6th year is stressful. From finishing the course to upcoming mocks and the pressure of the Leaving Cert. I’ve been there. In this article, I’ll share how I avoided exhaustion and burnout.

Throughout the year, I employed several strategies to ensure I remained fresh and avoided feeling burnt out. And, it all starts with your study schedule.

Study smarter, not longer

There’s this common myth that studying longer = better grades. That’s most certainly not the case.

Throughout 6th year, I studied an average of 2.5 hours on weekdays and around 4/5 hours on weekends. That genuinely is very doable, and ensures that you have time for other activities too.

My study schedule:

Weekdays:
I would study from 16:30 to roughly 19:30. This would include 20/30 mins breaks in between.

Weekends:
I would study from 10:30 to 13:30 for my first shift. This would again include some breaks. I would then have lunch, and study from around 14:30 to 16:30 (depending on how motivated I am).

At times, this second shift would be much shorter, or sometimes I’d end the day after the first shift. I did this more so closer to exams.

Note: Some people prefer to get all studies done before noon. I personally didn’t like waking up early. This worked for me. It’s really about personal preference.

My study plan:

Each day, I would make a simple plan of what I want to study. This is nothing fancy, just a simple list made in the notes app:

Super simple, and super doable. Keep it realistic.

This helps streamline your study and ensures that you cover each chapter.

Setting expectations

Honestly, the most stressful thing about 6th year isn’t even the content. It’s the expectations. The expectation of getting X points really starts messing with your head.

Don’t spend the year chasing a fixed number. Rather, fix the mistakes you’ve made, and in every exam, give it your best. That’s all you can do.

Make Notes (and Use the Right Ones)

One thing I regret is not making notes for each chapter sooner. Making your own, summarised notes makes life much easier.

However, using the right notes is a problem too. There’s only so much you can do by yourself.

Especially for English. I never found proper good notes online. To help you with this, I have made my own study notes on a couple of topics in English.

These notes are made from my own study on the topics. This is how I studied English. And more than anything, they include my H1 answers. I haven’t made many yet, but these are the 3 I have put out:

Notes on Poetry:

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W.B. Yeats:

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Emily Dickinson:

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Notes on Question A (Comprehensions) Paper 1:

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Do consider checking them out. To convince yourself that the notes are useful, you can download the first few pages as a preview from the links, too!

Also, all notes are only €3 each!

Make time for yourself

This is the most important thing you can do to safeguard against exhaustion.

Don’t make the LC your entire life. Pursue hobbies. Pursue sports. Spend time with friends. Travel. Live your life.

I know it’s easier said than done. So, I’ll tell you exactly what I did.

Here’s a list of things I would do:

• Go to the gym: I would aim for 3 times a week. I will admit, the frequency went down significantly closer to the LC, but I was fairly consistent otherwise.
• Meetups with friends
• Travel: Nothing fancy here. Just go on a hike or to the seafront on weekends.
• Walk every day: I would go for a local walk for 15-20 mins daily.
• Hobbies: I would play video games on the weekends, and watch all the TV in my free time.

Of course, your list can be very different to this. The point is, don’t let the LC consume you.

Don’t feel guilty for having fun.

Have the right sleep schedule

I cannot emphasise enough how important sleep is. Throughout 5th and 6th year, I always tried to get at least 8 hours of sleep.

I never pulled an all-nighter or studied till very late. As I said, consistency is key.

And then you have the Mocks…

Remember, the only purpose of your school exams, like the mocks, is to give yourself an indication of how you’re doing.

Use the mocks as a practice (that’s exactly what they are). There’s absolutely no need to stress over them. Take them seriously, but not to heart.

Points in the mocks do not translate to points in the LC.

Study with less stress and more success

The ‘Less Stress More Success’ books are brilliant revision tools. Especially closer to the exams.

They help solidify your concepts. I always recommend these books to everyone.

You can read my full review of these books here. 

Finally

Hopefully, this article has given you some strategies to avoid burnout, and has made your life slightly easier (maybe just fractionally!)

As I said, 6th year is an important year, but don’t take it to heart. Give it your absolute best, because that’s all you can do.

Don’t stress over results. Keep working hard, and you’ll do just fine.

To help with your LC journey, I have written tons of articles. You can check them out in our Leaving Certificate section.

I wish you all the very best.