When you go through the IB the only thought that goes through your mind is to survive. To survive the pressure, the workload, the criticism, the competition. As an IB DP graduate myself, I always say with love to IB students “forget about all of this for a moment and just experience the IB, otherwise you lose half of it”. Therefore, my biggest advice as an IB graduate for IB DP students is to manage their time effectively and organise their work in the best way possible so as to get a holistic experience of the IB programme.
The IB system is much more than heavy workload and grade competition. It is about figuring out for yourself and finding out what you really love doing in order to succeed. Through the learner profile, students get the chance to figure parts of their personality and shape them as they move along. Through the IB subjects chosen, students are given the chance to get exposed to university level material in areas that are not available in the national educational systems. Through the IB extended essay, IB DP students get experience with reading and critically analysing and citing academic papers, something which is not only helpful in their university life but also, in their broader daily activities. Through the IB internal assessments (IB IA), IB students gain knowledge on report writing and small-scale research projects. When focusing on how IB students could manage their time in an effective way, they gain the privilege of enjoying the IB DP program and participating in extracurricular activities of their choice without feeling guilty for not studying. In my eyes, the biggest mistake IB students make is getting drowned in anxiety, which leads to spending long hours of studying and exhausting themselves just to get the marks. Managing your time properly, gives you the chance to study for your internals, externals, complete CAS activities and enjoy your favourite things too – such as exercising at the gym or going out for a coffee with a friend.
Of course, one may ask how do I do this? How can I achieve effective time management and organisation? The answer is quite simple. Get a notebook where once a week you write the goals of your week in the form of a list. For instance, study chapter 5 in Bio and chapter 6 in IB History. Make sure to keep that notebook open in a corner of your desk and remind yourself what you need to do by the end of your week. Repeat this every week as this tactic will help you keep on track with what you have studied already and taken notes of. Additionally, give yourself one hour per day during which you do whatever makes you happy, you name it! That will give you time to let of steam and stress and will allow you to concentrate to your studies. Another effective way to organise your workload is by prioritising your tasks according to dates. In that case, create a list in your notebook whereby you list the tasks from the one side of the page and match them to their deadline dates. This will help you keep up with your IB deadlines and make sure you are not missing anything.
Being an IB DP student is not a walk in the park. But if you do it right you get a great experience of being an international student. One of the main benefits of the IB program is that it prepares you for university life abroad effectively and makes your first year in university a bit easier. Learning how to organise the heavy workload, time management and meeting deadlines is of utmost importance to dealing with the program itself and tackling levels of anxiety too.
Try it, you have nothing to lose!