. Interleaving trains you to figure that out on your own, which is exactly what separates students who studied from students who prepared. Step 3️⃣ — Focus on what you don't know Time is limited. There's no point reviewing material you already have down cold. Be ruthless about this: - Struggling with a topic? Spend more time there - Confident on a topic? Review it briefly and move on - A topic carries more exam weight? Prioritize it If you review your notes and genuinely don't understand something — get help immediately. Don't sit on confusion for days. Find a different resource, watch a different explanation, or book a tutoring session. You don't have time to wait it out. Step 4️⃣ — Test yourself constantly The single biggest mistake students make is passive studying. Reading your notes is not studying. Looking at a worked example and nodding along is not studying. Your brain needs to be forced to retrieve information, not just recognize it. The research is clear on this. Students who test themselves consistently outperform students who re-read their notes — even when the re-readers spend more time studying.

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You know how much time to spend on each exam. Now let's talk about when.📅 If you missed the last post, we covered how to rank your courses and divide your study time based on what's actually at stake. This builds on that. Start two weeks out — before you even open a textbook A couple of weeks before exams, get organized. Make sure you have all your notes, know your current grades, and have a rough study plan in place. Sorting out your notes beforehand sounds boring — but missing notes mid-study session is one of the biggest time wasters there is. Handle it early. The three keys: start early, study often, take real breaks Start early The earlier you start, the more chances you have to study, ask questions, and actually understand the material. You'll still have regular classes and probably unit tests during this time — do your best to manage the day-to-day while gradually ramping up exam prep. Early momentum beats last-minute panic every time. Study often Don't cram everything into one sitting. Spaced repetition is one of the most well-researched study techniques out there — one hour a day for five days beats five hours in one day. Every time. Spreading your sessions out also means the material has time to consolidate between reviews, so it actually sticks. Take real breaks Starting early and spacing out sessions makes this easier. Use short breaks — a 25-minute Pomodoro followed by a 5-minute break — and longer breaks like a full night's sleep. When you take a short break, actually leave your desk. Get a snack, stretch, play an instrument. A break that's still mentally draining isn't a break. Bonus: study a little before bed Your brain keeps processing while you sleep. A short review session right before bed can prime your brain to consolidate what you studied overnight. It doesn't need to be long — even 15–20 minutes makes a difference. Now you have a system: prioritize your exams, divide your time, and space out your studying. Next post: what to actually do when you sit down to study.