Video summary

Don't go back to school before doing these 5 things

Main summary

Key takeaways

Wellness and Self-Improvement

Key wellness / self-care & productivity strategies (the “5 things”)

  1. Plan your year on paper (reduce overwhelm + fight “planning fallacy”)

    • Draw a full school-year calendar on paper (Sept → June/July).
    • Cross out holidays, mark mocks and exams (e.g., in red), and include national holidays.
    • Visually check how much real study time you actually have.
    • Post it somewhere highly visible so you start the year with a clear game plan.

  2. Do a “pre-mortem” (plan for failures before they happen)

    • Imagine it’s already failed (“worst-case scenario”) and work backward to identify what could derail you.
    • Write specific if-then plans for likely distractions/habits.
      • Example: If it’s past 11:00pm and your phone is in your hand, then put it in the drawer and go to sleep.
    • Identify avoidable time-wasters (e.g., scrolling/phone use, Netflix, video games, excess socializing) and pre-plan countermeasures.
    • Include supports like screen time settings, deleting apps, and making behavior changes before school starts.

  3. Get back into study mode + set up your environment/tools

    • Ease back in before school with small, disciplined habits (even 10 minutes to rebuild consistency).
    • Use phone/tech boundaries (e.g., screen time controls, rearrange/delete apps).
    • Organize your study setup:
      • Clean and sort digital files/notes (e.g., OneDrive).
      • Create a dedicated folder system for the new year/chapter.
      • Reduce “friction” so starting studying is easier (finding notes shouldn’t take extra time).

  4. Know your priorities by dividing the year into thirds

    • Split your planner into three chunks (first month/quarter, middle, pre-exams).
    • For each chunk, decide:
      • What subjects you’re weakest in
      • What you’ll focus on (e.g., math first, English later, exam technique closer to exams).
    • Color-code or otherwise pre-plan how you’ll allocate time based on strengths/weaknesses.

  5. Decide what you will give up (choose a realistic focus set)

    • Before school starts, decide what you’re sacrificing so your priorities don’t get diluted.
    • Choose a limited set of commitments, e.g.:
      • Academics/school + three total sticks (example: a sport and one hobby).
    • Avoid trying to do everything and expecting top study output without tradeoffs.

Productivity theme underlying all 5 tips

  • Don’t rely on motivation—use planning, environment design, and behavior rules to make good habits the default.

Presenters / sources mentioned

  • The speaker/creator of the video (unnamed)
  • Psychologists (cited for “planning fallacy,” described via a study)
  • Research field / behavioral sciences
  • Focus Town (the app created by the speaker and friends; described as free)

Original video